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The Media Fishbowl |
The Australian Open, the NHL All-Star game, the Super Bowl, NCAA March Madness,
state high school playoffs…big events that draw lots of attention. With 24-hour
news cycles, websites, and other forms of instantaneous communication, athletes,
teams and sport organizations are more scrutinized than ever. Living in this
media fishbowl can be a motivator or a distraction…how do you experience it?
Coaches and athletes often use the media as a form of motivation. Many
coaches post comments from opposing teams in the locker rooms to get
their athletes emotionally charged about the next competition. Athletes
may use the media itself, taking an “I’ll show you” approach if they
believe the media has been unfair or particularly critical of their
performances. If these, or other approaches, result in the team and/or
athletes being more focused, more energized, more confident, and having
better performances, then the media has served a positive motivating
purpose.
Sometimes, though, the attention from the media can become a
distraction. It can disrupt athletes’ and teams’ normal preparation,
both physical and mental, which can lead to loss of focus, lower
confidence, less cohesion, and poorer performances. To avoid these
negative consequences, coaches and athletes need to plan in advance for
how they handle the realities of increased media attention. For more
information on preparing successfully for important competitions, visit
http://www.sportpsych.unt.edu/subpages/newsletter/winter00.pdf
At the Center for Sport Psychology and Performance Excellence at the
University of North Texas, we have a dedicated staff of sport
consultants who can help athletes, teams, and coaches learn to handle
the media so it’s only influence is a motivating one. For more
information please call us at 940-369-7767 or visit our website at
www.sportpsych.unt.edu or email us at
sportpsych@unt.edu. As always, we leave you with our sport quote of
the week: “Failure to prepare is preparing to
fail.” John Wooden
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