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Figure 2: Demonstrates the step order of the Rs in a visual diagram, with Responsibility as the centerpiece

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The Rs is a seven-step process, developed by Ken Ravizza and colleagues, designed to guide athletes in increasing awareness of adversity and how to overcome it in order to continue at the highest level of performance possible. It is composed of seven R-letter words: Responsibility, Recognize, Release, Regroup, Refocus, Ready, and Respond. By utilizing this process, athletes are shown the relationship between the behaviors and thoughts they use to maximize performance and their performance outcome. Ravizza's goal with creating The Rs was to help athletes "be where you need to be when you need to be there" (Tilman et al., 2011). Athletes, along with every other human being, have control over their own behaviors, reactions, and attitudes regardless of the situation. When they understand that they have this control, athletes will start taking responsibility for their performance. Responsibility, being the first step, is the central part of The Rs process because the athlete has to take accountability for his or her actions, just like any process. The athlete has to understand that by being proactive in controlling the emotional aspect of things, performance control can be achieved. Mistakes and distractions are always going to be there, which is another thing the athlete has to understand. This awareness of the responsibility of self-control leads into the next three Rs. The first is Recognize - recognizing both internal and external factors that can affect performance, such as distractions and stressors. From there, the process moves to Release. The athlete should use intentional mental and/or physical mechanisms to release anything that may be disrupting optimal performance. After Releasing, the athlete can Regroup by regaining composure and balance. The fifth step of The Rs is Refocusing. When the athlete is fully in the present moment, he or she can revisit the plan made and make adjustments where needed to accommodate for the situation. Refocusing must be positive, process-oriented, and in the present. When the athlete is finished Refocusing, he or she can move to the sixth step, Ready. During Ready, the athlete should take a deep breath and focus on the plan, but this could also include a physical behavior, such as getting in a ready position. The final step of this entire process is Respond. By now, athletes should be able to trust their plans and themselves, and they should collectively be focused, present, and in control.

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Figure 3: Shows the staircase method to goal-setting. The athlete starts at the bottom, signifying his or her present abilities, and then makes their way up each stair until reaching the top, which is the long-term goal

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Goal-setting is one of the most widely-used techniques in applied sport psychology. According to Locke and Latham (1985), goal-setting can be used to increase both skill and confidence in athletes, thus leading athletes to more success. While there are many guidelines to follow when setting goals, I will only discuss a few of them. The first rule to follow in goal-setting is to set goals in measurable terms. General goals set with margins of trying one's best are not nearly as effective in facilitating behavior change as setting goals that are specific, explicit, and numerical. Subjective goals, for example, can be difficult to measure since they are "achieved" on the basis of feelings, but they can modified into a measurable goal by making the athlete rate themselves on a numerical scale with associated word rankings. Goals set in terms of simply doing better are least effective. A second guideline to follow is setting realistic, moderately difficult goals. The point is not to set goals that are too easily achievable and obviously realistic, nor is it to set goals that are unrealistic and probably will not be achieved for a very long time, if at all. Research shows that the more difficult the goal is, the better the athlete's performance will be. However, if a goal is so difficult that it exceeds the capabilities of the athlete, it would be unrealistic and would not improve the athlete's performance. It would only cause the athlete to feel frustrated and like a failure. Goals should ultimately be challenging, yet realistic to achieve. A third guideline is to set both short-term and long-term goals. It is often easier to set long-term goals as an athlete, mainly because it has to do with winning championships, winning awards, or setting records. While long-term goals are great, athletes should be setting short-term goals to help them reach their overall long-term goals, acting as a direct pathway to the big picture. Setting short-term goals helps athletes stay motivated and maintain performance because they provide more immediate feedback to the athlete. When setting short-term and long-term goals, the progression of achieving these goals can be visualized in a staircase format, pictured in Figure 3 above. A fourth guideline is to set process goals, performance goals, and outcome goals together, as opposed to only setting performance goals or only setting outcome goals. Outcome goals have proven to be less effective than performance goals because society, as a whole, really only focus on the outcome of the athlete and the event they participate in, such as winning a championship game. Process goals and performance goals can help an athlete achieve an outcome goal, as they are more task-oriented and very detailed in the present moment. A fifth guideline to follow is very simple: set goals for both practices and competitions. Practices provide a great opportunity for athletes to achieve smaller goals and work their way up to reaching larger goals.

