Abstract Extreme Sport Athletes' Perceptions
ABSTRACT EXTREME SPORT ATHLETES’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT SPORT PSYCHOLOGY AND USE OF MENTAL SKILLS
Given the inherent danger of FMX and the association between the consistent use of mental skills and successful performance (Weder, 2009), an investigation of FMX athletes’ uses of sport psychology skills is warranted. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate amateur FMX athletes’ perceptions about sport psychology and their use of mental skills. Nine amateur male FMX riders between the ages of 18-26 years (M = 21.67) participated in the study. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with each athlete. The interviews were audio-taped then transcribed verbatim. The interview transcripts were inductively analyzed following qualitative analysis procedures commonly used in sport psychology research (Côté, Salmela, Baria, & Russell, 1993). Peer debriefing and review were used throughout the data analysis process to address the validity of the emerging findings. Results showed that the athletes had little knowledge of sport psychology and how it could benefit their performance. However, all nine described using mental skills in some capacity prior to, during and after their participation. Inductive analysis resulted in five main categories: Performance Challenges, Mental Toughness, Performance Preparation, Attention Control and Anxiety Control. It is anticipated that the results of the study will provide insight regarding the culture of extreme sport athletes and offer suggestions about how sport psychology consultants may best serve these individuals.
Sean Michael Chamberlain May 2011
EXTREME SPORT ATHLETES’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT SPORT PSYCHOLOGY AND USE OF MENTAL SKILLS
by Sean Michael Chamberlain
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Kinesiology in the College of Health and Human Services California State University, Fresno May 2011 APPROVED For the Department of Kinesiology:
We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student's graduate degree program for the awarding of the master's degree.
Sean Michael Chamberlain Thesis Author
Jenelle N. Gilbert (Chair) Kinesiology
Wade D. Gilbert Kinesiology
Timothy A. Hamel Kinesiology
For the University Graduate Committee:
Dean, Division of Graduate Studies AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER’S THESIS
X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of authorship.
Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be obtained from me.
Signature of thesis author: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The process of completing my thesis has been a long, rough, challenging, and stressful, but enjoyable journey. There are many people who I would like to acknowledge in the completion of my thesis. First and most importantly, I would like to thank my Nana who gave me strength to push through school and accomplish all that I have. I miss my Nana very much and a day does not go by where I do not think about her. I love you Nana! Second, I would like to thank my family for their love and support with all the decisions I have made in my life. I would like to thank my mom especially for always being there for me when I would call her to tell her about any troubles in life or an accomplishment I achieved. Also, if my accomplishments required me to travel, she was always would be the first one to say she will be there even if it is across the country. Thank you mom, I love you!! Third, I would like to give great thanks to my thesis chair, Dr. Jenelle N. Gilbert for taking on this thesis with no background in extreme sports and really taking it all in and committing to making my thesis possible. Dr. Jenelle N. Gilbert has shown me how to conduct research at the highest standard possible. She is also a wonderful sport psychology mentor and I have learned a lot of consulting techniques from her classes and one-on-one meetings. Fourth, I would like to acknowledge my thesis committee members, Dr. Wade “Dr. Love Cat” Gilbert and Tim “Sexy” Hamel, and thank them for their support and expertise. My committee really took the time to make this thesis the best that it could be, and I thank them for the time that they put into reading each page and challenging me to become a more efficient researcher throughout the thesis process. I would like to thank Dr. Dawn Lewis for always being there since undergrad with an open door. Dr. Dawn Lewis has helped shaped the person I am v today in the field of Kinesiology. I would like to thank the Division of Graduate Studies at the California State University, Fresno, for providing me with the Graduate Student Research Merit Award and Travel Grant. I would also like to thank the American Freestyle Motocross Association (AFMXA) for giving me the opportunity to conduct interviews with professional and amateur freestyle motocross (FMX) riders. They welcomed me into their sport and allowed me to work with their athletes on performance- and safety-related issues. Last but not least, I would like to thank my fellow classmates for motivating me and helping through the completion of my thesis. You are a great group of “Love Cats” who will succeed to your fullest in every endeavor in your life.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
LIST OF TABLES ...... ix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 1
Purpose Statement ...... 5
Research Questions ...... 5
Significance ...... 5
Delimitations ...... 7
Limitations ...... 7
Definition of Terms ...... 8
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 11
Perceptions About Sport Psychology ...... 11
Effective Sport Psychology Consulting ...... 13
Extreme Sports ...... 16
MST among Extreme Sport Athletes ...... 19
Inherent Danger in Extreme Sports ...... 22
Conclusion ...... 24
CHAPTER 3: METHODS ...... 25
Pilot Study ...... 25
Pilot Study Participants ...... 26
Pilot Study Instruments ...... 27
Pilot Study Procedure ...... 30
Pilot Study Data Analysis ...... 32
Research Experience Gained...... 33
Main Study ...... 33 vii Page
Participants ...... 34
Instruments ...... 35
Procedure ...... 37
Data Analysis ...... 40
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ...... 44
FMX Participants’ Perceptions about Sport Psychology ...... 44
Conclusion ...... 53
Mental Skills FMX Riders’ Use to Participate in their Sport ...... 54
Performance Challenges...... 54
Mental Toughness ...... 69
Performance Preparation ...... 76
Attention Control ...... 83
Anxiety Control ...... 89
Conclusion ...... 91
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION ...... 93
FMX Riders’ Perception of Sport Psychology ...... 93
Use of Sport Psychology among FMX Riders ...... 98
Conclusion ...... 104
Future Directions ...... 104
REFERENCES ...... 106
APPENDICES ...... 114
APPENDIX A: PILOT STUDY DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONNAIRE ...... 115
APPENDIX B: PILOT STUDY INTERVIEW GUIDE ...... 118
APPENDIX C: PILOT STUDY HANDOUT OF DEFINITIONS ...... 122
APPENDIX D: INFORMED CONSENT ...... 125 viii Page
APPENDIX E: MAIN STUDY INTERVIEW GUIDE ...... 127
APPENDIX F: PARTICIPANT REQUEST EMAIL ...... 131
APPENDIX G: PARTICIPANT AGREEMENT EMAIL ...... 133
APPENDIX H: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ...... 135
APPENDIX I: PARTICIPANT REQUEST FOLLOW-UP EMAIL ...... 138
APPENDIX J: PARTICIPANT REQUEST LAST FOLLOW-UP EMAIL ...... 141 APPENDIX K: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT EMAIL FOR MEMBER CHECKING ...... 144 APPENDIX L: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT FOLLOW-UP EMAIL FOR MEMBER CHECKING ...... 146
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 1. Subgroups of Extreme Sports ...... 2
Table 2. Pilot Study Participant’s Demographics ...... 26
Table 3. Main Study Participant’s Demographics ...... 35
Table 4. Performance Challenges ...... 55
Table 5. Mental Toughness ...... 70
Table 6. Performance Preparation ...... 77
Table 7. Attention Control ...... 83
Table 8. Anxiety Control ...... 89
1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
The consistent and systematic application of mental skills training can help lead to successful performance (Coleman & Orlick, 2006; Mamassis & Doganis, 2004; Pavlidou & Doganis, 2008; Weder, 2009). There is a plethora of information about the success of mental skills training with traditional sport athletes (Behncke, 2004; Gentner et al., 2009; Hacker, 2001; Hamstra, Burke, Joyner, & Hardy, 2004). An area that has seen recent growth in participation, but lack of concentration in the literature and with sport psychology consultants is extreme sports (Burke & Orlick, 2003). Since its introduction in the 1970s, the extreme sports movement has seen rapid growth (Ko, Park, & Clauseen, 2008). For example from 1992 to 2002, rates of participation greatly increased for snowboarding (355.5%), aggressive inline skating (93.9%), and skateboarding (75%; Sport Participation Trends, 2003). Further, Kaufman (2001) estimated almost 100 million people have participated in extreme sports such as aggressive inline skating, white water canoeing and kayaking, skateboarding, mountain biking, snowboarding, snowmobiling, BMXing, wakeboarding, surfing, rock climbing, artificial wall climbing, and adventure racing. Since the establishment of the X-games in 1995, the extreme sport population has increased (Ko et al., 2008; Reiman, Augustine, & Chao, 2007) and sub-groups have been created. For the purpose of the present study the sub-group examined has been labeled “mainstream extreme sports” by the media (Reiman et al., 2007; Rinehart & Sydnor, 2003). Mainstream extreme sports consist of the sports represented in the summer and winter X-games (e.g., skateboarding, BMXing, motocross and freestyle motocross (FMX), surfing, automobile rally, 2
skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling; Reiman et al., 2007). A comparison of some common mainstream and non-mainstream sports is presented in Table 1. But who are the athletes training and competing in these extreme sports?
Table 1. Subgroups of Extreme Sports
Mainstream Extreme Sports Non-mainstream Extreme Sports* Skateboarding White Water Rafting BMXing Hang-Gliding Motocross & Freestyle Motocross BASE Jumping (FMX) SCUBA Diving Surfing Eco Challenge (adventure racing) Automobile Rally Street Luge Skiing Skydiving Snowboarding Windsurfing Snowmobiling Speed Boat Racing Note. Information gathered from Reiman et al. (2007, p. 3). * This is not a list of all non-mainstream/recreational extreme sports.
