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Overcoming Performance Anxiety When Playing Sports

By Arnoldo Watson

 Picture the scenario, if you want.

You're at the big one, playing Madison Square Garden. You're in front of a sold-out crowd, thousands of people chanting your name, with half of them wanting you to choke and the other eager to see you deliver the goods. You're down to the last few seconds of the game and you can feel yourself buckling under the pressure. Then, just as you see the perfect opening you can exploit to land that right cross, take him down for the count, and grab the championship, you choke. Your performance anxiety gets the better of you and you choke. You pass on the opportunity and, for just a split second, leave yourself open. It isn't much of a window, but you're up against an experienced hitter, and he takes the shot. A split second later, you're out.

It is far from pleasant, but for some boxers, this is a harsh and real possibility. The slightest opening you afford your opponent can result in you being taken down for the count. However, boxers aren't the only ones that end up in this sort of situation. Athletes will always experience a certain degree of nervousness while playing, though the reasons may vary. For some, it is the pressure to excel and prove oneself worthy of their place in the team. For others, they have a reputation that they have to uphold. Anxiety can, really, be caused by a number of reasons.

Performance anxiety can literally cost you a championship. However, the problem isn't just a one-time thing that strikes at the most critical point of a match. performance anxiety is at its most annoying when it becomes a constant problem for the athlete while he's performing in that all-important game. It is that twitching in your nerves that causes you to miss that crucial three-point shot. It is that miscalculation in your mind that makes you strike out when your team desperately needs a home run. Performance anxiety is that single mistimed step that gets you trampled by the opposing team as you're going for a touchdown.

Of course, performance anxiety does not necessarily have to be limited to one's performance come the big game. Several of history's greatest sports superstars, from Michael Jordan to Wayne Gretzky, from Muhammad Ali to Babe Ruth, all experienced it at one point or another. For some, it is when facing off against their infamous rival, like that third bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frasier. For others, it is that first away game of the season, far from the support of the hometown crowd and right in the middle of what can be considered enemy territory. For some athletes, the anxiety comes when they know that people important to them are watching them in the arena, such as family or a significant other.

For many experts, it is no longer about how to prevent performance anxiety. In many ways, athletes will always be nervous about performing, even if the game is a low-pressure one. The focus right now is finding ways to help the athlete be effective despite the anxiety and fear he's feeling. There is really no way to prevent being nervous, but there are ways that coaches and players can utilize to get around the impediments presented by that anxiety. The most common way is to train the player to see his own anxiety as a challenge, using it as motivation to push him to excel despite his fears that he may not be up to the standards expected of him by the crown and his teammates.

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Good Advice For Planning A Great Camping Trip

By Arnoldo Watson

 Camping is essentially for those of us who love the outdoors and can do without all of the comforts of home for a short while. However, just loving the outdoors is not enough to guarantee that the experience will be a fun one. The essentials of having fun in the great outdoors are preparation and an open mind. Preparation is easy, if you follow some simple rules.

When you are getting ready to plan a trip, you must select a convenient time that will give you flexibility of one to two days. This will make the trip more about you, and less about your timetable. You may run into weather problems or you may just want to camp for an extra day. Next, choose a location and make it specific. Don't just choose a county where you saw a campground. Call the campground or the park office and get reservations or information about the time you have allotted. Many parks are happy give you information and tips about what to expect. The most complicated step in preparation is making a list of what to bring. Making a list is essential and your list will change dramatically the more you trips you take.

The first thing you need to put on your list of things to take is the things that will get you there. If you are hiking to a campsite, list the number of backpacks. If you are simply driving to a site, list the number of cars. Then you must plan your shelter and sleeping situation.

Remember, tents are a luxury and heavy to carry. Hikers usually bring a plastic tarp that can shelter up to four people. With a tarp, you can tie it between trees for cover from the elements. Many time you won't even need that but you can always lay the tarp on the ground to designate a clean sleeping area. After this has been set, you will go over what food you will need. We stress need here. Stray from fresh produce and meets because they spoil easy and their scent attracts animals and insects. Stick to dried food and canned items. Canned items will add weight, but they are more calorie rich and very easy to cook in multiple situations. Most of your food should be snacks, so that you don't have to cook very much. Trail mix and yogurt covered raisins will fill you up more than you think, and they are a cheap alternative to buying food from camping stores that hike up the price on dried meals.