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Figure 4: Shows the technique of appropriately breathing from the diaphragm

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There are four different approaches in sport psychology that target interventions for managing stress. These approaches are the reduction approach, restructuring approach, energizing approach, and, used less often, the prevention approach. The reduction approach focuses on reducing the symptoms associated with stress. The restructuring approach encourages athletes to change their perspectives of their symptoms from negative to positive - instead of symptoms bringing the athlete down and debilitating performance, they should be used to the athlete's advantage. The energizing approach seeks to increase arousal in athletes in order to enhance their performance. The prevention approach focuses on attempting to prevent and/or manage individual stressors. In the prevention approach, one intervention is advice seeking. It is entirely what is sounds like: the athlete goes through a process of seeking support from one person, a group of people, or a whole organization in order to cope with a stressor. Sheridan et al. (2014) state, "Support derived from key interpersonal relationships (e.g., coaches, parents, peers) in a sporting context has been identified as an important resource for athletes." The next intervention is information gathering, in which the athlete seeks information on a presenting stressor in order to gain knowledge on how to cope. Planning is another intervention. For this intervention, the athlete thinks about the activities that are needed in order to achieve a specific goal. The athlete can also engage in problem solving and proactive behavior. Moving on to reduction approaches, one intervention is breathing exercises. By breathing properly, athletes can feel more relaxed and reduce tension, bettering performance under high-pressure situations. There are several breathing techniques that can be used, but the focus should be on breathing from the diaphragm, as shown in Figure 4. The next intervention is progressive relaxation, in which the athlete would contract a specific muscle group, hold it for five to seven seconds, and then release. Other types of intervention housed under this approach include meditation, visualization, autogenic training, multimodal techniques, stress inoculation training, and stress management training. Under the restructuring approach, athletes can participate in recreating symptoms associated with anxiety in order to become more aware of what these symptoms are for better management in the future. The athlete can then use self-talk and rational-emotive behavioral therapy to rationalize and restructure symptoms, another intervention of this approach. Confidence management follows, in which the athlete utilizes imagery to picture themselves successfully managing emotions and stress. In the energizing approach, athletes essentially reverse the focus of the reduction approach interventions to produce energy as opposed to calmness. These interventions include breathing exercises, energizing imagery, energizing verbal cues, transferring energy, and disassociating from fatigue.

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Figure 5: Displays the different ways to make imagery functionally equivalent and similar to real-life physical performance

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Imagery involves creating or recreating an experience in the mind by utilizing the relevant senses - visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and kinesthetic. Imagery can be used to increase confidence, focus, concentration, and self-efficacy, and can also be used to reduce anxiety (Robin et al., 2023). Utilizing imagery as a successful tool is an intentional process and is not the same as dreaming or randomly imagining situations. Athletes must have controllability and vividness of the image. In order to get the best results out of imagery, the imagery must be functionally equivalent. This means that the athlete's image must activate his or her brain in the same way as the brain would be activated during actual physical performance of that image. Figure 5 shows the different ways that imagery can be made more functionally equivalent. When it comes to creating an imagery training program, there are four steps to follow. Step 1 is introducing imagery to athletes. In order for athletes to utilize imagery, they must understand it. The explanation of imagery should be no longer than 15 to 20 minutes. The athletes' attention can be grabbed right away by using a hook and by being enthusiastic about imagery. Then, imagery can be defined, supported by discussing evidence that imagery does work, and further explained by discussing how imagery works. Examples of actually utilizing imagery can be used to show athletes how it works. Finally, athletes need to know how imagery will specifically be used to enhance their performance and training. Step 2 is helping athletes evaluate their imagery ability and it is not nearly as lengthy as Step 1. Evaluation can be done either by discussing where the athletes' images need to be strengthened or by administering a Sport Imagery Evaluation, which measures the athletes' abilities to experience a variety of emotions, thoughts, perspectives, and senses during imagery. Athletes should self-reflect and be honest about their abilities to utilize imagery. Step 3 involves guiding athletes through Basic Training of their imagery skills. Basic Training helps the athletes strengthen their abilities. There are three categories of imagery exercises used to promote vividness, controllability, and self-awareness. Many exercises exist for each category. Step 4 is the final step, which is implementing the systematic imagery program. Imagery programs must be built into athletes' routines and should be an integral part of training and practice. The program should also fit the needs of each athlete and be kept simple until athletes become more proficient.

