In: Coping in Sport: Theory, Methods, and Related Constructs (pp.159-175).

Editor: Adam R. Nicholls. Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 9

COPING WITH ANXIETY IN SPORT

Yuri L. Hanin

KIHU-Research Institute for Olympic Sports, Finland

Chapter In: Adam Nicholls (Ed.). Coping in Sport: Concepts, Issues, and Related
Constructs, Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

ABSTRACT

This chapter describes an individualized and evidence-based approach to coping

with anxiety in high-achievement sport. The Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning
(IZOF) model as applied to pre-competition anxiety (Hanin, 1978, 1995) and
performance-related emotions (Hanin, 2000, 2004, 2007) is used as a framework to
examine the relationship between anxiety and emotion-focused and action-focused
coping. Anxiety is emotional experience (state-like, trait-like and meta-experience) and a
component of psychobiosocial state which can be described along five basic dimensions:
form, content, intensity, context and time. Individually optimal intensity of anxiety is
used as criterion to evaluate if the current and anticipated anxiety should be reduced,
increased, or maintained at a level that is optimal for the individual. Guidelines for
anxiety-centered coping are proposed with the emphasis on emotion- and action-focused
strategies that affect situational emotional experiences accompanying performance. The
Identification-Control-Correction (ICC) program (Hanin & Hanina, 2009a,b) provides the
step-wise procedures to optimize the process of task execution. Successful action-focused
coping is reflected in emotion dynamics signaling a shift from the dysfunctional to
functionally optimal person-environment (P-E) interactions. Both reactive and
anticipatory coping strategies are relevant to achieve an optimal balance between current
(or anticipated) task demands and personal resources. Future research should focus on
coping with trait-like emotional experiences, meta-experiences, anticipatory coping, and
the role of change and change management in coping.

INTRODUCTION

To understand coping and to evaluate its effectiveness, we need to know what the
person is coping with (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, p. 141) and how does the target of
coping affect the process of coping. What is the interplay between emotion and coping as
a critical factor in determining an athlete’s potential success in competitive sport

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(Thatcher, Lavallee, & Jones, 2004, p. 5)? These questions are considered in this chapter
from the perspective of the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model
which was initially proposed to examine pre-competition anxiety (Hanin, 1978, 1995)
and later elaborated for research of emotion-performance relationships in sport (Hanin,
1997, 2000, 2004, 2007).

I believe that effective coping requires individual-oriented idiographic approach

and the process perspective (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, see Nicholls & Polman, 2007 for
a systematic review). Research shows that negatively-toned emotions are not always
detrimental for athletic performance and positively-toned emotions (such as self-
confident or being pleased) are not always beneficial for all performers (see for reviews
Hanin, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2007; Hanin & Syrjä, 1995, 1996; Harmison, 2006; Robazza,
2006; Ruiz, 2004a,b). Therefore, although state anxiety is the main focus in this chapter,
coping with negatively-toned and positively-toned emotions affecting performance
process are also examined. Emotion-performance relationships are bi-directional: pre-
event emotions have either beneficial or detrimental impact on performance and on-going
performance process affects mid-event and post-event emotional experiences.
Accordingly, two groups of coping strategies are identified. Emotion-focused coping aims
to manage (master, reduce, or tolerate – Folkman & Lazarus, 1985, p. 152) discrete
emotions or global affect; whereas in action-focused coping, the athlete’s focus is on the
optimization of task execution process (Hanin & Hanina, 2009a,b). If the athlete is
coping with a single emotion (anxiety, anger, or complacency), the term “centered” is
appropriate for instance, anxiety-centered coping).

Change Management and Coping

High-achievement sport is a special setting with a constant change and the need
for change management. That makes it a very special environment for the study of stress
and stress-induced emotions like anxiety. In fact, “the essence of stress, coping, and
adaptation is change… and unless we focus on change we cannot learn how people come
to manage stressful events and conditions… (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985, p. 150).
Top-level athletes need to be ready for constant change and change management.
Coping with anxiety is actually coping with change. Potential gain and loss are behind all
stress-induced emotional experiences (Lazarus, 2000).
There are certain myths about change: all changes are quick, painless, cost
nothing, and have the same meaning for all people involved. Actually the opposite is true:
the change requires time; it is often very painful and may cost a lot; finally, change has
different meaning for different people. Change is difficult for people because requires
individuals to find new ways of doing things; change creates uncertainty and requires
additional work. Successful change is impossible without adjustment; behind almost all
changes is additional demand on available resources leading to either loss or gain of an
athlete’s own resources.
A four-stage model of change proposed in organizational setting (Scott & Jaffe,
1989), which is relevant for anxiety-centered coping, is based on distinction between
different emotions of people going through change process. These stages include denial,
resistance, exploration (or search), and active involvement. Interestingly, anxiety can be

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observed in people not only in denial and resistance stages but also in exploration and
commitment stages.

