3.3 Investigate how individual and group sports apply psychological strategies, optimising arousal and management of stress and anxiety, to improve participation and performance

1. Psychological strategies to improve participation and performance

Psychological strategies are planned methods athletes use to manage thoughts, emotions and physiological activation. They support participation by reducing avoidance and increasing an athlete’s sense of control, and they support performance by creating the mental conditions needed for accurate skill execution and good decisions.

Participation is more than just showing up to training. It includes ongoing effort, willingness to take responsibility in key moments, and not giving up when performance doesn’t go to plan. Psychological strategies support participation by helping athletes cope with nerves, setbacks, pressure, and the fear of being judged.

Performance depends on the mix between physical readiness and mental state. Athletes can be very fit and skilful, yet perform poorly if attention is all over the place, arousal doesn’t match the task, or anxiety creates muscle tension and rushed choices. Psychological strategies protect task focus, control arousal, and support purposeful responses under pressure rather than panic-driven reactions.

Psychological strategies commonly used across individual and group sports include concentration and attention control, self-talk and cue words, imagery and mental rehearsal, arousal regulation (down-regulation and psych-up), goal setting, and pre-performance routines. These strategies are often used together rather than on their own, because athletes usually need to manage both internal state and task demands at the same time.

2. Optimising arousal to improve participation and performance

Arousal is the athlete’s level of physical and mental activation on a scale from very low to very high. Arousal is not automatically “good” or “bad”. The key question is whether arousal is optimal for the task, the sport, and the individual athlete.

Low arousal is commonly felt as flatness, low motivation, slower reaction time and less urgency. High arousal can feel like strong energy and readiness, but it can also bring tension, restlessness and tunnel vision. Arousal influences performance by changing muscle tension, reaction time and attention focus. It also influences participation because athletes who regularly feel overwhelmed or out of control are more likely to withdraw, avoid pressure situations, or lose enjoyment.

The Inverted-U model suggests performance tends to be lower when arousal is too low, improves as arousal rises to a moderate level, then drops when arousal becomes too high. This pattern helps explain why athletes can perform poorly when they are flat and also when they are overwhelmed. However, athletes don’t all share one perfect point.

The Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning concept recognises that each athlete has a personal optimal range, shaped by things such as experience, confidence, personality, and role demands.

Sport type matters because optimal arousal differs based on skill demands. Precision and fine motor tasks usually need lower, steadier arousal because too much tension disrupts timing and control. This includes archery, golf putting and set shots in AFL and netball. Explosive and contact-based tasks often benefit from higher arousal because increased activation supports speed and force. This includes boxing, sprint starts and rugby league tackles. Many team sports require athletes to shift arousal within the same match, such as moving from a high-intensity contest to a calm set shot.

Strategy selection is most effective when it is based on whether the athlete is under-aroused or over-aroused.

It is important to note, mistakes are a common trigger for a sudden shift in arousal. Some athletes drop into under-arousal (flat, hesitant), while others spike into over-arousal (tense, rushed), so a fast reset strategy helps return arousal to an optimal range.

Example: An AFL player who takes a contested mark may be highly aroused from contact and crowd noise. Before a set shot, the player can down-regulate arousal using a slow breath and a cue word such as “steady” to protect fine motor control. This supports performance through more accurate kicking and supports participation by reducing fear of taking set shots late in a close game.

3. Management of stress and anxiety to improve participation and performance

Stress occurs when an athlete sees a gap between the demands of a situation and their perceived ability to cope, especially when the outcome matters. Stress is triggered by stressors, which are the pressures the athlete is responding to. Common sport stressors include competitive stakes, evaluation, uncertainty, task difficulty, and personal pressure such as fear of letting others down or returning from injury.

Stress can be helpful when it sharpens focus and effort. It becomes harmful when it increases into too much arousal and unhelpful thinking that disrupts execution and enjoyment.

Anxiety is an unpleasant emotional state involving worry, fear and nervousness. It is commonly described through:

• cognitive anxiety, which includes worry, negative predictions and doubt
• somatic anxiety, which includes physical symptoms such as a racing heart, sweating, nausea, shaky limbs or muscle tightness.

Anxiety can be:

• trait anxiety, a more stable tendency to see situations as threatening across contexts
• state anxiety, a temporary response that rises and falls depending on the moment.

Stress, anxiety and arousal interact closely. Stressful situations often increase arousal. If the athlete sees the situation as threatening, cognitive anxiety rises and arousal can shift into an unhelpful range. In that state, attention often shifts away from task cues towards outcome fears, and movement becomes tense and rushed. If the athlete sees the same demand as a challenge, arousal may still rise, but the athlete is more likely to stay focused on controllable cues and perform well.

Management of stress and anxiety is therefore about changing both the body’s response and the athlete’s interpretation of pressure. Psychological strategies support this by:

• controlling physiology (i.e. breathing and muscle release to reduce tension)
• protecting attention (i.e. process cues to stop outcome fixation)
• reframing appraisal (i.e. challenge-focused self-talk)
• creating predictability (i.e. routines and process goals).

Signs that stress and anxiety are disrupting performance include muscle tension, shallow breathing, fidgeting, negative self-talk, irritability, avoidance of responsibility, and narrowed attention. These signs can lead to reduced fine motor control, poorer decision-making, “playing safe” when assertiveness is required, and reduced enjoyment that increases dropout risk over time.

Individual and group sports often manage stress and anxiety differently because the social environment changes the demands. In individual sport, the athlete must self-regulate with limited in-the-moment support, so routines, self-talk, and imagery are often highly personalised. In group sport, athletes also manage team dynamics, including emotional contagion, leadership communication, and fear of letting others down. Team strategies such as role clarity, shared reset cues, and supportive talk can reduce the spread of panic and protect collective decision-making.

Example: A Year 12 netball shooter may feel a racing heart before a tight final. If the athlete interprets this sensation as “I am ready”, arousal can support sharp focus. If the athlete interprets it as “I am going to miss”, cognitive anxiety rises, shoulders tense, and the release becomes rushed. A short routine (slow exhale, cue word “smooth”, eyes on target) helps manage somatic symptoms, refocus attention, and increase confidence to keep taking shots.