Educational work and psychological aspects of training

Regulating the Coach’s Mental State During Competitions

A. A. Seymuk and K. Ya. Moiseenko, Cand. Sc. (Biology), Associate Professor

English summary of Tyazhelaya Atletika. Ezhegodnik 1986 (Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1986), pp. 32–35: the text is paraphrased, not translated.

A coach directing an athlete or team performs three closely linked functions: cognitive, regulating and controlling. In the extreme conditions of competition this demands considerable mental reliability, which depends largely on the nervous system. For the lifter the extreme moment is mostly the lift itself, but for the coach the whole competition is close to extreme, and he must keep full command of his emotions, thoughts and actions throughout.

Stress visibly changes the coach’s emotional state and cardiovascular activity. His pulse reaches 114 beats/min in training and 140–150 at critical moments, close to the athletes’ own; the authors found 120–130 in weightlifting coaches. Emotional overstrain threatens the ability to assess situations objectively and foresee the course of the contest. An athlete’s tension fades through vigorous action and fatigue, but a coach’s can last long, and competitions often run several days. Many coaches complain of heart pain and insomnia. Exercise is recommended after training and tense competitions, yet it cannot normalise the mental state alone. The authors hold that mental self-regulation should underlie the coach’s behaviour and working capacity, and they tested this.

The experiment

Modified autogenic training was tested on 20 Honoured Coaches of the USSR and the republics, aged 38–50, during important competitions. Two equal groups were formed. After the competition the experimental group had an autogenic session and did physical exercises, while the control group rested passively. Measurements were taken 0.5 h before the competition and 1–5 and 20–25 min after it: heart rate (pulse tachometer and palpation), blood pressure (Korotkov), complex visual-motor reaction time (electromyoreflexometer), mental activity (N. E. Malkov) and well-being, activity and mood (SAN test).

Indicators changed substantially right after competition. The marked rise in blood pressure under excitement is explained by capillary capacity not increasing enough while the muscles did no work; frequent repetition, with a faster pulse, can lead to unfavourable shifts and later pathology. Longer reaction time and slower thinking hinder quick, sound decisions during competition and in planning tactics afterwards. In recovery nearly all indicators in the experimental group were much nearer baseline than in the control group, so autogenic training speeds restoration of the coach’s psychophysiological state.

Method

Coaches learned the method at training camps, in groups of 7–9, relaxing in a prepared room with athletes. A key condition is the ability to monitor one’s state through sensations of tension, fatigue and activity, physiological indicators (heart rate, skin resistance) and test results for higher mental functions; studying them under strain, fatigue or conflict speeds learning. Having mastered the autogenic feeling of relaxation and warmth in the muscles and the “exit” from the phase state, coaches use modified forms with exercises (stretching, trunk and arm exercises, coordination and attention exercises) for 7–14 min.

Some coaches complain in important competitions of irritability, haste and abrupt movements. After talks with them, colleagues and athletes and after observation, special formulas were devised, preferably with a specialist’s help. Examples:

• in disputes I watch my state, speak calmly, stay restrained and self-critical;
• in extreme situations my actions are sound and unhurried, and I instruct calmly;
• good relations benefit health and results; unfounded goals and promises harm them;
• I create a good attitude to plans and trust myself and my athletes;
• in conflict I stay calm, avoid categorical statements and assess circumstances quickly;
• I keep improving training and seek a scientific approach;
• in competition I watch how the athlete follows instructions, his condition after lifts, and signs of fatigue and emotion;
• in decisions I weigh experience, the athlete’s preparedness and state, conditions, others’ views and scientific advice.

These are only examples; each coach needs an individual approach, since unsuitable formulas may fail. Timely assessment of state, silent repetition of the formulas and recall of the required images regulate mental and physical state in any conditions.

Plan of the session

During competitions the coaches followed this plan:

1. Self-monitoring, comfortable position, calming breathing.
2. Autogenic relaxation and warmth in limbs, trunk, neck and face.
3. Warmth in the heart region, regulation of heart and breathing.
4. Relaxation and warmth in all muscles, calm, rest.
5. Refining the direction of work, correcting behaviour.
6. “Exit” from the phase state.
7. Physical exercises.
8. Checking the session’s effect and one’s state.
9. Preparation for work.

These measures removed irritability and nervous-emotional tension, reduced fatigue, hastened recovery of working capacity, improved central nervous system function, relations and well-being, and helped against insomnia, benefiting the coaches’ behaviour and results.