THE IZOF MODEL AS A FRAMEWORKFOR ANXIETY-CENTERED COPING

The IZOF model, developed in the naturalistic setting of elite sport, holds that
emotion is a component of the psychobiosocial state conceptualized as a situational,
multi-modal and dynamic manifestation of the total human functioning (Hanin, 1997,
2000). There are several empirically supported assumptions in the IZOF model that are
relevant for emotion-focused and action-focused coping. For instance, each athlete has
individually optimal anxiety level (high, moderate or low) (Hanin, 1978, 1986) and a
constellation of individually optimal and dysfunctional emotion content, described by
athlete-generated idiosyncratic markers (Hanin, 1997, 2000). The notion of optimal
intensity zones reflects individual differences within athletes’ ability to recruit and utilize
efficiently available resources. Optimal pleasant and unpleasant emotions indicate
availability of basic and emergency resources and their effective recruitment and
utilization by producing energising and organising effects. In contrast, dysfunctional
unpleasant and pleasant emotions reflect a lack of resources or their inefficient
recruitment and utilization resulting in dis-energising and dis-organising effects of
emotions upon performance.
Based on extensive studies of pre-competition anxiety and observations of elite
athletes, a program for individualized intervention to optimize pre-competition anxiety
was proposed and used in applied work with elite rowers and weightlifters (Hanin, 1980,
1986). Specifically, this intervention included: retrospectively establishing optimal
anxiety level and zones; assessing actual and anticipated pre-start anxiety and attitudes
towards competition 5-7 days prior to competition; comparing anticipated and actual
(current) anxiety with pre-established optimal intensity; and managing (reducing,
maintaining or increasing) anxiety level to help athletes enter and stay in the their optimal
intensity zones. Annesi’s (1998) intervention study with three skilled tennis players was
one of the first well documented intervention investigations examining the efficacy of the
selected principles of the IZOF model. Annesi identified the optimal zones using the
Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2; Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, &
Smith, 1990) and taught athletes to enter their zones in order to enhance their
performance during the season. However, his study was limited to the assessments of pre-
competition anxiety using CSAI-2 and to the application of researcher-generated self-
regulation strategies which are sometimes ineffective or even inappropriate for individual
performers. For instance, Murphy and Jowdy (1992) reported a case of an athlete who
was requested to focus on a bright metal ball to concentrate better but when the athlete
tried to use this cue the ball “exploded.
These concerns were addressed by assessing anxiety, and positively-toned, and
negatively-toned emotions, and somatic symptoms using athlete-generated idiosyncratic
descriptors (Robazza, Pellizzari & Hanin, 2004). These investigators also identified self-
regulation strategies that the athletes used in their best performances and how they coped
with difficult performance situations. Other studies also provided support of the
effectiveness of individualized approach to emotion-focused coping (Minouchi, 2006;
Robazza, Bortoli, & Nougier 2000, 2002).

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Performance-Related Anxiety

State anxiety is defined as “a temporal cross-section in the conscious stream-of-

life of a person consisting of subjective feelings of worry, tension, nervousness, and
apprehension accompanied by the arousal of autonomic nervous system ”(Spielberger,
Gorsuch & Lushene, 1970). Similarly, Lazarus provides a detailed description of many
faces of anxiety as unique existential emotion: “Synonyms for anxiety include
apprehension, unease, concern, and worry… When we are anxious, we are unable to
relax. We experience the sense that something wrong in the situation or in our lives. We
are uneasy, worry, are troubled with intrusive thoughts that we cannot put to rest, and we
want to avoid or escape from upcoming confrontations that are the concrete
manifestations of our concern. Anxiety in many respects a unique emotion. Its dramatic
plot is an uncertain threat (Lazarus & Lazarus, 1994, p. 46-47, italics added). These
“feeling state” definitions of anxiety suggest that it is associated with person’s ill-being
poor wellbeing) with the implication that anxiety should be always reduced (Diener,
2000; Emmons & Diener, 1985). However, research shows that functionally (Oatley &
Jenkins, 1992) high anxiety especially in top-level sport is often beneficial for athletic
performance (Hanin, 1978; 1995; Mahoney & Avenir, 1977; Raglin, 1992; Raglin &
Hanin, 2000).