Extreme sport athletes seek alternatives to more traditional forms of sport. They tend to become easily bored in a society that emphasizes security and safety. As such, they look for unsafe and thrilling experiences such as bungee jumping or cliff parachuting (Gutman & Frederick, 2002) and perceive their participation as being rebellious and negativistic (Kerr, 2007). Part of the attraction of extreme sports is that its participants are able to engage in these activities freely and on their own terms (Coakley, 2009). This adds to the thrill-level and excitement (O’Jile, Ryan, Parks-Levy, Betz, & Gouvier, 2004; Partington, Partington, & Olivier, 2009). Sometimes the “thrill” can be dangerous and lead to injuries. Common injuries such as temporary blindness, skin abrasion, joint disorders, bone 3 fractures, spinal injuries, and in some cases, limb amputation, and even death are common among extreme sport athletes (Idzikowski, Janes, & Abbott, 2000; Machold, Kwasny, & Gassler, 2000). Personality characteristics (i.e., sensation seeking) and personal states of mind (i.e., arousal seeking) drive individuals to search for risky activities (Gutman & Frederick, 2002). Participants in extreme sports knowingly face the risk of serious injury or even death when judgment or equipment fails (Burke & Orlick, 2003). For example in BASE (Bridge, Antenna, Span, and Earth) jumping, an individual jumps off a natural or manmade platform (e.g., buildings, mountain cliffs, bridges, etc.) and performs skydive maneuvers. BASE jumping is considered to be one of the most dangerous sporting activities in the world because the individual is falling next to a structure and from a relatively short height, which allows less time for the parachute to be deployed (Griffith, Hart, Goodling, Kessler, & Whitmire, 2006). Psychological constructs related to successful performance (e.g., concentration, anxiety management, and self-esteem) deteriorate as an athlete experiences increased levels of physical and psychological stress (Hamstra et al., 2004; Kerr, 2007; Law, Coleman, & Orlick, 2008). Thus, increases in stressors are negatively correlated with abilities such as focusing on pertinent information, accurately making decisions regarding split-second physical maneuvers, and adjusting to physical challenges. This in turn results in one being predisposed to musculoskeletal trauma (Griffith et al., 2006). In fact, as a testament to this, Jeremy Lusk, an extreme sport athlete who participated in freestyle motocross (FMX) died while attempting to perform a difficult maneuver in a competition (John, 2009). 4
FMX is a variation on the sport motocross in which motorcycle riders perform astonishing tricks and jumps (Dullum, 2006). It is known as the “rage of the extreme sports world” (Diggs, 2009). The sport began when motocross racers started doing tricks when they were behind in a race and had nothing else to lose (Dullum, 2006). Dullum (2006) stated that these athletes were tired of the rules, the structure, and routine of racing and wanted to find ways to express themselves. When participating in FMX, the athletes ride a 240 pound dirt bike off of manmade or natural ramps. They can soar up to 30-40 feet in the air while performing unbelievable tricks. By the late 1990s, the freestyle of riding that these racers were performing boomed into its own competitive world (Dullum, 2006). Riders are currently judged in three areas, including how well they perform their tricks, their originality, and degree of difficulty (Gutman & Frederick, 2002). The sport of FMX is not a career for most athletes as there is little to no money for winnings. Endorsements supplement small earnings from competitions, but only the top riders (i.e., professionals) obtain these contracts. The amateur rider must usually use his own money to compete at high-profile tournaments. This can be a stressful situation as it is costly for the athlete to participate. Further, it is difficult to get noticed by potential sponsors, and the danger level is high. Given the inherent danger of extreme sports and the association between the consistent use of mental skills and successful performance (Dullum, 2006; Law et al., 2008; Weder, 2009), an investigation of extreme sport athletes’ perceptions about sport psychology and their use of sport psychology skills is warranted. 5 Purpose Statement The purpose of the study was to investigate freestyle motocross (FMX) participants’ perceptions about sport psychology and their use of mental skills.
Research Questions 1. What are freestyle motocross (FMX) participants’ perceptions about sport psychology? 2. Do these extreme sport athletes use mental skills to participate in their sport? If yes, what mental skills are used and how?
Significance The number of participants and spectators in dominant traditional sports such as football has decreased, while the overall number of extreme sport participants in the U.S. has increased by 10% over the last decade (Ko et al., 2008). The National Sporting Goods Association (2008) reported that snowboarding participation has increased by 15.6%, while football participation has decreased by 3.7%. Specifically, extreme sports have become tremendously popular in generation Y (6 to 23 years old; Ko et al., 2008) due to the growth of events such as the X-games, Gravity Games, Dew Tour, and also because of their acceptance into the Winter Olympic Games (Reiman et al., 2007). Gutman and Frederick (2002) suggested that extreme sports will take the place of traditional sports in the next decade with traditional sports becoming a trend of the past. Relative to other extreme sports, freestyle motocross is in its infant stages (Leyba, 2009). However, there has been a drastic increase in participation rates of FMX and there is an urge for many amateur athletes to achieve professional status (Dullum, 2006; Leyba, 2009); professionals make more money and have higher profile sponsors. This move to professional status could be dangerous though for 6 participants who lack the skill necessary to perform and compete at the professional level. FMX athletes must cope with the risk of injury everyday they participate in their sport (Kerr, 2007). Unfortunately, there are many injuries in the sport of FMX and there have been some deaths (Gutman & Frederick, 2002; Higgins, 2005, 2006). To compete in a major competition FMX riders must be able, at a minimum, to perform a back flip (Diggs, 2009; Dullum, 2006). When the back flip was introduced, approximately 80% of the riders retired, or moved down in status (i.e., amateur) and the chances of more injuries occurring have increased due to the inherent danger of the trick (Higgins, 2006). The field of sport psychology will not grow without the knowledge of new realms of sport to explore and understand. “Understanding perceptions of sport psychology is crucial in furthering the field” (Blom, Hardy, Burke, & Joyner, 2003, p. 19). Most sport psychology consultants’ work with traditional sport athletes, and coaches (Zaichkowsky, 2006). Extreme sport athletes, such as FMX riders have not been given much attention in terms of research or consulting. For example, research related to perceptions of sport psychology has focused on high school, collegiate, and elite traditional sport athletes (Martin, 2005) but extreme sport athletes have remained absent from the inquiry. Two sources within the freestyle motocross world, one from American Freestyle Motocross Association (AFMXA) and the other from ESPN FMX, both stated that they were unaware of any FMX athlete using mental skills training or seeking help from a sport psychology consultant (personal communication Brown, 2009; personal communication ESPN FMX, 2009). Given the success of mental skills training with other types of performers (Zaichkowsky, 2006), it would make sense to explore sport psychology with 7 extreme sport athletes. The present study was an attempt to do this. Results from this research may help sport psychology consultants understand the perceptions that FMX athletes have about sport psychology, and the mental skills used in their sport. Overall, the results from this study could help sport psychology consultants be more effective when helping these athletes with peak performance. It is important that professionals in the field continually seek to increase the quality and effectiveness of their consultations to benefit the athletes seeking services. Lubker, Visek, Geer, and Watson (2008) stated that “more research is needed to examine possible practices sport psychology consultants can incorporate into their consultations to meet the expectations athletes have for effective consultants” (p. 163).
Delimitations The sample was representative of a small segment in the extreme sport population. Therefore, the results of the study may not be generalizable beyond the demographics of this sample. The participants were male amateur freestyle motocross riders between the ages of 18-26. The amateur riders that participated in the AFMXA amateur competition in the southwest region of the United States in November 2009 were contacted for interviews.
Limitations Only a couple limitations for the study were considered. First, the researcher assumed that all participants responded honestly and completely to all questions. Second, the researcher conducted all interviews via phone because of the location of each participant. 8 Definition of Terms
American Freestyle Motocross Association (AFMXA) A not-for-profit trade association established by FMX riders and industry leaders to organize, protect, and develop the sport of FMX (AFMXA, 2009).
Amateur Freestyle Motocross Rider Participants that: (a) do not get paid to ride, (b) cannot perform back flips, and (c) have never ridden a demo/event with other professionals (AFMXA, 2009).
Extreme Sports Sports that have a high level of inherent danger, risk or unconventional rules or techniques which differ from dominant team sports (Ko et al., 2008).
Freestyle Motocross (FMX) FMX is a variation on the sport motocross in which motorcycle riders perform astonishing tricks and jumps. The sport began when motocross racers started doing tricks when they were behind in a race and had nothing else to lose. These athletes were tired of the rules, the structure, and routine of racing and wanted to find ways to express themselves. When participating in FMX, the athletes ride a 240-pound dirt bike off of manmade or natural ramps. They can soar up to 30-40 feet in the air while performing unbelievable tricks (Dullum, 2006).
Mainstream Extreme Sports Extreme sports that have become more popular than the others because of media converge and establishment of the X-games (Reiman et al., 2007). 9 Mental Skills Are practical skills and methods (e.g., goal setting, positive self-talk, relaxation, and imagery) that help athletes compete to the best of their physical, technical and tactical abilities (Weinberg & Gould, 2007).
Mental Skills Training (MST) Refers to “the systematic and consistent practice of mental skills for the purpose of enhancing performance, increasing enjoyment, or achieving greater sport and physical activity self-satisfaction” (Weinberg & Gould, 2007, p. 250).
Professional Freestyle Motocross Riders Participants that have a current paying sponsor, perform back flips routinely, and have ridden in demos/events in the past five years with other professional riders (AFMXA, 2009).
