Level of Arousal
“Arousal is defined as being in an
energised mental state of alertness
and preparedness for an activity”.
Level of Arousal is Impacted by
You have two minutes on the clock to come up with as
many reasons for your level of arousal not being at its
optimum.
1
Criticism
Recovery
from
injury
Intimidation
by
opponents
Dips in
Form
?
Mistakes
Crowd
Pressure
Excitement
Anxiety
2
Level of Arousal
The key is to get “in the zone” and create a “performance bubble
Think of the catastrophic effect of
over arousal
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B5ioy3V
Niw - Tim Henman, cartoon.
Elite Athletes can get it wrong and lack of mental
fitness can impact performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkmrEqJiS
EE - Stephan Feck Dive
And Again
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scKTiWsh
GcI - Usain Bolt False Start
And Again
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXWbkbw
DUr4
• Chelsea v Man Utd Penalties
Optimum Arousal
Emotional
Physical
Mental
At their Peak
Sufficient
adrenalin to
create
excitement
Composure
Maintained
Cognitive
processes at
their most
productive
Under Aroused Performer
Over Relaxed
Not Hyped up
enough
Over
Confident
Lapses in
Concentration
Training suffers
due to a lack of
motivation
Distracted
Nervousness
and surge of
adrenalin
resulting in
unpredictable
behaviour.
Over
Aroused
Angry
Information
processing
system is
impaired
impacting
judgements/
decisions
Fear and
anxiety
consume a
performer
Lose of
timing,
balance,
fluency and
skill
repertoire
Over
stimulation
Missing
important
cues in a
game
Red Alerts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Errors due to nerves
Lack of drive to succeed
Blame culture rather than reflect on self
Dwell on the past rather than the future
Anger (focus on mistakes)
Impossible set goals
Anxiety dominates play
Concentration deteriorates
Fatigue (negative thoughts)
Psychological barriers
Impact Positively in badminton
In badminton being able to control
your level of arousal and get it to the
right level gets you prepared to do
your best. The performer can shut
out distractions and make the right
decisions throughout the match on
shot selection and movement. They
have confidence in their
performance and are less likely to
choke under pressure. They can
control the match and react to the
cues of the opposition to prepare
early and counter attack. They use
their experience to shake off any
issues in their performance to
regroup very quickly. For example if
a player serves twice out of the court
they quickly focus on past
experiences and maintain
concentration and correct the issue
immediately and never dwell on
faults.
• Lin Dan
He is a two-time Olympic champion, fivetime world champion, and five-time All
England champion. Widely considered to
be the greatest badminton player of all
time,
Final Thoughts
Performers often need to build or rebuild their arousal
level to the optimum state. Here are a few examples
• https://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=_vlVvxypZ
J4 – Bolt 200m World
Record
• https://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=ebZVMc0
NKZs NZ Rugby Haka