Anxiety as emotional experience

The definition of anxiety as an emotional stress-induced reaction captures only

one aspect of the person-environment (P-E) relationships. According to Vygotsky
(1926/1984), to study something as indivisible whole (entirety), it is necessary to use a
construct that captures the characteristics of both interacting elements. In psychology, P-
E interactions can be explored by examining the experience relating to a person’s attitude
towards environment and exploring the meaning of environment for this person.
Experience also has a biosocial orientation and is best represented as a unit of
consciousness. Thus the analysis of any difficult situation should focus not so much on
the situation or on person per se but on how a particular situation is experienced by a
particular person.
Coping processes are centered on performance-related experience which is a
component of the total human functioning that reflects the nature of past, on-going, or
anticipated P-E interactions. The P-E interactions, as relationships between task demands
(constraints) and a person’s resources, include predominance of an organism over
environment, the balance between person and environment, and the predominance of
environment over an organism. Performance-related anxiety usually reflects disrupted P-
E relationship when task demands are perceived as taxing or exceeding the person’s
resources (Lazarus, 1991, Vygotsky, 1926/1984). According to Vygotsky’s suggestion,
situational emotions are construed as reflecting the dynamics P-E interactions. From this
perspective, coping as a goal-oriented activity involves “constantly changing cognitive
and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are
appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person”… (Lazarus & Folkman,
1984, p. 141).

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Anxiety as State-Like, Trait-Like and Meta-Experience

Three types of interrelated experiences include: state-like, trait-like, and meta-

experiences. State-like experience of anxiety describes how tense, nervous, uncertain or
worried the athlete was in a specific situation perceived as threatening. The intensity of
this experience varies greatly across different athletes in the same situation and across
different situations in the same athlete. Trait-like experiences of anxiety are relatively
stable patterns of typical (habitual) emotional response by the athlete in similar situations.
Trait anxiety indicates how often the athlete experiences elevated anxiety and feels
nervous, tense or apprehensive prior to or during competition. Meta-experiences
characterize the person’s awareness of harmful or helpful effects of anxiety upon
performance and his or her attitudes and preferences for high or low anxiety (Hanin,
2004, 2007; Mayer & Stevens, 1994). As lessons learned by athletes who will have
experienced in different performance situations, meta-experiences determine appraisal
and re-appraisal of performance situations and a choice of coping strategies that are
deployed.
Implication for coping. The distinction between state-trait-meta experiences is
helpful in selection of effective coping strategies. First, state-like anxiety levels (actual,
optimal, dysfunctional, and anticipated) and intensity zones can be identified. Second,
trait-like anxiety is assessed to estimate if the existing patterns can be potential barriers to
anxiety management (old habits in emotional response). Finally, meta-anxiety as
attitudes about experiencing anxiety (“worrying about worrying”) determines the need to
manage this response to avoid its potential detrimental effect on appraisals and re-
appraisals.

Multidimensionality of anxiety and coping

Five basic dimensions posited in the IZOF model describe the defining
characteristics of state-like experiences as a component of psychobiosocial (PBS)
performance-related state (Hanin, 2000, 2003). Thus anxiety as emotional experience is
always manifested in some form (subjectively perceived or observable); it has specific
content (or quality); it is characterized quantitatively and qualitatively by its intensity;
and as a process emotion unfolds over time (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985) in a particular
context (in practices or competitions). The following sections examine how state-like
anxiety can affect the coping process.
Form dimension. This suggests that state anxiety is manifested in affective
modality related to several other components of psychobiosocial state. These component
labels with selected descriptors include cognitive (alert, focused, confused, distracted),
affective (worried, nervous, happy, angry, joyful, fearful), motivational (motivated,
willing, desirous, interested), volitional (determined, brave, daring, persistent), bodily
(tired, jittery, restless, sweaty, painless, breathless), motor-behavioral (sluggish, relaxed,
sharp), operational (smooth, effortless, easy, clumsy actions), and communicative
(connected, related, in touch) modalities. The validity of these assumptions regarding
multimodal description of PBS states were tested empirically in different sports (Bortoli,
Bertollo, & Robazza, 2009; Bortoli & Robazza, 2007; Hanin & Stambulova, 2002; Ruiz
& Hanin, 2004 a, b; Würth & Hanin, 2005).