Sport Psychology For the purpose of this study, sport psychology is the scientific study of people and their behaviors in sport contexts and the practical application of that knowledge. Sport psychologist identify principles and guidelines that professionals can use to help adults and children participate in and benefit from sport and exercise activities in both team and individual performance. Sport psychology deals with increasing athletic performance by teaching important skills such as (but not limited too): goal setting, relaxation, positive self-talk, imagery, focus/refocus, coping with injury, and visualization.
Sport Psychology Consultant For the purpose of the present study, a sport psychology consultant is defined as a professional who provides organized consultation with individual 10
athletes, teams, and/or coaches specifically to enhance performance (Wilson, Gilbert, Gilbert, & Sailor, 2009).
Traditional Sports Well-established, officially governed competitive physical activities in which participants are motivated by internal and external rewards (Coakley, 2009). Examples in North America include football, baseball, basketball, hockey, softball, and golf.
11 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The following review of literature focuses on the perceptions of sport psychology (among athletes, coaches and society), effective sport psychology consulting with athletes, mental skills training (MST) among extreme sport athletes, the culture of extreme sports, and the inherent danger in extreme sports. The literature review will also outline the lack of information regarding extreme sport athletes and justify the need for their inclusion in consulting and research. This review may better equip and provide in-depth insight for sport psychology consultants as they seek to work with extreme sport athletes in their practice.
Perceptions About Sport Psychology Understanding the perceptions that athletes have about sport psychology and sport psychology consultants may help in the exploration of new sports which in turn may further the sport psychology field. For example, some athletes may be apprehensive about seeking professional help regarding the mental side of their sport (Martin, 2005). Anderson, Van Raalte, and Brewer (2000) stated, “there are undoubtedly among the public misunderstandings about sport psychology consultants, what they do, what they know, and how they can be helpful to a team or individual athletes” (p. 135). There has been increasing interest in the field of sport psychology in the last decades because of the creation of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and the American Psychological Association’s addition of the 47th division for Exercise and Sport Psychology in 1986. (Wilson et al., 2009, p. 405)
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Interest in sport psychology has also occurred due to more media coverage about the importance of mental training and mental aspects associated with performance (Martin, 2005; Naylor & Gardner, 2001). The sport psychology literature has provided sufficient amount of evidence that mental skills training programs and interventions can serve educational and performance enhancement purposes for both team and individual athletes as well as for exercise participants (Mamassis & Doganis, 2004; Pavilodou & Doganis, 2008). However, many athletes hold negative perceptions about both the idea of sport psychology services and sport psychology consultants (Zizzi & Perna, 2003), and only seek out and practice psychological skills when there is a crisis or a specific problem, even though a preventative approach is considerably more effective (Ferraro & Rush, 2000; Zizzi, Blom, Watson, Downey, & Geer, 2009. Furthermore, the athletes who have a positive perception about sport psychology are hesitant to use the service because of the fear of what peers may think of them (Blom et al., 2003; Martin, 2005; Silva, Metzler, & Lerner, 2007). Research shows that the word psychology or psychologist has a powerful affect on the misunderstanding about sport psychology (Anderson et al., 2000). Gender and previous exposure plays a significant role in the perception of sport psychology. Male high school and college athletes stigmatized sport psychology consultation more than did female athletes and an athlete who has previously seen a sport psychology consultant has a greater appreciation of sport psychology and mental skills than those who have not reached out for help (Martin, 2005). Expectations can be an internal variable and/or attitudes of peers may also influence the results (Martin et al., 2001). The athletes who do seek out sport psychology consulting tend to drop out within four sessions. The fact of the matter is that if we do not investigate and resolve the questions of why athletes are 13
so reluctant to use sport psychology consulting, we will not have a field to study or to practice (Ferraro & Rush, 2000). Further, athletes in nontraditional contexts, such as extreme sport athletes, may not have an opportunity to learn about the positive effects that mental training can have on peak performance. One reason that an individual may not practice mental training is simply a lack of understanding about how to do so consistently. Another reason that athletes might not know how to accurately use mental skills is because the growth in the field of sport psychology has been kept mostly among professionals in the field. For the most part, the general public has not been formally introduced to sport psychology and how to apply its principles (Zizzi et al., 2009. Other research shows that athletes might be hesitant to seek out services because they perceive that they cannot afford its cost (Ferraro & Rush, 2000). Martin (2005) stated that “sport psychology consultants may need to be aware of and sensitive to the unique characteristics of athletes, the sports in which they play, and the positions that they hold to reduce help-seeking barriers and facilitate healthy help-seeking behaviors” (p. 135). A number of questions still remain to be answered. For example, what do athletes expect the sport psychology consultant to be like (Martin et al., 2001)?
Effective Sport Psychology Consulting In the realm of sport psychology consulting, there are generally held images of how effective SPCs look and behave (e.g., confident, athletic, easily fit into the sport environment) while consulting (Lubker et al., 2008). Results from a study conducted by Lubker and colleagues (2008) showed that build and dress were the most influential when meeting a sport psychology consultant. Sport psychology consultants with a lean build and academic clothing were rated higher on sport knowledge and more likely to be sought for services than sport psychology 14 consultant with large build and academic clothing. First impressions are everything whether it is working with a sport team or individual to a job interview. The first impression that a sport psychology consultant has among a team or individual could have a lasting impact on whether the team or individual wants to continue seeking help with their performance (Lubker et al., 2008). Some other professionals in the sport psychology field have noted what it takes to become an effective SPC: It comes from paying your dues by working with athletes and teams, developing strong performance enhancement skills, and establishing a reputation as an effective sport psychology consultant who quietly knows how to help athletes and teams achieve their goals, while staying in the background, maintaining confidentiality, and being a team player. (Fifer, Henschen, Gould, & Ravizza, 2008, p. 360)
Entry with Team or Individual Before beginning sport psychology consultation with a team or individual it is important to do some homework. Many people try and work with teams that are not qualified to do consultation work (Anderson, 2005). However, learning the rules, observing, participating if appropriate, learning the demands of the sport (e.g., open, closed, subjective, and objective sports) and its language, and developing an appreciation for the sport (Fifer et al., 2008; Silva et al., 2007) will serve the SPC well when working with athletes. Also, it is also important that a consultant establish respect, credibility, and trust with the coaching staff, athletes, and sport personnel. One’s early career and type of reputation can make a major impact on entry to work with a team or individual athlete (Fifer et al., 2008). Gaining entry can happen for a variety of reasons: special circumstances, location, 15
luck, expertise, etc. But, it is important also when gaining entry that hard work, creative, open, and knowledge come along with it.
Assessment of Team or Individual Before beginning any mental skills program with a team or individual a sport psychology consultant must assess the needs for that specific sport or individual (Fifer et al., 2008). Results of the assessment will determine the techniques or skills to be taught to the team or individual. As noted by Selder (1998), a sport psychology consultant’s job is to identify the source of a problem that an athlete is experiencing and then to design an intervention that helps solve the problems. Ways to assess a team or individual is by interviewing athletes and coaches, or simply observe the team or individual in their sport realm (Fifer et al., 2008).
Program Delivery Program delivery is complex because of the dynamic nature of sport and individual needs of athletes and teams. However, in a recent article, leading professionals agreed that a good way to deliver a program is by a “standard team presentation approach that is short, interactive, and discussion or exercise based” (Fifer et al., 2008, p. 371). One-on-one consulting sessions are another popular method; they provide a more specific, education-based intervention (Fifer et al., 2008). Regardless of methods chosen, it is important that sport psychology consultants make it clear that mental skills training is not a onetime fix but instead requires frequent and consistent practice. One way to help teach athletes to practice mental skills’ training outside of formal consulting session is by assigning “homework.” This will allow the athlete to have a guide for practicing when they 16
are not working with a sport psychology consultant. Finally, most athletes want to know that their sport psychology consultant cares about them as a person, rather than solely an athlete (Fifer et al., 2008), so the SPC should take care in communicating this message.
Consultant-Athlete Relationship To be an effective sport psychology consultant, “one must be cognizant of the characteristics that those within sport (e.g., athletes, teams, and coaches) believe to be essential characteristics for a sport psychology consultant to process” (Lubker et al., 2008, p. 148). Previous research has suggested that several specific factors are likely to have an effect on the relationships between consultants and team or individual. These factors include, but are not limited to: characteristics of the client, nature of the problem, personal and professional characteristics of the consultant, techniques used by the consultant, and quality of the relationship between the consultant and the team or individual (Martin et al., 2001). When establishing the relationship between the SPC and the team or individual, trust is paramount. More specifically, the team or individual experience may be more positive and affective if he or she trusts the consultant that they work with because it may allow for the environment around the team or individual to create an honest, trusting, and collaborative relationship (Lubker et al., 2008). “To be successful in a field as challenging as sport psychology, it is critical that one is diverse in knowledge and experience” (Naylor & Gardner, 2001 p. 1).
Extreme Sports There is an abundance of research on traditional sport athletes and their use of sport psychology; however, this is not true of extreme sport athletes. In order to investigate and better understand this culture of athletes, it is important to learn 17 about the dynamics of extreme sports. The main question in dealing with extreme sport athletes is, “why do these athletes place themselves in danger for their sport?”