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Figure 6: An example of how to effectively use each step of the ABC Cognitive Restructuring model

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Controlling Self-Talk and Cognitive Distortions

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Controlling Self-Talk and Cognitive Distortions

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Self-talk is the key to cognitive control, making it important that athletes know how to control this aspect of their thinking so performance is not negatively affected. There are several techniques that can be used to control self-talk, the first of them being thought stoppage. Athletes must become aware of unwanted thoughts and use a trigger, such as a word or a physical action, to stop the thought. The second technique is changing negative thoughts to positive thoughts. The athlete should take whatever negative thought is present and redirect it into something encouraging, supportive, and positive. The third technique is countering/disputing. Countering is an internal dialogue using facts and reasons to refute underlying assumptions and beliefs that lead to negative thinking. Instead of the athlete accepting the negative voice, they argue against it in their own head. The next technique is reframing/reappraising. Reframing is the process of creating different ways of looking at the world. Athletes must change their lens or perspective in order to turn a thought of weakness into a thought of strength. Aside from negative self-talk, athletes may be engaging in cognitive distortions and illogical thinking, such as demanding perfection or thinking in an all-or-nothing way. One way to modify distorted thinking is by using the ABC (DE) cognitive restructuring model through rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). This method is usually administered by a sport psychologist or coach to help the athlete identify and argue against irrational thinking. REBT encourages athletes to understand that when facing adversity, it is their beliefs about the adversity that directs their emotional and behavioral responses, not the adversity alone (Davis & Turner, 2020). In the ABC (DE) method, A stands for Adversity or Activating event; B stands for irrational Belief; C stands for emotional and behavioral Consequence; D stands for Disputation; and E stands for new Effective rational belief. Figure 6 demonstrates an example of how to use ABC cognitive restructuring. Another technique to use is constructing affirmation statements. Statements of affirmation reflect positive attitudes and/or thoughts about oneself. The most effective affirmations are true and vivid, and physically writing them down is much more effective than the athlete keeping the affirmations in his or her head. Aside from this, athletes can utilize self-talk audio or video files to program the conscious and subconscious mind for success by rewatching or relistening to the file over and over again. Watching video highlights of oneself is also a technique that can be used.

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Figure 7: Shows the four different types of attentional focus and their main characteristics

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Foundations for Attention Control Training

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Foundations for Attention Control Training

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Attentional control is an athlete's ability to concentrate. According to Subramanyam et al. (2016), researchers comparing successful and less successful athletes have consistently found that attentional control is an important describing factor, in which peak performers have developed exceptional concentration abilities. There are nine different principles of Attention Control Training (ACT). One of those principles, which happens to be the first one, is based on the athlete's decision to concentrate. Concentration requires mental effort - it does not happen automatically. The second principle focuses on the four different types of concentration, two coming from a width category and two coming from a directional category. In terms of width, attentional focus can be either narrow (watching the ball) or broad (scanning the entire field). In terms of direction, attentional focus can be either internal (on the athlete) or external (on the environment). Combined, the four types of concentration are broad internal, broad external, narrow internal, and narrow external, which can be seen in Figure 7. The third principle of ACT requires the athlete to be able to shift her or her attention. Different attentional demands are required for different performance situations. Many sports require athletes to be able to switch between broad internal, broad external, narrow internal, and narrow external attention very quickly and without being told. However, athletes need to be taught how to fluently and automatically shift attentional focus. Athletes should not focus on factors that are outside of their control, which is the fourth principle of ACT. Concentration is held when athletes feel in control. Fifth, effective concentration can be achieved under optimal conditions if individuals (1) are appropriately motivated; (2) are trained on what to do; and (3) have control over their level of arousal. Choking is the sixth principle. Athletes usually choke when they experience a significant and uncontrollable drop in performance in high-pressure situations, like games. They need to be able to take a deep breath, regroup, and focus on the task at hand. Prevention of choking is the seventh principle and treatment of choking is the eighth principle of ACT. Decreasing excessive physiological arousal, such as a pounding heart, will reduce the number of attentional distractions and improve abilities to concentrate and perform. The ninth and final principle states that athletes should focus outward when they get nervous, meaning that they should focus their attention outward on their actions as opposed to inward on their self-perceptions.

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Figure 1: Describes the subjective experiences that the IZOF can be used to assess in order to develop self-regulation in athletes

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The Individualized Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF)

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The Individualized Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF)

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The Individualized Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) is focused on performance-related emotions and on identifying emotional patterns relative to successful performances. The goal is to teach athletes to recreate the emotional patterns they experienced previously during successful performances in order to reach optimal performance states. Hanin (2003), the founder of this theory, describes the IZOF as an "action-oriented individualized approach [that] provides tools to conceptualize and assess accurately performance related situational subjective experiences, relatively stable emotional patterns, and meta-experiences for the development of individualized self-regulation (intervention) programs." Athletes complete an assessment that identify emotions associated with both successful and unsuccessful performances in order to introduce a variety of the specific athlete's optimal emotions and dysfunctional emotions. Individualized optimal performance states can be divided into four groups of positive and negative emotions: positive performance-enhancing, negative performance-enhancing, positive performance-impairing, and negative performance-impairing. The performance-enhancing emotions are associated with the optimal zone and the performance-impairing emotions are associated with the dysfunctional zones. Some positive performance-enhancing feelings may be energetic and motivated, while some negative performance-enhancing feelings could be dissatisfied and tense. Two positive performance-impairing emotions could be easygoing and satisfied, while two negative performance-impairing emotions may be tired and uncertain. It is said that those athletes whose emotional states are within the optimal zone are more successful than those whose emotional states are within the dysfunctional zone. But what makes this theory so unique is that each individual has his or her own feelings that make up the optimal and dysfunctional zones, making every athletes' individual performances different depending on the emotional state. These zones and the feelings associated with them could differ depending on the setting, such as being in practice versus in a competition. Making athletes aware of their emotions and optimal and dysfunctional zones could help them perform consistently and achieve peak performance more often.

