Post by Funkytown on May 27, 2018 16:01:16 GMT -6
Well, A) It's the offseason and B) Can we really discuss choking in sports without discussing our Vikings?
Here we go...
The Scientific Art of Choking by Dr. Rajpal Brar
Understanding why some athletes perform in the clutch, while others come up short.
...
Plenty more at the link:
grandstandcentral.com/why-athletes-choke-under-pressure-12d1a256c531
Here we go...
The Scientific Art of Choking by Dr. Rajpal Brar
Understanding why some athletes perform in the clutch, while others come up short.
How a player performs in high-pressure situations can make or break their careers, their reputations, and the aspirations of their team and fanbase. When it all goes wrong, the platitudes come pouring out:
“What a choke artist”
“He’s not clutch”
“You can see him over-thinking it out there”
“They’re trying way too hard”
But what separates the clutch players from those who choke?
Is there some something different about how they think, are there differences in personality, are their differences in how they train for those moments?
My answer to all of those is: yes…but it’s not as simple as a “clutch gene”. There’s a neuroscience basis to why a player “chokes” and responds poorly when the pressure/stress (I use these two interchangeably) ratchets up.
Lebron’s hesitancy in the 2011 NBA Finals? I can explain why.
Rory McIlroy’s “5 hours of choking” at the Masters in 2011? Understandable once you know his personality type.
Buckner’s basic blunder in ’86 (It’s ok to talk about that now, right Boston fans?). There’s a viable reason for that.
My goal is to explain those types of moments through the lens of neuroscience— specifically, how stress affects sports movement (WTF happened at the free throw line) and impairs thinking/memory (what kind of BONE-HEADED play was that???) while considering the role of personal factors, training strategies, and preventative measures.
I’ve split the topic into two different pieces:
1 — This piece analyzes how pressure/stress affects movement
2 — The next piece will examine how pressure/stress affects thinking/memory.
To begin to understand why players “choke”, lets start with a basic foundation of neuroanatomy and then a rundown of motor (movement) control and motor learning.
“What a choke artist”
“He’s not clutch”
“You can see him over-thinking it out there”
“They’re trying way too hard”
But what separates the clutch players from those who choke?
Is there some something different about how they think, are there differences in personality, are their differences in how they train for those moments?
My answer to all of those is: yes…but it’s not as simple as a “clutch gene”. There’s a neuroscience basis to why a player “chokes” and responds poorly when the pressure/stress (I use these two interchangeably) ratchets up.
Lebron’s hesitancy in the 2011 NBA Finals? I can explain why.
Rory McIlroy’s “5 hours of choking” at the Masters in 2011? Understandable once you know his personality type.
Buckner’s basic blunder in ’86 (It’s ok to talk about that now, right Boston fans?). There’s a viable reason for that.
My goal is to explain those types of moments through the lens of neuroscience— specifically, how stress affects sports movement (WTF happened at the free throw line) and impairs thinking/memory (what kind of BONE-HEADED play was that???) while considering the role of personal factors, training strategies, and preventative measures.
I’ve split the topic into two different pieces:
1 — This piece analyzes how pressure/stress affects movement
2 — The next piece will examine how pressure/stress affects thinking/memory.
To begin to understand why players “choke”, lets start with a basic foundation of neuroanatomy and then a rundown of motor (movement) control and motor learning.
II. Why movement can “choke” under pressure
Ya’ll remember Nick Anderson in game 1 of the ‘96 Finals? Needed 1 free throw to make it a 2-possession game (forward to the 8:30 mark):
How about Blair Walsh missing a 27 yard FG from the left hash to win the Vikings’ NFC wild card game against the Seahawks?
Or Darius Washington Jr. in the ’05 Conference-USA championship game, 3 free throws for a ticket to the Big Dance:
David Beckham’s penalty kick during the shoot-out against Portugal in the quarter-finals of EURO 2004 (go to the 3:10 mark):
These are all prime examples of movement “choking” under stressful conditioning. There are a bunch of ideas out there as to why this occurs but I found 2 models and a handful of contributing factors to have good evidence behind them.
Ya’ll remember Nick Anderson in game 1 of the ‘96 Finals? Needed 1 free throw to make it a 2-possession game (forward to the 8:30 mark):
How about Blair Walsh missing a 27 yard FG from the left hash to win the Vikings’ NFC wild card game against the Seahawks?
Or Darius Washington Jr. in the ’05 Conference-USA championship game, 3 free throws for a ticket to the Big Dance:
David Beckham’s penalty kick during the shoot-out against Portugal in the quarter-finals of EURO 2004 (go to the 3:10 mark):
These are all prime examples of movement “choking” under stressful conditioning. There are a bunch of ideas out there as to why this occurs but I found 2 models and a handful of contributing factors to have good evidence behind them.
Plenty more at the link:
grandstandcentral.com/why-athletes-choke-under-pressure-12d1a256c531
... and neither is this Chris guy.