Athletes often ask us what is better to do in high-intensity, high-tension situations: release the frustration or keep it all inside? Is it better and easier when we get “all” the frustration caused by a certain mistake, a referee’s decision, or a lost point out of our body? Or when we try to suppress, to “swallow” the emotion?
Athletes react outwardly in various ways: by swearing, loudly arguing with themselves or teammates/referees, or by throwing and hitting objects. Sometimes they even use their own bodies or pieces of equipment. In some sports, these outward reactions to frustration are more visible, which is why we are all familiar with examples of tennis players smashing rackets or football players kicking advertising boards along the pitch. Suppressing or attempting to “swallow” an emotion is not as visible to us, because athletes try to look calm on the outside even though they are burning with emotion on the inside. Certainly, whether the first or the second option is better remains an eternal question with no easy answer.
What happens to the focus of a tennis player who throws or smashes a racket? What happens to the focus of a football player who, unhappy with the referee’s decision, kicks the ball into the stands? A loss of concentration occurs, the game plan is forgotten, and focus points vanish. Similar symptoms appear in an athlete who wants to suppress their emotions so as not to show them outwardly, but is burning with negative arousal on the inside. Releasing frustration outwardly provides a feeling of temporary relief, but in the long run, it does not help the athlete improve. Furthermore, if we want to ensure that we react negatively every single time, all we need to do is practice that negative reaction. After a certain number of repetitions, our brain will choose the reaction that comes as the habitual response each time. The consequence of a lack of concentration is more frequent mistakes, and we can then very quickly enter a perfect vicious circle: mistake – negative reaction – decreased concentration – mistake.
What we try to pass on to our athletes is a third option – alternative reactions to frustration. Alternative reactions are designed to help athletes react productively when something happens that they perceive as bad and that puts them in a state of negative emotion. When we talk about reacting productively, we want the athlete to stay focused on the task and to “reset.” Therefore, alternative reactions serve the purpose of prevention (to prevent high frustration from occurring in the first place), but also of reducing current frustration.
Examples of Alternative Reactions
Directed Movement – we repeat the movement we made a moment ago, but this time correctly. If a tennis player hit a poor last forehand, before starting the next point, they “execute” a few more shadow forehands without the ball. This time, exactly the way they intended the first time. The idea behind this is for the brain to remember the last movement executed exactly as it should be, rather than the mistake that was made.
Delayed Reaction – often, if we delay a negative reaction by just a little bit, it is enough to stop us from doing something reckless and stupid. We tell athletes that when they feel such a level of frustration that they simply must react poorly, they should just count from 10 down to 1 first. If they still want to react negatively after that, go ahead… but that rarely happens.
Shake It Off – imagine that all the frustration accumulated in your body is like snow on your raincoat. Now, jump up and down a few times, shake out your arms, legs, and head, and imagine all the tension falling off your body.
Giving the Situation a Funny Name – the principle behind this exercise is turning a negative into a positive. If you tell yourself: “I’ve turned green like the Hulk,” you might manage to laugh in that moment and shift your focus back to what helps you get back into a better zone.
Auto-Irony – probably the most difficult alternative reaction. This one is definitely not for everyone, especially not for athletes who use this to insult themselves while in the red zone. However, some athletes manage to laugh at themselves or even poke fun. For example, someone might say: “Well done, Marko, great pass, just like an Andorra national team player! :)”
After every alternative reaction, the focus shifts back to the present, to the here and now, to the plan, ritual, or focus points. As we said, the goals of alternative reactions are to prevent high frustration from occurring, or to help the athlete react a bit differently and more productively when they do find themselves in that situation. Just like any skill, this one takes time, especially if you have spent years training your brain to react the wrong way.
Luka Škrinjarić, mag. psych.
Mentalni Trening, director