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Figure 8: An example diagram of the process of mindful breathing

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Mindfulness is deliberate compassionate awareness of present-moment thoughts, body sensations, feelings, and the environment. Mindfulness training can lead to increased attention to body signals and greater adaptation during stressful situations (Haase et al., 2015). Before getting into the mindfulness practices that can be done with athletes, it is important to understand the term cognitive defusion. Cognitive defusion is the separation of one's self from one's thoughts and is the ability to observe and be aware of thoughts, reactions to thoughts, and the consequences of those reactions. In this state, athletes will be able to recognize true thoughts versus untrue thoughts, important thoughts versus unimportant thoughts, threatening thoughts versus nonthreatening thoughts, and so on. Effective mindfulness practice cannot occur without cognitive defusion. With that being said, one practice of mindfulness is mindful breathing (Figure 8). The athlete can follow these steps when they feel ready: (1) sit comfortably with legs uncrossed and arms at sides or in lap; (2) close the eyes and bring awareness to breathing; (3) notice the rising and falling of the chest and stomach with each breath; (4) notice the sensations of the natural flow of breath; (5) notice where each breath is felt, whether it is in the nostrils, chest, mouth, or throat, and feel the expansion and relaxation of each breath; (6) gently bring awareness back to current breath if focus strays; (7) take a few moments to notice breathing; and (8) take a moment to notice any changes in state since beginning the exercise, then the exercise may be finished. The next exercise is doing a mindful body scan. For this, the athlete should either sit or lie comfortably with arm and legs uncrossed and close his or her eyes. The athlete should start by gently checking in with his or her body and notice any sensations, if present. The scan starts by noticing the feet and their associated feelings and sensations. Then, the athlete can slowly shift attention to the lower legs, again paying attention to sensations or feelings. The athlete should continue this process, moving to the upper legs, hips, stomach, lower back, chest, upper back, hands, lower arms, upper arms, shoulders, neck, face, and head, in that order. Once concluding at the head, the athlete should then focus on and be aware of the whole body, noticing any changes in state since beginning. The athlete can open his or her eyes once finished. These two exercises are more in-depth and require a few minutes to be completed. An exercise that can be integrated into an athlete's normal routine is mindful stretching. The athlete would slowly bend at the waist and lean forward with arms hanging toward the floor. A stretch should be noticeably felt in the lower back and legs. Any present sensations should be noticed while stretching.

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Davis, H., & Turner, M. J. (2020). The use of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) to increase the self-determined motivation and psychological well-being of triathletes. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 9(4), 489-505. https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000191

Haase, L., May, A. C., Falahpour, M., Isakovic, S., Simmons, A. N., Hickman, S. D., Liu, T. T., & Paulus, M. P. (2015). A pilot study investigating changes in neural processing after mindfulness training in elite athletes. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00229

Hanin, Y. L. (2003). Performance related emotional states in sport: a qualitative analysis. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-4.1.747

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1985). The application of goal setting to sports. Journal of Sport Psychology, 7(3), 205-222. https://www.krigolsonteaching.com/uploads/4/3/8/4/43848243/goal_setting_in_sport.pdf

Robin, N., Carien, R., Taktek, K., Hatchi, V., & Dominique, L. (2023). Effects of motor imagery training on service performance in novice tennis players: The role of imagery ability. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2023.2191628

Sheridan, D., Coffee, P., & Lavallee, D. (2014). A systematic review of social support in youth sport. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7(1), 198-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2014.931999

Subramanyam, V., Jamuna, D., & Kalavathi, P. (2016). A study of reaction time and attention control among athletes of sports training centers of sports authority of India. International Journal of Sports Sciences and Fitness, 6(2), 132-142. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1806428915/fulltextPDF/EC9DFAAB64374B89PQ/1?accountid=11653&sourcetype=Trade%20Journals

Tilman, T. S., Ravizza, K., & Statler, T. (2011, January-April). Clear your mind to clear the way: Managing the moment. Engineer, 41(1), 46-49. https://research-ebsco-com.proxysb.uits.iu.edu/c/mrjhb2/viewer/pdf/7azlbdqeff