Psychology of Risk Experts in the field of child development say that taking risk plays a major role in the maturation of adolescents and young adults (O’Jile et al., 2004). Risk taking for children is a way to develop and grow. The children who participate in healthy risk taking often are the ones whose self-esteem tends to be strongest and most resilient. “The predominant view reflected in the media is that some degree of risk taking is beneficial and even necessary for the health and survival of the species” (Slanger & Rudestan, 1997, p. 355). There are two types of risk taking, healthy and unhealthy. Healthy risks for adolescents include activities such as participation in sports, the development of creative and artistic abilities, contributions to family and community, volunteer work, making positive friendships, continuing to learn and setting goals. Unhealthy or negative risks include drug, alcohol, and tobacco use, unsafe sexual activity, committing misdemeanors and/or crimes, reckless driving, getting into fights, and choosing undesirable friends (Gutman & Frederick, 2002). Healthy risk taking can develop a person positively, whereas unhealthy risk taking can only lead to negative outcomes. In a recent study, Schneider, Butryn, Furst, and Masucci (2007) investigated the social and psychological phenomenon of risk in 10 world class adventure racers (5 males, 5 females). Adventure racing is another extreme sport that takes mountaineering, kayaking, canoeing, white water rafting, and mountain biking and puts all these elements into one highly risky race. Results showed five 18 categories: risk socialization, the space of risk, mediators of risk, negotiating/coping with risk, and sensations. The athletes that started participating in risky activities at a young age felt more comfortable in the environment where winning means dealing with fear, dealing with team dynamics, adapting to changing environments and physical stress all while moving quickly and with little sleep.
Culture Extreme sport athletes differ from other athletes because of the inherent danger of their sports and their willingness to put themselves in dangerous situations day-in and day-out. DeRosalia (2002) described this culture as “living on the edge” and the fact that it is acceptable and even preferable for many people, especially those engaged in extreme sports. Participants will engage in dangerous activities because the participant might have a fear of something (i.e., heights) and a way to take their mind off of their fear is by doing an activity that involves their fear (i.e., skydiving). It is a way for people to escape their feelings (DeRosalia, 2002). They will use the fear as a tool; they will use the energy that is given off from fear to change the situation (Barrett, 2006). Participants that are a part of the extreme sport culture tend to feel most alive when they are living on the edge of things. They are constantly looking for adventure. The idea of living on the edge for these participants makes life more exciting (Gutman & Frederick, 2002). The biggest risk is definitely death. That’s how extreme this sport is. It can kill you. Beyond reason, beyond doubt, that wave can kill you. But on the same note, that’s what drives a lot of us to do extreme things that rush of knowing that you did something that was on the edge. (Gutman & Frederick, 2002, p. 23) 19
Some participants feel that life is too easy now, and that there are not tests, so they have to test themselves and see how far they can push their limits (DeRosalia, 2002). The physical limit has come to replace the moral limits that present-day society no longer provides. The intense relationship with the body is being seen today as a search for truth where significance springs from the heart of individuals giving them a feeling of triumph, sometimes even of ecstasy, and of being in perfect harmony with the world. (Le Breton, 2000, p. 4) These athletes know the risk that comes with sport such as severe injury or even death, but that is just part of the game, “a dreaded by-product that still visits the extreme a little bit too often” (Gutman & Federick, 2002, p. 127). For some of these athletes that physical pursuit of high risk activities is motivated by the need to raise an individual’s level of stimulation and excitement (Slanger & Rudestan, 1997).
MST among Extreme Sport Athletes Athletes have a greater likelihood of being successful in sport if they are physically and mentally fit. When psychological skills are practiced and refined, athletes have shown more consistent performance across a variety of competitive situations (Gentner et al., 2009; Hamstra et al., 2004; Pavlidou & Doganis, 2008). Mental skills’ training has been shown to work positively in both traditional and extreme sports (Zizzi et al., 2009). While a lot of research attention has been given to the use of mental skills training with traditional sport athletes, the same is not true of the extreme sport athlete. In fact, the majority of the literature on extreme sports has investigated the motivation, and personality traits of these athletes as well as how best to advertise 20
and market extreme sports (Bennett & Henson, 2003; Cordiner, 2001; Florenthal & Shoham, 2000; Kajtna, Tusak, Baire, & Burnik, 2004) with only a small amount of research focusing on the psychological aspects (Burke & Orlick, 2003; Coleman & Orlick, 2006; Fave, Bassi, & Massimini, 2003; Weder, 2009). Given the positive association of mental skills with successful performance outcomes for traditional sport athletes, it follows that extreme sport athletes could also benefit from adopting mental skills training. Ten top ranked Canadian pro elite mountain bike racers were interviewed to discover how athletes themselves defined focus (Kabush & Orlick, 2001). One of the findings was that the athletes had limited focus because they were “new” to the sport. Experience gained led to an increase in mastery over their technical and mental skills including focus. Other strategies that helped the elite mountain bike racers plan ahead for the race included positive self-talk, relaxation, and positive thinking. Results showed that the athletes developed different focusing skills to combat distractions, anxiety, and negative thoughts/feelings. The ability to accurately use mental skills may help prevent serious injuries and help control different aspects of the sport that athletes face because the athlete will be both physically and mentally prepared. Extreme sport participants tend to face numerous challenges than traditional sport athletes due to the inherent danger of their sport. Extreme sport athletes push their body to the limits in terms of what it can do and where it can go (Florenthal & Shoham, 2000; Kajtna et al., 2004; Olivier, 2006). Burke and Orlick (2003) conducted interviews with 10 elite climbers (7 male, 3 female) who successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest to discover the mental strategies used by these high altitude climbers. Results showed that there were various mental strategies used to prepare for the climb, successfully climb to the 21
summit, and safely descend the mountain. The climb was broken into three parts, and the mental strategies used were discussed for each one. The preparation phase included detailed planning and imagery. For the climb, mental toughness, focusing, short-term goal setting, past experience, belief in other’s capacity (team support) was emphasized. When descending focusing and short-term goal setting were key strategies. Coleman and Orlick (2006) conducted a study to gain an understanding of the success elements of elite big mountain free skiers to perform their best while immersed in the unique challenges of their sport. These elite performers identified specific performance factors that they felt were essential for successful high level performance and acted on these factors or success elements on a regular basis. Success elements included: pre-performance preparation, imagery/visualization, and positive thoughts/self-talk. Pre-performance preparation is an ongoing theme among traditional and extreme sports. Another concept discussed among both traditional and extreme sport athletes is the idea of being in the zone or flow, where everything becomes automatic and decisions are made instantly (Kabush & Orlick, 2001; Law et al., 2008; Partington et al., 2009; Weder, 2009). Partington and colleagues (2009) conducted a study to explore the dichotomous consequences of flow, using case studies of big wave surfers. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 of the world’s top big wave surfers (12 men, and 3 women). The results showed that there was no relationship between flow and dependence, but the surfers did gain psychological benefits from experiencing flow. When extreme athletes are in the flow stage, mental skills are still being used. Due to personal inadequacies, some of the surfers are more vulnerable to the potential negative consequences of flow. More 22
specifically, some of the surfers experienced tolerance and discussed the need to go further, higher or faster to continue to experience desired feelings. This need to continue pushing the body and mind beyond what seems possible may be detrimental to athletes. For example, athletes may push themselves to attempt skills that they are not physically ready for, which in turn could lead to severe injury or even death. Thus, extreme sport participants could use sport psychology to help their peak performance and may need to learn how to become mentally ready to succeed in their sport and in some cases stay alive. Jonny Law, an elite big mountain free skier identified some of the mental skills he needed in order to perform successfully (Law et al., 2008). These included pre- performance preparation, imagery/visualization, and positive thoughts/self-talk focus and relaxation. These same skills helped him in a dire situation. While skiing in Alaska, Jonny was hit by a sluff (part of an avalanche), and violently forced down the hill. Jonny talks about his ability of decision making and analyzing self and of the conditions in dangerous situations. While lying in the snow covered he stated, “I accepted the idea that I was going to die” (p. 87). As this may not be a formal mental skill, Jonny was able to have self-awareness of the situation he was in and used relaxation to focus on the situation that had occurred.
Inherent Danger in Extreme Sports Both traditional sport and extreme sport athletes deal with inherent danger while participating in sport. However, extreme sport athletes tend to have a higher level of inherent danger because these athletes put themselves in situations that are more risky such as jumping off buildings (i.e., BASE Jumping), surfing 50-foot waves, or rock climbing with no harness (i.e., free climbing). 23
Weder (2009) conducted a study on an Olympic downhill skier, and discovered the state of being in the zone/flow. The study was designed to explore the speed skier’s views about speed, risk, optimal regulation of movement, performance excellence, the role of the unconscious mind in speed disciplines, and mental links to excellence. Weder discovered that elite downhill skiers will go into autopilot despite the inherent danger, which seems to be the case for many extreme athletes (Coleman & Orlick, 2006; Kabush & Orlick, 2001; Partington et al., 2009). Fear can be a powerful psychological barrier to sport performance (Reuter & Short, 2005). Due to the nature of their sport, extreme sport athletes may have a fear of injury and/or death. Kerr (2007) examined the motivation and emotional experience of a female skydiver and how this changed due to the result of a fellow skydiver’s accidental death. Not surprisingly, the athlete lost all desire to jump again because of her friend’s death. Some extreme sport athletes faced with a similar circumstance will attempt to be more careful or will modify their sport to avoid injury (Coleman & Orlick, 2006). Recently, the fear of injury was investigated with ice hockey players (Reuter & Short, 2005). Four main themes emerged: fear of failure, fear of negative social evaluation, fear of injury or physical danger, and the fear of the unknown. The results from the study showed that fear of the unknown and fear of injury or physical danger may play a role in sport anxiety. Extreme athletes must cope with the risk of injury every day that they participate in their sport; because riders do their sport in mid-air approximately 35 feet off of the ground, this is especially true in the sport of freestyle motocross. Further, to even compete in a major competition a rider must be able, at minimum to perform a back flip (Diggs, 2009; Dullum, 2006). Higgins (2006) stated that 24 fear and injury is enough to make competitors quit. According to Brian Deegan (one of the inventors of FMX), the invention of the back flip retired about 80 percent of the riders (Higgins, 2006). How do the athletes that remained in the sport, as well as those who have since joined, cope with the possibility of injury and the fear that may go with it? This study attempted to gain insight into this question as mental skills training could help extreme sport athletes deliver focused performance and lower their risk of getting seriously injured or dying (Burke & Orlick, 2003; Law et al., 2008; Partington et al., 2009; Weder, 2009).