5
 Implications for coping. A coping process can include different modalities of the
PBS state and should not be limited to “cognitive and behavioral” efforts. Thus form-
based coping efforts may include motivation-centered, volition-centered, bodily-centered,
action-centered, and communication-centered strategies. Obviously, anxiety-centered
coping will impact not only affective modality (other emotions) but also the concomitants
of anxiety as a component of the PBS state. Therefore, in coping, it is useful to identify
the target modality and how it interacts with other components of the PBS state.

Anxiety Content Dimension

Qualitatively, the content of anxiety as a negatively-toned emotional experience

can be described either by researcher-generated labels from available anxiety scales or by
using idiosyncratic (athlete-generated) markers. For instance, Spielberger et al., (1970)
subscale of the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI) includes the following “anxiety
present” items as synonyms of anxiety: tense, strained, upset, worrying, frightened,
nervous, jittery, indecisive, worried, and confused. Interestingly, “anxiety-absent”
subscale was also used in assessments of anxiety and it included “self-confidence” and
“complacency” items (calm, secure, at ease, satisfied, comfortable, self-confident,
relaxed, content, steady, and pleasant).
In high achievement sport, the individual-oriented approach is especially relevant
and the content of emotional experiences is categorized within the framework of two
related factors: functioning (success-failure) and feeling (good-bad). The four derived
categories include success-related functionally optimal pleasant (P+) and unpleasant
(N+) emotions and failure-related dysfunctional unpleasant (N-) and pleasant (P-)
emotions. These four categories help to identify the idiosyncratic labels of emotional
experiences relevant for performance and reflecting the readiness to perform from an
athlete’s perspective (Hanin, 1997, 2000).
This emotion content categorization concurs well with Folkman & Lazarus’s
(1985) suggestion to group 15 discrete emotions into four appraisal categories.
Anticipatory category includes threat emotions (worried, fearful, and anxious) and
challenge emotions (confident, hopeful, and eager); whereas outcome category includes
harm emotions (angry, sad, disappointed, guilty, and disgusted) and benefit emotions
(exhilarated, pleased, happy, and relieved).
Apparently, pre-competitive anxiety falls mainly into anticipatory (threat
emotion) category. The mid-event and post-event experiences include intermediate or
final outcome emotion (harm or benefit emotions) category.
At different stages of performance process (preparation, task execution,
evaluation) a constellation of different emotions is experienced. The anticipatory
category (P+ challenge emotions and N+ threat emotions) is functionally optimal prior to
and during performance. In contrast, the outcome-related category (N- harm emotions
and P- benefit emotions), is apparently optimal in post-performance situations, but is
dysfunctional (distracting attentional resources) prior to or during performance.
Implications for coping. Research could benefit from idiosyncratic description of
anxiety content by compiling researcher-generated labels from existent anxiety scales and
athlete-generated markers. In anxiety-centered coping, assessment of emotions other than

6
anxiety is also recommended to capture the impact of different anticipatory and outcome
emotions.

Anxiety Intensity Dimension

High inter-individual variability of optimal anxiety suggests that individual-

oriented assessments and coping are preferable to group-oriented approaches. Research
shows that about 65 % of athletes perform well if their anxiety level is either high or low
(see Hanin, 1980, 1995; Jokela & Hanin, 1999; Raglin & Hanin, 2000 for review). The
“in-out of zone” notion describes anxiety-performance relationships at the individual
level and suggests that optimal intensity of anxiety (high, moderate, or low) produces
beneficial effect on individual performance (Hanin, 1978, 1995). Athletes perform up to
their potential if their actual anxiety is within the earlier established optimal zones of
intensity. If an athlete’s actual anxiety state is out of her optimal zone, she is likely to
perform below her potential.
Implications for coping. Anxiety as unpleasant emotional state seems to require
reduction or minimization to enhance subjective well-being (Hammons & Diener, 1985).
However, from the functioning perspective, in high-achievement sport, individually
optimal intensity of anxiety can be high, moderate or low in different athletes. Thus
current anxiety in athletes should be increased, decreased or maintained at individually
optimal level. The direction of coping (intended impact) is based on the comparison
between individually optimal zones and actual level of intensity. Individualized coping
aims not only to help an athlete enter (or re-enter) the optimal zones (high, moderate,
low), but also to stay away from the dysfunctional zones by keeping the intensity of
performance-impairing emotions at a low level of intensity. Finally, research involving
multi-event sports (Hanin, 1983) suggests that, for instance, the gymnast or decathlete
may have different optimal anxiety within different events. More research is warranted to
estimate if these differences are related to task demands, athlete’s resources, or to the
athlete’s readiness for competition.

