There are a variety of things that can distract your attention. These fall into two broad categories: internal distractions and external distractions. Internal distractions are divided into three sections: thoughts, feelings and psychophysiological sensations. Thoughts remember previous mistakes you made during sporting events. Feelings worry about consequences or previous failures. Psychophysiological sensations are things like fatigue. External distractors include the environment you are in and may depend on the nature of the sport. Examples of this are game spirit, changes in noise levels, poor weather conditions and fans creating a hostile environment. However, distractions in one sport may not constitute distractions in another. For example, in golf, a sneeze will distract the golfer when he is about to putt, whereas in a football game, a sneeze will not distract the football player. Overall, it is important for athletes to not get distracted and stay focused on their attention cues. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay Choking is an extreme nervousness that prevents athletes from performing or making mistakes at a crucial moment. It depends on the importance of the event. For example, in a cup final the risk of choking is higher than in a normal regular match, where there is less risk of choking as there is no pressure to win. Choking may be more apparent in the presence of significant others or a large audience. This may occur as a result of changes in attentional focus. Overall, choking can play a significant role in deteriorating an athlete's performance and should be considered when evaluating an athlete's performance. Stress is a non-specific response of the body to any demand placed on it. Anxiety is the negative form of stress that can lead to increased arousal and potential decreased performance levels. In this paragraph, I will talk about the different types of stress. There are two types of stress, eustress and distress. Eustress is the feeling of fulfillment. Athletes suffering from eustress seek out stressful situations to push themselves. This increases the skill level and focuses attention. This increases the flow of intrinsic motivation. A sporting example of this is in basketball, a free throw in the last seconds, scoring this will win them the game, so they will want this situation to be able to excel. Another example is that of football: players who volunteer to take a penalty are eustress because they need stressful situations to surpass themselves. Distress is an extreme form of anxiety, nervousness, apprehension and worry. This comes from a perceived inability to meet demands. This leads to an excessive increase in arousal and a decrease in performance. A sporting example of this is golf; they could easily be a few shots ahead but they are falling apart and the pressure is starting to miss easy shots. Another example of distress is in cricket, a few bad balls may be bowled but the batsman is in distress so he cannot punish the bowler due to pressure and stress. In this paragraph, I will talk about the different types of anxiety. . There are two types of anxiety. Trait anxiety is the likelihood of worrying invarious situations, even if it is a non-threatening situation. Athletes with high levels of trait anxiety are generally more anxious about statistics in high-pressure competitive situations. A state of temporary anxiety, a constantly changing mood, or response to any situation considered threatening. A sporting example of this is a 400m runner, as they may experience state anxiety at the start of the event which may then decrease during the event, but increase again at the final turn. Overall, I think anxiety and its different types can have a significant impact on performance. In this paragraph, I will talk about the stress process which is divided into 4 stages. The first step is the request. A sporting example of this can be the last penalty in a penalty shootout. The second stage is the athlete's perception of the demand. This is divided into two sides, with the left side being a positive perception when athletes want a challenge and the right side being a negative perception when they are threatened by the opportunity. If the penalty taker takes the left side it can have a positive impact on performance as they will be ready to take the penalty as they want to challenge themselves. However, if the penalty taker was on the right side, he is more likely to miss the penalty because he is scared of the opportunity. The third stage is an increased level of arousal that divides into two sides, the left side being eustress, which occurs when there is an increase in energy and motivation, and the right side being eustress. distress, which corresponds to an increase in worry. If the shooter takes the left side of the third step, he is more likely to score because he has increased motivation and energy, which means he is prepared for the opportunity, which means there is an increase in performance as he is more likely to score. However, if the penalty taker takes the right side of the third step, it means that he is worrying too much about the opportunity, leading to a decrease in performance as he is more likely to miss the penalty. The fourth stage is the result which divides into two sides, the left side is an increase in performance and the right side is a decrease in performance. In this paragraph, I will talk about the signs and symptoms of stress. Signs and symptoms can be classified based on biological, cognitive, somatic and behavioral considerations. Biological occurs when there is an increase in cortisol and adrenaline, which are the hormones involved in the fight or flight response. Cortisol reduces the rate of tissue repair and impacts athletes at risk of injury. This is a natural response to stress, but it can have a significant impact on performance. Cognitive is an increased feeling of worry and inability to concentrate. This can lead to decreased performance due to arousal levels and reduce the athlete's state of well-being. Somatic is an increase in pulse and blood pressure and also increases muscle tension. If this is not controlled, then this increase in muscle tension can increase the risk of injury. This can also be the cause of freezing or choking. Behavioral considerations may include rushing, speaking quickly, and agitation. This reduces communication between athletes, which can also reduce performance. Overall, stress and its signs and symptoms should be considered when examining an athlete's performance. This paragraph is about the consequences of stress and anxiety. Anxiety suggests that it is a negative mental state characterized by.