Phase One - Preliminary movements 2

Consistency, mindfulness & arousal

The preliminary movements of the free throw shot are all about creating and environment in which performance of the motor skill is at its peak. To create this ideal environment there are three key elements to focus on before taking the shot.

Consistency

While pre performance routines have been suggested to influence the athletes ability on success of a motor skill, it is unsure how the exact mechanisms work. It has been suggested that a consistent pre performance routine is a way for athletes to cope with the intense performance demands placed upon them in professional sport (Boucher & Crews, 1987). In a study by Gould et al. (1992) It was concluded that olympic medalists used routines as a way arrive at an optimal mental state for the task. 53% of athletes interviewed about their worst performance stated that they had not adhered to their performance routine. Therefore ensuing that breaking the consistency of a routine has an adverse affect on performance quality.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is defined as "... paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present and nonjudgmentally" (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 4). It has been suggested that mindfulness represents the "nonjudgemental observation of the ongoing stream of internal and external stimuli"(Baer, 2003, p. 125). When shooting from the foul line there are many distractions that can impede on a players shot: crowd volume, opposing players, coaches instructions, game pressures or even their own cognitions and affective states. Being mindful allows for a greater focus on the task, it eliminates distractions from past, present and future events (Gardner & Moore, 2004) It is suggested that successful and elite athletes have a greater ability to attain and maintain mindful attention, showing greater success in their sport, rising above others, differentiating professionals from amateurs (Gardner & Gooding, 2009).

Arousal

Arousal is defined as the physiological and psychological state of being awake or reactive to stimuli. During the action of the free throw there is both internal and external stimuli affecting performance. Singer (2002) suggests that being able to control ones arousal level, expectations, confidence and attention during certain motor tasks, may be just as important as the skill itself. The general purpose of player performing pre shot routines is so they can reach an optimal state of mind to execute the task to the best of their ability, or successfully (Lidor & Singor, 2000)

Design of session

1. Focus on consistency of pre shot routine, try and create a good rhythm
2. Each shot work on being mindful, try and eliminate external and internal factors that may influence performance
3. Attempt to control arousal each shot, creating the right environment to perform successfully in.
4. Attempt 50 consecutive free throws working on these three elements and record statistics

Statistics

Shooting from the line I shot 5 sets of 10 free throws and this is how they went:

Set one: 4 from 10

Set two: 2 from 10

Set three: 3 from 10

Set four: 8 from 10

Set five 5 from 10

Overall out of 50 free throws I converted 22. This is a shot percentage of 44%.

Reflection

Todays session was really good, although my shooting percentage has fallen from my original baseline test, where I converted 60% of shots from the line. During my baseline assessment I was surprised at how good I shot and knew that this would not always be the case. I am becoming more comfortable with the technique of the free throw shot and am slowly finding out things that work for me, and things that don't. 

References

Boucher, S.H., & Crews, D.J. (1987). The effect of pre-shot routine on a well learned skill. 

International Journal of Sport Psychology, 18, 30–39

Gould, D., Eklund, R.C., & Jackson, S. (1992). 1988 U.S. Olympic wrestling excellence 

I: Mental preparation, precompetitive cognition and affect. The Sport Psychologist,

6, 358–382.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go there you are. New York: Hyperion.

Baer, R.A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 125–143.

Gardner, F.L., & Moore, Z.E. (2004). A Mindfulness-acceptance-commitment-based 

approach to athletic performance enhancement: Theoretical considerations. Behavior 

Therapy, 35, 707–723

Singer, R. (2002). Preperformance state, routings and automaticity: What does it take to realize expertise in self paced events? Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology,24, 359–375.


Lidor, R., & Singer, R. (2000). Teaching preperformance routines to beginners. Journal of 
Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 71, 34–52.