The last things you will put on your list are what will make you comfortable. Minimal clothing is best. One of each type of outfit is best. One pair of shorts, pants, sweatshirt, tee, and a couple pairs of undergarments including socks is enough. One poncho will take up minimal space. Small LED flash lights will get you around at night if you stray from the fire. Then make sure you have some things to keep you busy. Books, playing cards and a nerf football are all light and can be very entertaining for hours on end. As long as you don't start dragging along things that aren't meant for the outdoors, you should be fine. Remember that everything will be at home when you get back. Most importantly make a not of the things you didn't use and the things you wished you brought. That will make each trip you take more enjoyable and different than the last.

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Make Or Break Time In The NFL

By Carlton Payne

 The career of an NFL player can be a long and twisting road. There are no formulas for success and no tangible formulas for failure. However, every season, certain players have to know that if they don't perform that year, their future earning potential could be seriously hampered to the point where they are either out of the league altogether or they must begin to view themselves as "journeymen" who will never sign that elusive enormous free agent contract that sets them up financially for life.

We've identified five such players whose situations will be most interesting in 2006. Surely there are more than five players in the NFL who must perform this season in order for their high earning potential to remain a real possibility, but we feel that these five present the most intriguing situations.

1. J.P. Losman

It seems awfully early for this year to be Losman's make-or-break season, but the young QB is facing the possibility of being traded, released or being relegated to a long-term backup role if he doesn't show improvement early in the 2006 season. The Bills gave up a lot to earn the right to draft Losman in 2004, and the team jettisoned established starter Drew Bledsoe last year to give Losman the opportunity to start. Losman struggled mightily, and was replaced by Kelly Holcomb. This offseason, the Bills signed Craig Nall from the Packers and currently have Holcomb listed at the top of the depth chart. Losman needs to grab hold of the job immediately and hold onto it, lest he be cast to the scrap heap.

2. Chad Pennington

Pennington was seen not long ago as the possible "next Joe Montana" given the similarities in style, statistics and leadership he appeared to have in common with the 49ers' legend. However, his throwing shoulder was shredded twice, and his ability to stay healthy and viable in the long-term is in serious doubt. The Jets have a new coaching staff and have no prior commitment to Pennington, who needs to show that he is healthy and can be durable in order for him to stick with the Jets. If not, the team will almost assuredly look in a different direction for a QB.

3. Aaron Brooks

Brooks took the league by storm in 2000 when he lead the New Orleans Saints to the playoffs, and his career seemed destined for certain stardom at that time. Since then, his long-term outlook, as well as his play, has regressed dramatically. The Saints let him go after last season, and he was signed by the Raiders. The Saints replaced Brooks with Drew Brees, another QB with shoulder questions, and Brooks must perform with the Raiders in order to prevent his new team from turning to a young and promising QB currently sitting behind Brooks on the depth chart, Andrew Walter.

4. Jamal Lewis

Lewis was one of the most feared RBs in the NFL as recently as 2003, when he rushed for an astounding 2,066 yards. His career has taken a turn for the worse since then as a result of injuries, legal problems and a baffling decline in production. Lewis was a free agent after the 2005 season, but after getting no big-time offers, returned to the Ravens with a relatively modest one-year contract. Although Lewis doesn't turn 27 until August, he has taken a beating in the NFL and must show that he can still carry the load if he's to get a big payday in 2007.

5. Charles Rogers

Rogers was the second overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Detroit Lions, and he came into the league with enormous expectations. Since then he has done nothing but disappoint his team and their fans. Rogers has been hurt repeatedly, and played in only six games in his first two seasons. Not only has his health been questioned, as he broke his clavicle several times, but his work ethic has also been assailed by various officials associated with the team. The Lions have many other WRs on the roster who came into the league with the same expectations, and if Rogers doesn't show something immediately, he may not even make it to training camp.