Conclusion The growth of extreme sports in the last several years has been well documented (Ko et al., 2008; Leyba, 2009) However, the sport psychology field has not kept pace with this growth as there have been few research studies with extreme sport athletes and no published accounts of interventions designed specifically for the extreme sport context. Results from the present study may complement existing literature, as well as provide new information related to the extreme sport athlete. A practical outcome is to use this information to better equip sport psychology consultants as they seek to work with extreme sport athletes in their practice.
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CHAPTER 3: METHODS
To understand freestyle motocross (FMX) athletes’ perceptions of sport psychology and their use of mental skills, a qualitative research approach using semi-structured interviews was the method of data collection. Interviews have been valued by numerous authors in sport psychology because they allow researchers “to study what people have to say and how they act” (Culver, Gilbert, & Trudel, 2003, p. 1; Gratton & Jones, 2004). Semi-structured interviews provide an opportunity for unexpected data to emerge and for participants to reveal insights into their attitudes and behavior that may not readily be apparent (Gratton & Jones, 2004). Interviews have been successfully used in the field of sport psychology in an attempt to gain insight into athletes’ thoughts and perceptions (Chandler 2005; Crust & Nesti, 2006; Culver et al., 2003; Gratton & Jones, 2004).
Pilot Study The purposes of the pilot study were to provide the researcher with interview practice, qualitative research experience, insight about professional FMX riders’ perceptions of sport psychology and their use of mental skills, and to check for the validity of the interview questions to be used in the main study. A pilot study was conducted with six male professional freestyle motocross (FMX) riders (see Table 2). A professional FMX rider, as compared to an amateur FMX rider, has a current paying sponsor, performs back flips routinely, and has participated in the sport during the past five years (AFMXA, 2009). Professional FMX riders were interviewed for the pilot study because it was assumed that with their higher number of years of experience (as compared to amateurs) they would be better able to articulate their perceptions about sport psychology and use of mental skills in their sport. 26 Pilot Study Participants Six professional male FMX riders’ between the ages of 18-35 years participated in this study. The participants were involved in the sport of FMX for an average of 11.84 years and rode professionally for an average of 8.84 years. Four of the six participants finished 1st place in one or more major competition (e.g., X-games, Dew Tour). Each participant was coded with a pseudonym to protect his identity (see Table 2).
Table 2. Pilot Study Participant’s Demographics Highest Years of Highest Dew Years in Professional X-Games Tour Injuries Pseudonym Age FMX Status Finish Finish from FMX Luke 30-34 12 12 NA NA Broken eye socket
Ryan 25-29 10 5 1st NA Broken (Asia) Femur
George 18-24 7 5 1st 1st Broken toes, talus, tibia, and fibula
Patrick 25-29 18 7 1st 2nd Broken femur
Chad 30-34 12 12 3rd 4th Knee injuries
Mickey 30-34 12 12 1st 1st NA
Note: Riders exact ages were not collected. This is due to the lack of experience of the researcher at the time.
27 Pilot Study Instruments Three instruments were used to gather data in the pilot study: (a) the investigator, (b) demographic questionnaire, and (c) semi-structured interview guide.
The Investigator According to Culver et al. (2003) the investigator (author) is an instrument in qualitative research because “he or she forms and asks the interview questions and/or decides what to observe and record” (p. 5). Seidman (2006) stated that the investigator is an intelligent, adaptable, and flexible instrument who can respond to situations with better understanding. The investigator of the present study had experience in the area of extreme sports and qualitative research. At the time of the study, the investigator had been involved in extreme sports (i.e., motocross, BMXing, surfing, and snowboarding) and around the culture (i.e., music, TV, tattoos, and thrill seeking) that is created through extreme sports for over 15 years. Therefore, he was comfortable in the extreme sport environment and knew the language which helped when relating to the athletes. With respect to qualitative research experience, he was collaborating on a qualitative study (with Drs. Jenelle N. Gilbert, Wade Gilbert, and Terry Orlick) examining the effectiveness of an intervention to develop sport psychology consulting skills.
Demographic Questionnaire A 10-item demographic questionnaire was created to solicit general and sport-specific background information from each participant (see Appendix A). The first three questions requested gender, age, and racial information, while the remaining seven questions inquired about the participants’ experience in the sport 28
(i.e., years participating, highest competition finish, and serious injury from participation).
Semi-Structured Interview Guide The purpose of an interview is to understand the lived experience of other people and the meaning they make of the experience (Seidman, 2006). It is a powerful way to learn about an issue or question through the people who have lived and experienced what is trying to be answered. The interview allows the participants to talk about their own experiences in their own words, and allows them to elaborate on any areas of particular interest or importance (Gratton & Jones, 2004). A semi-structured interview compared to a more structured interview allows for unexpected data to emerge and the participants can reveal insights into their attitudes and behavior that may not readily be apparent (Gratton & Jones, 2004). The interviews may “be used to identify information that could be refined and develop further investigation” (Gratton & Jones, 2004, p. 2). Interviews have been increasingly used in sport psychology qualitative research. For example, Culver, Gilbert, and Sparkes (2011) reported on the number of qualitative research designs published in three major sport psychology journals. Findings showed that during 2000 to 2009, 631 articles were published, and 183 of those used qualitative methods. However, 143 of the 183 studies used some type of interviewing technique. Qualitative interviews may add greatly to the applied sport psychologist’s knowledge (Côté, Salmela, Baria, & Russell, 1993; Culver et al., 2003, 2011). Seidman (2006) stated that interviewing is “both a research methodology and social relationship that must be nurtured, sustained, and then ended gracefully” (p. 95). It is important to build a relationship with the participant that 29 is being interviewed and create a rapport (Gratton & Jones, 2004). A rapport is creating an environment for the participant and the researcher that allows them to get along with one another (Seidman, 2006). The relationship may help the content of the interview, but needs to be controlled and not pushed to the limit that might affect or distort what the participant is trying to convey and how the investigator interprets the content. When the interview is concluded the relationship needs to become more distant to allow the study to focus solely on the data (Seidman, 2006). The semi-structured interview guide (Gratton & Jones, 2004) used in the pilot study included open-ended questions about perceptions of sport psychology, the use of mental skills (prior, during, and after participation), and the inherent danger of the sport (see Appendix B). Open-ended questions allow for the participants to take any direction they want and allows for the investigator to explore the territory (Seidman, 2006). To make sure that the participants could fully comprehend the interview questions, the definitions and descriptions of sport psychology, Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), and sport psychology consultant (SPC) were defined. This was presented to the participants in a handout while the researcher read the information aloud (see Appendix C). This step was followed because the participants may not have had a clear understanding of these terms. However, in order to ensure reliable data, it is important that participants clearly understand any terms or questions that might be asked of them (Gratton & Jones, 2004). The first six questions investigated the athletes’ perceptions of sport psychology. These questions were derived from the Wilson et al. (2009) study regarding college athletic directors’ sport psychology perceptions. The Sport Psychology Attitudes-Revised form (SPA-R; Martin et al., 2001) was modified from a questionnaire to fit in an interview framework. 30
Questions 7 through 9 inquired about mental skills used by the athletes prior, during and after participation in their sport and were based on relevant applied sport psychology literature (i.e., Burke & Orlick, 2003). Questions 10 through 12 asked about the inherent danger of the sport, and the mental skills used to perform a back flip. See Appendix C for the semi-structured interview guide.