Time Dimension

Time dimension includes topological (phases, cycles, sequencing, periodicity)

and metric (duration, frequency) characteristics of anxiety and other emotional
experiences. Short-term dynamics involves changes in emotion content and intensity
across three stages of athletic performance: pre-event preparation, task execution, and
post-event evaluation.
In pre-, mid-event situations the anticipatory pleasant (P+ challenge) and
unpleasant (N+ threat) emotions are usually optimal for athletic performance, whereas
outcome pleasant (P- complacency) and unpleasant (N- dejection) emotions are harmful
and dysfunctional (Hanin, 2000). In post-performance situations outcome emotions are
optimal unless they carry-over excessive complacency or disappointment as a spill-over
effect to the forthcoming competition or competition-extraneous context (Cerin &
Barnett, in press; Hanin, 2004). Similarly, high anxiety prior to and during performance
can be beneficial for some athletes but detrimental in post-performance situations, if it
disturbs recovery. On the other hand, there is a special need to cope with positively-toned

7
emotions: pre-event complacency is usually detrimental; whereas elevated challenge
emotions in post-performance situations may sometimes deplete available resources.
Implications for coping. The coping process should consider the role of temporal
patterns in emotion-performance relationships. It is expected that the content and
intensity of optimal and dysfunctional emotions change over time. Therefore, in emotion-
focused coping one should consider the patterns of emotions in pre-task, mid-task and
post-task stages of performance process and also the transition patterns of appraisals
between these three stages. In the case of anxiety-centered coping, the focus should be on
anxiety and also on related emotional experiences. It is also important to distinguish
between reactive (immediate) coping aiming to manage current emotions and actions and
anticipatory coping focused on what can possibly happen.

Context Dimensions

Context dimension is an environmental characteristic of the impact of situational,

interpersonal, intra-group, and organizational factors on emotion intensity and content
(Hanin, 1989, 1992; Nicholls & Polman, 2007). Emotional experiences of varying form,
content and intensity are usually observed in different settings (context). Situational
impact is manifested in emotional experiences triggered in practices and competitions by
athletes’ anticipated or real contacts and interactions with significant others (a partner, a
coach, and team-mates). Context dimension also includes culturally coded and culturally
determined beliefs of participants about expected impact of specific emotions on their
performance and about the rules of emotion display (expression or suppression) in a
particular sub-culture.
Current research in sport psychology examines several contexts including
successful and unsuccessful competitions of varying significance (local, national,
international), and different practice sessions. Additionally, a number of individually
difficult situations or specific performance episodes may have a special meaning for
athletes and the teams (weather conditions, competition sites, good and bad memories of
past performances). These situations may also include qualifications, performance in the
finals, play-offs, competing against a “weaker” opponent; and performing after repeated
success or a series of slumps.
Implications for coping. Contrasting interpersonal and intra-group anxiety with
individually optimal performance-related anxiety can be helpful in the selection of coping
strategies. Based on this information, a focused supportive group environment or stressful
situations could be created to reinforce required optimal regimens of communication in
the group/team (see Hanin, 1978, 1989, 1992 for review). For instance, the stress caused
by negative feedback from the coach may facilitate sometimes coping with the players’
excessive complacency prior to or during important games. A target of emotion-focused
coping is usually performance-related emotional experiences (state-like, trait-like or
meta-experiences). Individually optimal and dysfunctional feeling states are identified
and contrasted with the anticipated and actual emotional states. Based on this
comparison, emotion regulation is undertaken with two criteria to evaluate the
effectiveness of coping: a change in the intensity and content of emotional state and its
expected impact on performance. Obviously, coping targeted to optimize emotion-
performance relationship involves both emotion-focused and action-focused coping

8
strategies. In this approach, expert athletes’ subjective experiences and their performance
history are the main source of information for the selection of appropriate coping
strategies (see, for instance, Appendix 1).

