I have been playing volleyball for five years now and it never occurred to me try reading to improve some of my skills. While Reading Getting the edge written by Gabrielle Vanderhoof I came across one section that surprised me.Mental preparation and Safety (pages 29-45)
Before even talking about exercises or techniques there are vocabulary terms used such as Meditation, Visualization, floater, strapping, and buddy taping. i think it is important to highlight the main ideas before the audience reads the book. Second of all it occurred to me that Volleyball is a much more complicated sport that requires extra attention. Before even setting foot onto a court you need to be prepared mentally. "You must have a positive attitude and clear mind as this will improve you speed and reflexes." (Vanderhoof). Having a negative attitude will have an overall effect on your performance and makes you more susceptible to injury. To calm nerves or jitters there are many methods however listen to music or meditation are great examples. Before playing volleyball one method i like to use is Stretching and doing some sort of physical movement such as dancing or jumping jacks, sometimes as a team you can jump and cheer. This increases the blood flow to the brain and gives you some adrenaline calming or at least getting rid of your nerves. These pre-game warm ups will help you in any nervous situation.
What do you think would happen if no one prepared themselves before a game? how would this effect a performance?
I love how your first post has to do with the mental aspect of a sport rather than the physical activity. Many people don't realize the effects someone's confidence can have on their level of play. The part where you talked about how movement is connected to your brain and nerves is really interesting. Great job on thinking outside of the box and being original!
ReplyDeleteI know from firsthand experience that when players don't mentally prepare themselves, it's very difficult from them to move on after making mistakes. When this happens, they shut down and are unable to motivate themselves to keep playing. I think it's really great that you talk about mental preparation because volleyball is such a mental game in which you have to motivate/pump yourself up to succeed. Great job!
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