Pilot Study Procedure The researcher found the organization American Freestyle Motocross Association (AFMXA) while researching definitions of amateur and professional freestyle motocross riders and contacted AFMXA via email. The project manager of AFMXA emailed the researcher back with definitions and interest in the study. The researcher explained the purpose of the study and provided rough drafts of the interview guide and demographic survey. The project manager invited the researcher to a FMX amateur competition and the AFMXA award ceremony in the southwest region of the United States during the first weekend of November 2009. The project manager told the researcher that interviews could be conducted on the day of the event with the professional riders who would be there judging the amateur competition. The researcher got permission from his thesis chair and committee members and participated in a peer review session with his committee to discuss the data collection process, the interview guide, demographic survey and to generally prepare the researcher for interviewing (Culver et al., 2003). Then consent forms (see Appendix D) were given to the project manager who distributed the forms to the professional FMX riders. At the event, the researcher was informed that he would be able to interview six professional riders throughout the day. Each interview would take place in between competition events in a professional rider’s recreation vehicle 31
(RV). The RV allowed for a more proper interview environment where the researcher and participant could sit down in a private, comfortable setting and in a quiet environment away from the sounds of the competition (i.e., dirt bikes, music, announcers, and crowd). The six athletes were given another copy of the consent form, the demographic questionnaire, and a handout with definitions. The interviews were audio-taped and lasted between 20 to 40 minutes. The researcher was able to conduct four interviews at the competition and the other two interviews were done at the award ceremony later that day (one before the show, and one after the show). During the interview, the investigator used a technique called probing to get reliable, comprehensive data. More specifically, probing allowed the investigator to follow up with what the participant was saying and to explore more into the interview. There are two types of probes: clarification and elaboration probes (Gratton & Jones, 2004; Seidman, 2006). Clarification probes allow the researcher to clarify any point that was not clear, or open to misunderstanding. Elaboration probes are used to elicit a more in-depth response about a particular point (Gratton & Jones, 2004). Also, during the interview the researcher conducted on-site member checking to make sure the participants’ responses were accurately captured. In qualitative research, member checking is used to address overall credibility and is used to validate both the data and the researcher’s interpretations (Culver et al., 2003). Furthermore, member checking makes it reasonable for the investigator to have confidence in the validity of the data (Seidman, 2006). An audio-tape recorder was used to record the interviews. Audio-taping interviews allows raw or original data to be captured, so if something is not clear on the transcripts the researcher is able to go back to the audio-tapes and check for accuracy. In the pilot study, the audio-tapes were used to help the investigator 32 study his interview techniques and improve upon them. Before each interview the researcher asked permission from the participant to record the interview for reliability (Gratton & Jones, 2004). After each interview the audio-tapes were reviewed to make sure the entire interview was recorded and the conversation was clear. Each interview was transcribed verbatim. It took the researcher approximately four to five hours to transcribe each interview. The audio-tapes and transcripts were coded to protect the participants’ identity. After each interview was transcribed the researcher emailed the AFMXA project manager the transcripts. Because the project manager was the only person who had access to the professional riders, he was given the code of each participant to allow him to email the transcripts for member checking (Côté et al., 1993; Culver et al., 2003; Miles & Huberman, 1994). Member checking provides an opportunity to “review the contents of the interview, which is a way to show that the data were objectively recorded” (Culver et al., 2003, p. 8). The participants were also asked to make additions, deletions, or changes to the text if they were warranted (Kabush & Orlick, 2001). Unfortunately, the researcher did not include a deadline for the return of the reviewed transcripts. A follow up email to the project manager was sent, but no response was received. Because of this situation and in the interest of moving forward with the study, the researcher assumed that the transcripts were accurate and began the data analysis process.
Pilot Study Data Analysis Each transcript was carefully read to identify topics which best described particular segments of text also known as meaning units. Then each meaning unit was tagged with a name describing the topic of the text segments (e.g., focus, 33
relaxation). The interview transcripts and meaning units were reviewed with the researcher’s committee. This procedure allowed the validity of the tags chosen to be guarded against one coder’s opinion and perceptual biases (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The next step involved grouping data with similar meaning units together into categories that labeled the substance of the topic to begin drawing conclusions.
Research Experience Gained Conducting the pilot study provided an opportunity for the researcher to gain better interviewing skills and techniques. First, the pilot study helped the researcher with the interview guide. The questions were reviewed for feasibility and clarity. Specific changes are presented in the main study section. Also, at the beginning of the pilot study the researcher was unsure of how to effectively use probes. This affected the pilot study results because follow-up questions were not asked of each participant. The researcher learned to organize and analyze qualitative data. Finally, the pilot study helped the researcher make connections with the organization and athletes needed for the main study. Overall, the experience helped the researcher gain knowledge and experience to help in future research.
Main Study The purpose of the main study was to investigate freestyle motocross (FMX) participants’ perceptions about sport psychology and their use of mental skills. 34 Participants The present study investigated nine amateur male FMX riders between the ages of 18-26 (M = 21.67). An amateur rider is a participant who does not get paid to ride, who cannot perform back flips, and who has never ridden a demo/event with other professionals (AFMXA, 2009). Amateur riders were selected because there are greater numbers of amateur freestyle motocross riders as compared to professional riders (Dullum, 2006). Also, a professional must perform a back flip, at a minimum, and because of the danger associated with this trick, fewer riders attempt to move into the professional rank (Leyba, 2009). The participants were involved in FMX for an average of 5.22 years and practiced an average of 4.33 days a week. The nine FMX riders were chosen from the 24 athletes who participated in the AFMXA amateur FMX competition in the southwest region of the United States in November 2009. These athletes were invited to participate in the competition based on the strength of their qualifying video entry submissions. More specifically, all athletes sent a video of themselves performing FMX tricks; judges selected the top 24 amateur riders and then invited them to compete in this event (AFMXA, 2009). As a testament to their skill level, most of the participants moved from the amateur class to the amateur/pro class during the course of the study. An amateur/pro rider is defined as a participant who consistently rides in shows, receives a paycheck from riding and sponsors and who can perform higher level tricks (AFMXA, 2009). Each rider was sent an informed consent form via email. Participants electronically signed and then returned the consent form by email prior to the phone interview. All participants gave consent to have their interviews recorded over the phone (see Table 3). 35 Table 3. Main Study Participant’s Demographics
Years Practices Highest Riding per Competition Pseudonym Age Race FMX Week Competitions Ranking Todd 19 White 1 4 1 3rd
Mike 21 Hispanic 1 4 2 N/A
Henry 23 White 15 4 1 N/A
Jake 23 White 2 7 2 2nd
Aaron 20 White 9 5 N/A 1st
Jeremy 23 White 9 5 1 1st
Shane 18 White 2 3 12 1st
Hank 22 White 2 3 1 7th
Marcs 26 White 6 4 30 2nd
Instruments The instruments for the pilot study were also used for the main study. However, some modifications were made; most notably, the main study used only two instruments to gather data. These included (a) the investigator, and (b) the semi-structured interview guide.
The Investigator The investigator (author) was used as an instrument to conduct the interview questions (Culver et al., 2003; Seidman, 2006). The author gained 36
interview experience (e.g., on-site member checking, interview process; probing, and speaking clearly) and a better understanding of freestyle motocross culture as a result of the pilot study.
Semi-Structured Interview Guide A demographic questionnaire was used during the pilot study to obtain information such as gender, age, race, and specific information regarding sport participation. However, the researcher found that the athletes preferred to address these questions orally rather than manually responding to them. As such, the demographic questions were added to the beginning section of the semi-structured interview guide. Also, a few questions from the demographic questionnaire about competition placement were changed to reflect the amateur competitions in which the participants of the main study competed. Some other minor changes were made to the interview guide based on the pilot study. For example, given the professional athletes’ lack of knowledge regarding the sport psychology field and organizations within it, Question three was changed from asking the main study participants about their knowledge of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) to any general sport psychology organizations. Questions regarding how sport psychology consultants could be effective when working with FMX riders were added. The question about effective characteristics of a sport psychology consultant was adopted from the Characteristics of Effective Sport Psychology Consultants Inventory (CESPCI; Lubker et al., 2008). Finally a pilot study question (# 12) asked about the back flip and if the athletes used any mental skills to perform this skill. Because amateur riders do not generally do this skill, this question was modified to the following, “When talking with top professional FMX riders, I have been told that to do well 37 and essentially become a professional rider, the back flip needs to be in your bag of tricks. Can you do a back flip?” The change in this question reflects the fact that some amateur riders might not be ready to perform the trick due to their level of riding experience (see Appendix E).
