Relaxation as a Coping Strategy:
College Swim Team
Introduction:
In February of this year, the captains of both the men'sand women's swim teams at my college met with a sport psychologistwith a request to help them deal with some of the problems thatthey were facing in the competitive environment. With very littletime to the target meets of the season (6 weeks to conference andonly 8 weeks to the NCAA meet), the project took on more of a\"fix-it\" approach than an educational approach.
Intervention:
A \"trouble-shooting\" meeting was set up so that theathletes could help prioritize their concerns. A simplestrengths/weaknesses chart was filled out by each swimmer. Fromthis list a list of perceived weaknesses were used to develop thefocus of the program. The most frequently occurring weaknessresponses were:
a . Lack of Confidence
b . Fear of Failure
c . Inability to Relax
Following the initial meeting, an impromptu meeting wasscheduled to help the athletes put their perceived weaknesses intoperspective. At this time, the progressive implementation strategywas explained. The strategies were implemented every Sunday eveninguntil the target meets (with each athlete received a paper fullyexplaining the strategy at each session). The strategy meetingsconsisted of:
I . Troubleshooting Meeting
2. Self-led Relaxation
3. Visualizing Success
4. Affirmation
5. Mastery Rehearsal and Mastery/CopingTapes
Each session lasted from 1-11/2 hours and were wellattended. After completion of the Conference Swim Championships,the athletes evaluated their performances and the
effectiveness of the program on their performances. Elevenparticipants completed a survey asking for responses based on aLikert scale. We also asked for responses to open-ended questionsand for comments on each section.
Overview:
Troubleshooting: The Likert scale indicated a very strongpositive response to the troubleshooting section. Most respondentsagreed with the question regarding whether this portion aided inidentifying weaknesses and focusing, with only one persondisagreeing.
Relaxation: The relaxation portion showed similar positiveresponses. The athletes found the guided exercise to be the mosthelpful, but seven athletes were able to successfully utilize thisstrategy independently two or more times each week. The athleteshad the most difficulty implementing the relaxation strategy duringthe meet situation.
Imagery: Responses were also favorable for the imageryportion of the project, illustrating to the athletes and us that weall have the ability to visualize. The guided exercise was onceagain the most helpful section. The response to the independentusage was moderate. Visualization requires practice, and the timewas limited for implementation, therefore, we assumed that theswimmers did not feel as comfortable using this strategy on theirown. We inquired about the type of situation the athletesvisualized. Ten respondents visualized their event at race pace.Many also used a combination of visualizing different speeds andparticular points of their event as well as the total performance.Seven athletes visualized one or more times each week. Fiveutilized imagery daily or nearly every day.
Affirmation: The respondents felt that this section wasvery important. The written exercise to identify low confidenceareas appeared to have been very helpful. Affirmation is a verypersonal tool and, as a result, is very subjective. The Likertscale indicated a positive response overall. However, the athletesfelt that setting their own strategies was more helpful than thewritten exercise we provided. All respondents felt the affirmationexercises had a positive effect outside of swimming. The methods ofpositive affirmation most commonly used were talking to oneself andsigns and notes in visible places. One respondent also commentedthat \"Believing\" was an important aspect ofaffirmation.
Mental Rehearsal and Coping Scripts: Most respondents feltthat the guidelines we provided were helpful, although there werethree requests for more detailed instructions and possibly samplesof tapes and scripts. The responses to questions based on theLikert scale were more widely distributed than those for the othersections. It is our belief that the more moderate positive feedbackis due to the lack of time necessary to become comfortable with thetapes.
The athletes concentrated on the areas of imagery mostfrequently. Affirmation and relaxation were commonly combined withimagery or used alone. One comment identifies an important featureof mental arousal, \"And I was nervous, but was 'OK' about it.\"Arousal is necessary for performance as long as it is undercontrol. Mental Rehearsal and Coping tapes help build theconfidence necessary to attain this control.
Nine respondents answered affirmatively when asked whetherour method of mental training was effective in helping to achievetheir goals. One respondent answered negatively, and one wasunsure. One swimmer responded that simply making the script andtape had a strong effect on her concentration level andperformance, even though she only listened to the tape two or threetimes.
We also inquired as to how each respondent felt the programwas effective. Relaxation, focus, and positive feelings helped therespondents believe they were capable. The aspects of the programfound to be most helpful were the affirmation and relaxationphases. One respondent found the affirmation \"extremely helpful.\"One respondent felt that the troubleshooting session was useless,but the overall response to this was positive.
When we asked if the athletes would recommend the programto another coach or athlete, eight participants respondedpositively. Comments included the assertion that the athlete mustwholeheartedly believe in the method of it to work. Another feltthat \"even with limited involvement the method works.\" Five feltthe program would be beneficial to sports other than swimming,cross-country and baseball specifically. Other comments includedfeelings of being rushed throughout the whole process, with whichwe fully agree. The program should be initiated during the firstweeks of the season. Another respondent had difficulty with everyaspect of the program and didn't feel it was especially helpfulother than making him slightly more relaxed.
Overall, the responses to the program were positive. Veryfew respondents did not agree that the methods helped to someextent. The comments and open responses were positive and helpful.The comments expressing problems with the athlete or the programwere enlightening and were taken into consideration whenrecommending changes for future use of the program.
(3) The swimmers in the case study above found itdifficult to practice the relaxation during the actual swim meet.The four relaxation methods discussed in our text takes hours andweeks to master. How then could any of these methods be utilized byan athlete who must be able to bring on the relaxation response ina matter of minutes or even seconds? Be sure to support youropinion with research in the field.