ACTION-FOCUSED COPING WITH ANXIETY

By definition, action-focused coping deals usually with a task execution or

performance process involving the athlete’s actions or a movement sequence (“chain”)
performed in competition. Inconsistency of athletic performance due to the unexpected
technical difficulties is manifested in (a) instability of technique and a failure to
consistently deliver expected results; (b) a sudden “breakdown” (or a “loss”) of skill; and
(c) “habitual” performance errors under competitive stress. Performance difficulties in
top-level athletes are often related to changes in preparation, technique, coaching staff,
etc. Athletes experience serious difficulties in dealing with these situations. For instance,
the Olympic-level athlete was amazed and disappointed: “… my discus just did not fly,
although my strength level is higher than ever. Everything should be OK but for some
reasons the results are simply not there… “. Other quotes tell the same story: “I don’t
know how or why it happened”, “something happened to my technique”, “whatever I
tried did not help”, “I tried too much”, “my focus was not clear”, “I was distracted by
irrelevant details”, etc. These comments suggest that the athletes are not in control of
performance and cannot manage the action process. Poor results, especially in
competitions, trigger harm emotions (anger, disappointment, guilt, and sadness). These
negatively-toned stress emotions shift to anticipatory threat emotions (anxiety, fear, and
worry) about forthcoming competitions and this vicious circle goes on. Interestingly,
athletes often complain about excessive pre-competition anxiety, fear, or a lack of self-
confidence as a problem and a cause of their underperformance.
This is a typical situation when performance disruption is a primary problem
leading to emotional distress (a secondary problem). Emotion-focused coping using
conventional mental skills programs may temporally improve the situation, especially
during practices but not during competitions. Action-focused coping would be the best
option in this situation but, it is athletes and coaches as expert performers who
traditionally are dealing with physical, technical, and tactical aspects of preparation.
A general framework for action-focused coping with performance difficulties and
related emotions across different sports would be helpful to enhance a cooperation
between sport psychologists, athletes, and coaches.
Such a framework was developed and tested in multiple case-studies in athletics
(jumping, throwing, and running), swimming, diving, car racing, pistol shooting, volley-
ball, and soccer. This new sports-specific research-based psycho-pedagogical program
(termed Identification-Control-Correction – ICC program) is an extension of the IZOF
model and deals mainly with performance difficulties in top-level athletes.
The ICC program includes identification of individually optimal performance,
control and monitoring of performance in practices and competitions, and correction of
habitual errors. In the sections that follow, a brief overview of the assessment procedures
employed in the ICC program is provided. The entire approach is described in more
details elsewhere (Hanin & Hanina, 2009a,b; Hanin & Hanina, 2006; Hanin, Korjus,
Jouste, & Baxter, 2002). ).

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Identification of Individually Optimal Performance

In the identification of individually optimal performance, the athlete constructs an

image of the motor task in her sport as a chain of interrelated action components. For
instance, the Olympic level diver described a forward dive in pike position with 2.5
somersaults (105B) as a sequence of eight action components: forward approach, pre-
jump (hurdle), take off, throw the arms forward, pike down, line up and water entry (see
Hanin & Hanina, 2009 b, pp. 89-91 for details).
A list of self-generated task components serves as a starting point for reflection to
increase conceptual (self-knowledge) and physical (bodily) awareness of the optimal
movement pattern. Optimal execution of each component in the chain (movement
sequence) is then described with accompanying experiences. To identify and enhance an
athlete’s awareness of optimal and non-optimal movement patterns and to examine the
differences between successful and unsuccessful task executions, athlete selects seven
personally best and seven poor task executions in their specific event. Self-ratings help
the athlete to learn the rating procedure and see if a draft of the initially selected
components works well in self-descriptions. Usually self-ratings of 10-15 task executions
are sufficient to make an athlete aware of effects of different components on performance
outcomes and how these components affect each other. Athletes also begin to understand
how their different foci affect performance (Rantanen, Hanin, & Hanina, 2007).
By the end of the action identification, athletes have a clear picture of the
components of the chain and understand the role of optimal difference in intensity of
effort (starting and final). Athletes are also aware of the variability ranges of each
component in their good and poor performances. This analysis is complete when an
athlete can report how he or she perceives the process of the task execution and thus the
conceptual (self-knowledge) awareness of the skill is achieved. Additionally, an athlete
acquires a new understanding of why he or she is successful or unsuccessful in the task
execution.
In the previous example, the diver realized that the take off was the core
component of the dive affecting the entire performance process and final results.
However, if this new self-knowledge has been acquired without a learning trial session
(see later), the athlete can suddenly “forget” his right focus under pressure. The diver’s
case illustrates this situation. His dive in the semi-finals was evaluated 10 points less than
in the qualification and the athlete did not make it to the Olympic finals.