Procedure The procedures outlined for the pilot study were also used for the main study. However, some modifications were made as a result of the pilot study. While the researcher was conducting the pilot study at the AFMXA amateur freestyle motocross competition, the AFMXA project manager introduced the researcher to the amateurs during a meeting. The project manager gave a brief description of the present study, and told the amateurs that he was going to give the researcher their contact information (name and email). All of the athletes were told to notify the project manager if they didn’t want their contact information to be distributed. All amateurs agreed and gave the project manager permission to release their contact information to the researcher. The project manager was contacted via email to ask for help with emailing the amateurs for the main study. Help from the project manager and AFMXA may have given the amateur athletes more incentive to participate in the study because the study was supported by their professional organization (i.e., AFMXA). However, after one week, the project manager had not yet gotten back in contact with the researcher. At that time, the researcher sent a second email to the project manager again requesting help in contacting possible study participants. Unfortunately, the project manager had not responded one week later. In the interest of keeping the study moving forward, the researcher, with the support of his thesis committee, proceeded without help from the project manager. 38
The next step involved the researcher sending an email message to each of the 24 amateur FMX riders who competed in the AFMXA event. The email message requested the athletes’ participation in the study, and included the study’s purpose, a brief statement outlining the researcher’s experience of interviewing the top professional riders, and information about sport psychology (see Appendix F). Within the first week of emails being sent out four participants responded to the email with interest in participating in the study. An email was sent to the four participants with instructions (see Appendix G), a consent form and a copy of the interview questions (see Appendix H). This allowed the participants to reflect and better prepare themselves for the upcoming interview. The researcher followed up with the amateur riders two weeks after the first email from the requested participants who had not yet responded (see Appendix I). After the second email was sent out, six other participants responded with interest in the study. Again the email that was sent to the previous four participants was given to the six new participants. A third and final email was sent two weeks after the second email (see Appendix J). This helped the researcher to build the participant pool because it provided an opportunity to observe participant interest factors (i.e., response to email and interest in the study; Seidman, 2006). No emails about interest in the study were sent to the author after the third email participation request. From there the researcher moved forward with the study. Informed consent was given from nine of the ten participants. The researcher contacted the nine participants via phone or email to schedule a time and date for the interview. A mutually convenient interview time was chosen by the athlete and researcher. All of the interviews were conducted via the phone. 39
The researcher would have preferred face-to-face interviews because they would have allowed the researcher to assess body language, facial expressions, and the tone of voice used (Gratton & Jones, 2004; Seidman, 2006). However, because of limited research funds and the location of the athletes, phone interviews were necessary. The phone interviews were conducted in a secure location and the researcher asked for consent from the participants to record the interview. Phone interviews were conducted on “loud-speaker” to gather the data with the audio-tape recorder. At the beginning of the interview, the researcher provided background information about himself and the study to help build the relationship between himself and the athlete. The participants were reminded that they had the right to withdraw from the study at any time (Seidman, 2006). The interviews lasted 40-60 minutes and were audio-taped. Seidman (2006) suggested that interviews should not exceed 90 minutes because that is too long for someone to be seated at one time and less than 90 minutes may constrain the participant from giving full detail about each question. The time frame does not have to be exact but allows for more content to be discussed. As noted by Seidman (2006), the most important concept is that a time frame is set for the interview. During the interview, the researcher conducted on-site member checking to accurately validate both the data and the researcher’s interpretations (Culver et al., 2003). After each interview the researcher reviewed the audio-tape to make sure that the interview was fully recorded. Each tape was coded using a pseudonym to protect the identity of the participant and was securely stored (Seidman, 2006). All interviews were transcribed verbatim within 2 days. Though the transcripts were not analyzed in-depth until all interviews were completed and transcribed, the researcher performed initial eye-balling of the data to look for possible themes 40
(Seidman, 2006). After the interviews were transcribed, they were sent to the individual participants via email for member checking (see Appendix K). This process provided an opportunity for each participant to review the transcript and make sure the researcher objectively recorded the data (Culver et al., 2003; Seidman, 2006). The participants were asked to verify that their thoughts were accurately represented in the text, and to make additions, deletions, or changes to the text if they were warranted (Gratton & Jones, 2004; Seidman, 2006). The participants were given a two week period to review the transcripts and send them back to the researcher via email. Seven of the participants emailed the researcher back to verify that the transcripts were accurately recorded. After the 2 week period there was no response from two of the participants and a follow up email was sent (see Appendix L). As per the information provided in the second email message, the researcher assumed that the data were accurate when the participants did not respond. After all transcripts had been collected, or the response period had passed, the researcher began data analysis (Côté et al., 1993; Culver et al., 2003; Gratton & Jones, 2004; Miles & Huberman, 1994; Seidman, 2006).
Data Analysis Data analysis began by the researcher organizing the interview transcripts (Gratton & Jones, 2004; Miles & Huberman, 1994). Each transcript was carefully read to identify topics which best describe particular segments of text (Gratton & Jones, 2004). The segments of texts are called “meaning units” (Côté et al., 1993; Miles & Huberman, 1994; Seidman, 2006). Meaning units are defined as “a segment of text that is comprehensible by itself and contains one idea, episode or piece of information” (Côté et al., 1993, p. 131). The meaning units were 41
organized into two sections. One set of meaning units pertained to perceptions of sport psychology, use of a SPC in the future, and what makes a SPC effective with the FMX population. The second section included meaning units regarding mental skills used. The researcher coded the meaning units by searching for tags, which are “terms used by the participants who are being studied” (Côté et al., 1993, p. 131). At this point, the coder is not concerned with the aptness of the tag, because the tag can be changed in the analysis process, or can be combined later with other tags containing similar meaning. Therefore, each meaning unit is tagged with a provisional name describing the topic of the text segments. (Côté et al., 1993, p. 131) To best validate the study, the attribution of a tag for a piece of information was discussed among two coders (Gratton & Jones, 2004). Thus, the interview transcripts and meaning units were peer reviewed (Culver et al., 2003; Seidman, 2006) with the thesis chair and researcher. The thesis chair helped conduct the peer review because “to benefit from the full range of qualitative approaches, more individuals are needed to contribute to the dialogue” (Culver et al., 2003, p. 7). This procedure allowed the validity of the tags chosen to be guarded against one coder’s opinion and perceptual biases (Côté et al., 1993; Miles & Huberman, 1994). During the meeting, the researcher and thesis chair reviewed the organization of meaning units and their provisional names. At this time, the thesis chair suggested that the researcher review the meaning units again and develop their tags using words spoken by the participants. Though the researcher had attempted to do this, the tags were not found to be reflective of the athletes’ comments. The researcher then reviewed the transcripts and re-named each meaning unit. 42
The next step involved grouping similar meaning units into lower and higher categories (Côté et al., 1993; Culver et al., 2003). The process resulted in thirteen main categories. The categories remained flexible during the analysis process because categories were developed mostly from the data, and were modified and refined until a satisfactory system was established (Côté et al., 1993). During the second meeting the researcher and thesis chair reviewed the new overall structure. The new provisional names appeared to be more consistent with the participants’ comments and the data organization was comprehensive and seemed to be reflective of the data. To check on the new structure’s appropriateness, the thesis chair and the researcher performed an interrater reliability test with 25% of the meaning units. The test failed (< 80% agreement) because there were too many disagreements. At this time, the researcher and thesis chair reviewed the tagged data and decided to re-organize the provisional names and “simplify” the data. The researcher re-organized higher and lower order themes which resulted in five main categories. The categories (along with the higher-order themes and lower-order themes) were sent via email to the thesis chair. At this time, the thesis chair approved new categories and requested that the researcher bring 25% of the meaning units (N =76) to run a second interrater reliability test. The next interrater reliability test proved to be much more successful with only two disagreements. As before, upon review of the meaning units the researcher and thesis chair came to a consensus about its placement. During this test, there were four meaning units that fit in multiple categories. The researcher and thesis chair were not in complete agreement about the multiple placements; usually a second category was overlooked. Upon discussion of this situation, 43 consensus was achieved. The overall interrater agreement was 92% (i.e., 70 of the 76 meaning units). Therefore, the final organizational framework comprised five main categories, 16 higher-order and 41 lower-order themes. Results are presented in the next chapter.
44 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS
The results will be separated into two separate sections to answer the research questions: (1) what are FMX participants’ perceptions about sport psychology, and (2) do these extreme sport athletes use mental skills to participate in their sport? If yes, what mental skills are used and how? The results will be supported by quotes from the riders.
FMX Participants’ Perceptions about Sport Psychology Through the interview process three main themes emerged from the first research question: perceptions of sport psychology, the need for a SPC in the sport, and how to be an effective SPC in the sport. These three themes are discussed and quotes supporting each theme are presented.
Perceptions of Sport Psychology With respect to the term sport psychology, four of the nine participants were aware of the term but did not know how it could benefit them and their performance. As a testament to this, Henry mentioned he had heard of the term sport psychology but never paid any attention to it or got into it to learn more about it. Furthermore, none of the participants were aware of any sport psychology organizations. All nine participants, however, described using mental skills in some capacity prior to and during their sport participation. At the end of each interview the overall perception of sport psychology among the participants was positive. Each participant described how FMX is more of a “mind game” and takes a lot of “commitment” due to the inherent danger of the sport. Mike described the sport to be “deathafying (sic).” Furthermore, three of 45 the nine participants believed that sport psychology and mental skills training could help overcome the fear of the sport. All nine of the participants talked about how sport psychology could benefit the sport. Todd said that sport psychology would benefit the sport of FMX only to the athletes who take it seriously and trust it. He stated: I think [sport psychology] could actually benefit the sport of FMX, I really do…I think that it is something that could be very beneficial and it could work out for the people who take it seriously and want to learn more. (Todd) Jake also believes that sport psychology would benefit the sport. Yea [sport psychology] would be beneficial! Well, part of freestyle has to do a lot with the head game. Freestyle definitely needs mental skills. There is (sic) mental riders that are kind of out there, off the wall guys; then there are guys mentally strong and they know their limits, they know what they are capable of doing and where riding just becomes natural. (Jake) Two participants discussed that sport psychology would be new to the sport and that it would be beneficial, because the sport is primarily mental. Jeremy revealed the necessity of dealing with the pressure that comes with competition and getting over the fears of the sport. He also explained that the sport does not have a lot of outside sources to help it stay safe and deal with the mental aspects. Aaron confirmed this notion by saying: Sport psychology could benefit FMX. It would be something new, something that people never thought about and they could apply it to themselves because everyone is so narrow minded when it comes to FMX. I think it could open up to them. (Jeremy)
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Shane noted there is a need to help riders with the mental part of the sport because there are a lot of injuries and even deaths that have been affecting how riders perform. He stated: I think the sport is mostly mental...I think that sport psychology could really benefit a lot of people. Especially lately [in the sport of FMX] because unfortunately there has (sic) been a lot of people who have gotten hurt or killed and I know a couple people who hang up their boots and if they had someone to talk to and talk about this mental thing going on in their mind then they could overcome it a little easier or accept it a little better… You can be all good physically but if you are mentally just out there and your mind is not in the right spot and you are just kind of like, “whatever,” you’re not going to go anywhere in this sport. (Shane) Besides the overall perception of sport psychology being positive among the riders, their interest about using sport psychology and mental skills training in their pre-competition practice was evident. When the question “Is there anything you want to learn more about in terms of sport psychology” was asked, all the riders wanted to know how they could get in contact with a sport psychology consultant (SPC).
