Athletes often ask us what is better to do in a high-intensity state of tension: release the frustration or keep it all inside? Is it better and easier when we release “all” the frustration caused by a certain mistake, referee decision, or lost point out of our body? Or when we try to suppress, to “swallow” the emotion?
Throwing the Racket
Athletes react outwardly in various ways: by swearing, loudly arguing with themselves or teammates/referees, throwing or hitting certain objects, and sometimes by using their own body or parts of their equipment. In some sports, these external reactions to frustration are more visible, which is why we are familiar with examples of tennis players smashing rackets or football players kicking advertising boards next to the pitch. Suppressing or trying to “swallow” the emotion is not as visible to us because athletes try to look cool on the outside even though they are burning with emotion on the inside. Certainly, this is an eternal question to which there is no easy answer as to whether the first or second option is better.
Focus
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, dissatisfied with a referee’s decision, kicks the ball into the stands?
A loss of concentration occurs, the game plan is lost from the mind, and focus points disappear. Similar symptoms appear in an athlete who wants to suppress their emotions so as not to show them outwardly, but burns inside with negative arousal. Releasing frustration outwardly has the effect of temporary relief, but in the long run, it does not help the athlete improve. Also, if we want to be sure that we will react negatively every time, we just need to practice a negative reaction. After a certain number of repetitions, our brain will choose the reaction that comes as a habitual response each time. The consequence of a lack of concentration is more frequent mistakes. Then we quickly enter a vicious cycle: mistake – negative reaction – reduced concentration – mistake.
Replacement Reactions to Frustration
What we try to convey to our athletes is the third option – replacement reactions to frustration.
Replacement reactions are formed so that athletes react in a quality way when something happens that they themselves evaluate as bad and that puts them in a state of negative emotions. When we talk about a quality reaction, we want the athlete to stay focused on the task and to “reset”. Replacement reactions therefore have the purpose of prevention (so that high frustration does not occur at all), but also of reducing current frustration.
Examples of Replacement Reactions
- Directed Movement: We repeat the movement we made just a moment ago, but this time correctly. If a tennis player hit a wrong last forehand, then before the start of the next point, they “execute” a few more forehands without a ball. This time exactly as they intended the first time. What lies behind this is that the brain remembers the last movement we performed just as it should be, and not the mistake we made.
- Delayed Reaction: Often, if we delay a negative reaction just a little bit, that is already enough for us not to do something reckless and stupid. We tell athletes that when they feel such a level of frustration that they have to react badly, let them just count from 10 to 1 before that. If they still want to react negatively, feel free… but that rarely happens.
- Shake It Off: Imagine that all the frustration accumulated in the body is like snow on your raincoat; now jump a few times, shake your arms, legs, and head, and imagine that all the tension is falling off your body.
- Giving the Situation a Funny Name: The principle on which this exercise works is switching from negative to positive. If you say to yourself: “I turned green like the Hulk,” you might manage to laugh at that moment and switch focus to what helps you return to a better zone.
- Self-Irony: Probably the hardest replacement reaction. This one is definitely not for everyone, especially not for those athletes who insult themselves in this way while they are in the red zone. But some athletes manage to laugh at themselves or even mock themselves. So someone will say: “Well done Marko, great pass, just like an Andorra national football team player :).”
After each replacement reaction, the focus switches to the present, to the here, to the plan, to the routine, or to focus points. As we said, the goals of replacement reactions are prevention. Just like for any skill, this one also takes time, especially if you have been teaching your brain to react the wrong way for years.