“… I can do this dive quite well but I focused on wrong things. I can blame only myself. I
focused on rotation but forgot to focus on the pre-jump which is the most important
element for the good take off... In the air, I felt like I would fall in a tuck bomb on my
neck. I did all that was possible to do in the air. But an error happened in the pre-jump
and this disrupted the rhythm of my dive and water entry was spoiled…”(Hanin &
Hanina, 2009 b, p.85)

Physical awareness of the most important components of the task is acquired in

“vivo” practice where self-ratings follow immediately after an athlete’s actual
performance attempts. Following this procedure, self-ratings are performed during
normal training session for 15 selected task executions (five series with three execution
attempts in each series). In each of the four series, an athlete explores the impact of

10
different foci which he or she used in previous successful performances. In the 5th series,
the athlete attempts to achieve the best total results by deliberately using the focus that
worked best in the four previous series.

In this enhancing awareness session, coach provides the feedback only after the
self-ratings of the athlete who now attends to most essential aspects of performance and
relies more on her own perceptions. In enhancing the athletes’ conceptual and physical
awareness of optimal movement pattern it is important that they focus on the entire
movement sequence or a chain of components and their interaction. When the number of
performance attempts is limited (as in pole-vaulting or ski-jumping), it is recommended
to use imagery as a supplement or a substitute of physical performance attempts.

Control and Monitoring

Control and monitoring in the ICC-program are the natural extension of the
identification of the individually optimal performance. The main goal here is to
standardize the interactions between components within their optimal ranges. An athlete
focuses more on the interaction between the key components of the task and
consequently, the athlete’s performance becomes more consistent and average results
usually improve. Control and monitoring involve a deliberate and step-wise practice of
the entire chain of optimal movement patterns from the first component to the last
component of the chain. The goal of training is that an athlete deliberately improves only
the first component in the chain. At the same time it is estimated how this improvement
affects other components of the chain and the final results. It usually takes one practice
per week for working on each chain component. Successful task execution helps to
estimate the role of the first component and to identify most sensitive (variable) core
components of the chain and their interaction during the deliberate control of the task
execution. Control and monitoring are recommended to be used during the preparatory
period and during competition season.

Standardization of Between-Component Interaction

After the improvement of the first component in movement sequence, the

next session is devoted to controlling the second component and then the subsequent
components (one practice per each component). As a result, a movement pattern is
constructed with improved control of the entire task execution. Control of each
component affects the quality and the variability of each component and interaction
between the chain components. Standardization of interaction between the components of
the chain is manifested in the optimal effort intensity ratio (the difference between start
and finish effort intensity) and in the right focus on 1-2 most important components of
the chain. Under optimal conditions of practices, the standardization of movement pattern
is reflected in the reduction of within-component and between-component variability.
Deliberate control in this case is a series of shifts from the first component of the chain to
the subsequent component. Control is exploratory in that the athlete performs and reflects
on her experiences with a special reference to most effective focus and effort intensity.
The main emphasis in control is on trying to influence a selected chain component and to

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enhance awareness of how it affects other components and the total outcomes of task
execution. All this is expected to empower the athlete to influence the task execution
process and the final results.