Over the course of history in the NFL, many players face the same situation in a given year as the five mentioned above. Some have seen the writing on the wall and excelled, and others have faded into the sunset. History also tells us that some of the players listed here will go on to successful careers and others will not. What is certain is that each of these situations bears watching in the coming weeks and months.

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Clutch MLB Players Deliver When It Counts

By Carlton Payne

 They exist in every sport-players who can deliver when it counts the most and when the pressure is on. After a while the feats of such players take on a life of their own-a mythology starts to surround them. In baseball, their final inning home runs soar out of stadiums like guided missiles, their fielding plays start to include jumps and stretches that would rate "10's" from Olympic diving judges, and their willingness to take one for the team makes you think they deserve the Congressional Medal of Honor. So who are those few ball players who rise to the occasion when that occasion demands something big, stunning, and final?

Part fact and part fiction, clutch players aren't judged so much by how many game-winning plays they make but by the circumstances under which they make them. Reggie Jackson built a career on heroics that annually occurred during the tenth month of the year, earning him the appellation "Mr. October."

Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez has had a lot of hits that have won games, but often they've come early in the game or in contests that were not in the limelight. He's also made amazing defensive plays throughout his career. However, large numbers of fans, including many lovers of the Bronx Bombers, see him as a goat-the ultimate choke artist. That's because more often than not when in a big game, he hasn't come through or he's made a mistake. His other problem is that he has never been on a World Series winning team.

His teammate, Derek Jeter, is known as one of the best clutch fielders and hitters in the game. When in the national spotlight, Jeter has delivered. Who can forget the play against the Red Sox a few years ago when Jeter gave up his body and sailed into the stands to catch a foul ball, getting injured in the process?

There's a certain cache that comes with being a cardiac kid-someone who takes the final game, the last play, the ultimate moment to the limit. In 2004, David Ortiz did it in both American League playoff series-first against the Angels and then against the Yankees. Last inning game tying and winning homeruns and hits seemed to fly off his bat at will. Big Papi became ensconced on the public stage. The following season, he continued his late game clutch performances, which resulted in Ortiz being compared to Boston's patron saint of the big hit-Carl Yastrzemski.

Chicago White Sox third baseman Joe Crede, of last year's World Series Champs, was given the name Captain Clutch due to his unbelievable defensive plays and decisive late-inning hits. Crede had a dismal first playoff series, batting only .111. But in the American League Championship Series and the World Series, he banged a total of 4 homeruns and hit .333. The thing about being known as a clutch player is people will forget and forgive the .111 performance if you make up for it later in an even bigger situation. That's exactly what Crede did.

Consider Albert Pujols, first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals. Many feel he's the best hitter in baseball and his performances in post-season contests underpin this reputation. Pujols has been in the post-season for the past 4 out of 5 years. His batting average for those games is .336. In 37 games, he's had 10 homeruns, 29 RBI and 28 runs scored. He's struck out only 27 times.

Is Pujols a clutch hitter? He is. Is he known as one? Pujols has only been in one World Series and in those four games he had 5 hits, 0 RBI and 1 run scored. Although he batted .333, he didn't have one extra-base hit. It was the series in which the Boston Red Sox easily won their first World Series in 86 years. In those games, Pujols was a non-entity, as was the entire Cardinal team, and his former achievements paled in the glow of the charismatic Red Sox team of Idiots.

Clutch players are known as clutch players as much due to the public's perception of them as for their achievements, and the more buzz those achievements create the more clutch a player becomes.

The Braves' Andruw Jones, Blue Jays' Troy Glaus, and Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki, like Pujols, are some of the finest defensive and offensive forces presently in MLB. They've all had amazing performances in numerous games. They are true clutch players, especially in the eyes of the fans who see them play day-in and day-out.

However, where the general public is concerned, these players have not reached the status of a David Ortiz or a Derek Jeter. Before they can do that, they'll have to do amazing things on the biggest stage in Major League baseball. In order for that to happen, they need a little bit of luck, the right circumstances, and a great team that can give them the chance to make the unbelievable catch or smash the huge hit that wins the game and solidifies their reputation forever.

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