Competition Pattern and Skill Stabilization

Control and monitoring stage increases conceptual and physical self-

awareness of skilled performances. It also demonstrates the athlete’s action readiness to
consistently perform up to her potential under optimal (and relatively stable) conditions
of practices. Usually control and monitoring is completed when an athlete has created a
competition pattern including effective focus, optimal ratio of effort intensity and 1-2
core chain components affecting the final results. This standardized pattern of
individually optimal technique enables the athlete to free her attentional resources and to
attend better to the external conditions. This information is necessary for the development
of the concise competition model with a smaller number of movement components.
Obviously, the competition model for effective control of individual performance is based
on the image of optimal performances. However, it is also useful to examine ineffective
performances to identify habitual errors and their causes usually including confusion,
wrong or ineffective focus, inability to re-focus, or trying too much.
The identification and control aim to optimize performance under
favorable conditions of practices with the minimum of external and internal distractions.
The new or optimal skill pattern should be also stabilized under different conditions of
competition which is an important and separate task. For this purpose, a shortened list of
the task chain components including focus, optimal effort intensity, and 1-2 key
components are used. Finally, during the control and monitoring, mastering each chain
component is usually accompanied by the increase of the athlete’s self-confidence,
feeling of being more in control of own performance, and increased motivation. Anxiety
originally triggered by uncertainty and low-self-awareness disappears. In other words,
earlier inadequate emotions (anticipatory and outcome) become more optimal and reflect
improvement in task execution process.

Correction of Habitual Performance Errors

The application of the Old Way-New Way for a rapid correction of habitual
performance errors (Lyndon, 1989, 2000) with top-level athletes within the framework of
the ICC program suggests that the method can also be effective in sport. However,
several conceptual and practical aspects reflecting the specifics of expert performance in
high-achievement setting should be considered. Firstly, in error analysis (Old Way), a
concept of task components and the chain of components (Bernstein, 1947) are used to
describe the athletes’ subjective perceptions of their performance. Secondly, an error can
be either a component of the chain or an interaction between the components and it is
best identified under competitive stress or when an athlete deliberately tries too much in
practices. Finally, an error analysis involves examination of personally best and worst
performance to identify individually optimal and non-optimal performance (Identification
stage of the ICC program).

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 An athlete’s individual resources (strengths) are considered to identify an
individually optimal movement pattern (New Way). In several cases, prior to change
(pattern substitution), an athlete may need additional practice to learn this new movement
pattern. New Way as the individually best pattern should be clearly identified by an
athlete and a coach. It is not recommended to initiate a change in performance until both
agree on why the selected New Way is the best available option. After a skill correction
using the standard learning trial procedure to cope with proactive inhibition has been
done, several practices should be conducted to make sure that this new skill is
standardized in practices and stabilized (Bernstein, 1947) in competitions.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

This chapter examined how anxiety-centered coping in sport is affected by the

defining characteristics of state anxiety from the individualized perspective. However, in
anxiety-centered coping, the athletes are dealing not only with competition anxiety but
with other performance-related negatively-toned and positively-toned emotions, and
actions. It is well known that emotion-focused coping affects not only emotions (anxiety,
anger, self-confidence) but also the task execution, whereas action-focused coping
produces a substantial change in the athlete’s emotional state. Therefore, coping in sport
should focus on emotion-performance relationship rather than separately on emotions and
actions. Unfortunately, a large gap still exists between sport psychology practice that
generally deals mainly with mental and emotional aspects of performance and athletes
and coaches who focus exclusively on performance process. Action-focused coping using
a framework of psycho-pedagogical ICC program offers an alternative approach for
solving a host of performance-related and emotional problems faced by expert
performers. Future research and practice should address several promising areas related
to coping in sport. These may include coping with trait-like emotional experiences (habits
in emotional behavior), meta-experiences, anticipatory coping, and the role of change and
change management in coping.

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 APPENDIX 1

Individualized emotion profiling for Coping

________________________________________________________________________

1. How do you feel right now & why?

a. learning the assessment procedure
b. assessing the athlete’s self-awareness
2. How did you feel prior to your best performance(s) (single or repeated - P+N+)?
a. re-activating positive experiences, strengths-based emphasis
b. predominant patterns – positive or negative or both (P+ N+)
3. Why did you feel this way? Thoughts and feelings at the moment?
a. ability for self-reflection and self-analysis
b. effective focus prior to competition
4. How did you feel prior to your worst performance(s) (single or repeated – N- P-)?
a. Minimizing significance and possible impact of negativity
b. re-activating negative experiences, weaknesses not important
c. predominant pattern – positive or negative or both (N- or P-)
5. Why did you feel this way? Thoughts and feelings at the moment?
a. ability for self-reflection and self-analysis
b. ineffective pre-competition focus
6. How do you feel about feeling nervous, tense prior to competition?
a. Meta-experiences: What does this feeling tell you?
b. How can you read your body signals?
7. Anticipated and optimal emotion intensity (and content)
a. Direction of coping (decreasing or increasing emotion intensity)
b. A need to affect other form modalities (motivation, cognition, bodily)
_______________________________________________________________________

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