Need for Sport Psychology Consultants in FMX An interview question asked, “Would you see a SPC in the future?” All nine participants said they had never been to a SPC, but were interested in working with one in the future. Henry asserted “I would have no problem seeing a SPC because I am sure there are issues with my performance and if someone can help with those and make changes, I wouldn’t mind working with a SPC.” Three sub-themes emerged about how a SPC could help FMX athletes. These included 47
helping with (a) performance, (b) coping with injury, and (c) fears associated with the back flip. This section will focus on how a SPC could make a difference in FMX and not the actual use of mental skills among each rider. Quotes from the riders will be used to support the emerging sub-themes.
SPC to help performance. Four of the nine participants talked about how a SPC could help with their mental preparation. Todd said that he has his own beliefs about the mental process of the sport but would want to work with a SPC to bring a scientific background into his performance. More specifically, he needs help with focusing, anxiety control, and self-confidence. I think it would be interesting to see what it would be like to work with a sport psychology consultant…I have my personal beliefs about mental preparation and it would be interesting to see studies and what other people think and how they can train you and help you. Probably things like focus so you are not nervous…then confidence training and believing in yourself. (Todd) Aaron agreed and said that “going pro and traveling around the world doing tours and getting into the X-games is all mental preparation. I think that working with a SPC could help improve that preparation.” Hank believes that other riders do not know how to correctly use mental preparation: A lot of people just blast loud music and try to get all pumped up but really you need to relax and clear your mind. I know that works for me the best, but (it) might not work for everyone else but I imagine that it would. A SPC would benefit everybody and help relax and clear riders’ mind before they ride…I am interested in seeing what way it would benefit the sport of 48
freestyle motocross, like if there is going to be a SPC at all the big competitions or events, or top professional riders are going to have their own SPC that they meet with every week, like they do with their personal trainer at the gym or just to see how it will help improve the sport. (Hank) Marcus was one of the four athletes who responded that a SPC could help with mental preparation. However, his exposure to sport psychology was limited and he was unsure about these services and what they may entail.
SPC to help FMX athletes cope. Three riders discussed how they would like to use a SPC to help them deal with injury. Jake noted that the sport of motocross has consultants that help riders with the mental aspects of their sport, but that FMX does not have these resources. Jake wanted help on goal setting so that he can be physically and mentally fit when he returns from injury and wanted some help in regaining his confidence. Shane has had multiple injuries and would like to work with a SPC; he believes that if he had someone to talk with, he could benefit by learning how to cope with injury. If your job is to kind of help you mentally or overcome injury that is a big thing with me. I think I am pretty decent when it comes to mental, but getting over injuries and always having aches and pain at 18, I know I already have arthritis and bone spurs in my ankle. I could use some motivation there, so if they could talk you through it and ask you questions, so you can talk yourself through it then yea I am totally down with working with one, for sure. (Shane) Hank has not yet had a serious injury from the sport. However, he stated that he could still use a SPC to help cope with injuries 49
Now that I know about them, I would really like to meet up with one in the future. I know it would benefit me…Because it would be good to find out the methods they could teach me for…getting over an injury, even though I haven’t had any serious injuries, but I know people who have been riding they are scared to do that trick again that they crashed on or hit that jump again. It would be good to learn how to focus to get over that. (Hank) Hank also noted that he would like to work with a SPC to deal with the pressure of competition. He expressed that he attempts to clear his mind before he rides, but that they may be a “different way to handle pressure better”. He felt that a SPC would be able to help him with this situation.
SPC to help with fear of back flip. Two riders talked specifically about a SPC working with riders to overcome the fear of the back flip. Jeremy said that a SPC could help him perform a back flip, because the trick has a high mental component and there is a lot of fear that goes with it. He said: The back flip is a mental thing and I have crashed on it …with any trick you know how to do it but if you have someone to help you block out and help you focus on the flip and block out things like getting hurt, doing stuff like that to get out of your head so you can actually do the trick and not worry about the aftermath. Kind of like a coach or something like that; that would help the sport in that sense. (Jeremy) Mike explained that if a SPC could help overcome the flip that it could be beneficial to his performance and his ability to perform in more competitions. Hank knows of other riders who are scared to perform the back flip or try the trick again from fear. He agrees with Jeremy that a SPC would benefit riders who cannot perform a back flip. Henry said “it would be good to find out the methods a 50
SPC could teach me… I know people who have been riding and they are scared to do the back flip again or hit jumps again.”
Effective Sport Psychology Consultant One interview question asked, “What would make an effective consultant in the sport of FMX?” Four major topics emerged: (a) being a good communicator; (b) understanding individual differences; (c) background experience; and (d) being part of the FMX culture.
Being a good communicator. The FMX riders noted that a SPC should be able to “communicate and get along well with people” (Shane). Also, the SPCs should have a lot of passion both for helping FMX riders and for the sport itself. The athletes admitted that they can be difficult at times. Therefore, a SPC must be patient and ask questions to help the riders through performance issues. I think [if a SPC] just asked questions and just picked the person’s brain that it would be good for overcoming some kind of mental blockage or fear. Because if you sit down [with us] and ask things like “why are you afraid right now” and we start to analyze it, then it will make us wonder why we are afraid and might help us start to overcome the fears we have. (Aaron) One key way a SPC could become a good communicator is by simplifying instructions to FMX riders.
Simplifying instructions. Two of the participants explained that most FMX riders have minimal education, and when SPCs explain things to riders, instructions should be simplified to help with their understanding. They [SPCs] should be able communicate well by reading something in their text book or learning something through school…and communicating 51
that in a way that someone like me can understand, who does not have a university degree…Not to say that we are not smart, but some of us are probably not the smartest group of people, so, transferring what you learned while getting your university degree and all that stuff into a way that we can understand and apply it to our sport. So a good characteristic would be communication. (Hank)
Individual differences. Four participants mentioned that it is important that a consultant understands that FMX is an individual sport and “what works for one rider, might not work for other riders” (Todd). A SPC should spend time with a rider and learn about him to help him perform mentally. I think that you [a SPC] have to be serious about what you do and have the ability to lead people. It is important to see how we react to things because you don’t want to get on people’s [rider’s] nerves and have them think you are crazy either. …. People think differently so you got to stick to their level sometimes and get into their head and you got be like them. (Todd) Henry explained that SPCs should have experience working with high level athletes as well as the ability to learn about their athletes and adapt to each one individually. Jeremy gets frustrated when his performance is not going well and a SPC working with him would need to realize this and be patient. Well one thing is I think just being patient with us because like with me I get really frustrated when I am not doing my tricks right or if I am not focused. Just take time and listen to me or riders because we are the ones that are going to risk our lives to perform. Just make sure you are listening to us and giving us our space when needed. (Jeremy) 52
Background experience. Two athletes suggested that to be effective, a SPC should have a background with extreme sport athletes. Marcus explained that extreme sport athletes are different from other athletes because of the danger and fear that can be associated with their sport. Todd noted, “We are kind of loners and a SPC needs to understand that”.
Being part of the FMX culture. All participants agreed that a consultant who wants to work with FMX riders must be one of the following: a rider, a participant of extreme sports, someone who has worked with similar (extreme sport) athletes, and/or someone who understands the culture of FMX. Thus, the riders felt that a SPC should at least be able to think, act, or look like the riders, but that this must be genuine. If a SPC is falsely portraying the image of a rider, then he or she “might not be able to connect” (Aaron) with the FMX athlete. I would want someone [a SPC] who has some kind of experience working with other freestyle [motocross] riders. I don’t want to work with someone who has no clue what we are actually going through, that is for sure. You [SPCs] would have to have previous experience. (Mike)
Someone [SPC] who has ridden a dirt bike before, I think that or like you [the researcher] said you have been around extreme sports all your life, you understand that high you get from dropping in when surfing or jumping, and stuff like that. It is like going to an orthopedic surgeon that doesn’t understand why my first question is “how long until I can ride again?” because they think we are complete idiots that we go out and put ourselves through that. So I think it would help if that person understands and does extreme sports…and enjoys doing dangerous activities. (Marcus)
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Henry explained that a SPC should know about the sport of FMX so the athlete he is working with does not have to take time to explain the sport. Jeremy concurred with this position: A SPC has to have some sort familiarity with dirt bike riding and FMX. Like whether that is personal experience or you have to understand the rider’s point of view and where he is coming from. Like he doesn’t want to just talk to some quack that doesn’t know what he is talking about or doesn’t know where we [FMX riders] are coming from. You have to know what the rider is talking about and where he is coming from. (Jeremy) It is also important that the SPC understands that FMX riders go through “psychological blocks” when learning how to perform. A SPC needs to have experience working with athletes “who are training from the bottom of their performance and back to the top when they have been knocked off” (Jake), because it happens often in the sport of FMX when learning new tricks. All nine athletes concurred that to be effective a SPC should have a background in extreme sport. Jake explained that “it is easier to put yourself in our shoes when you have that experience, whereas someone who does not have a background in extreme sports might have a hard time and not understand what we deal with.” Even so, Jake noted that it is not “necessary to be a rider.” What is most important is that the SPC has the ability to understand freestyle riders.
Conclusion To be an effective SPC with FMX riders, a SPC must be able to relate to the riders, communicate well, and simplify the sport psychology material. SPCs need to have the ability to learn about individual riders and adapt to their style and how they learn, as every rider is different, and what works for one athlete might 54
not work for another. It may be easier for SPCs to do this when they have had a background working with extreme sport athletes or have been an extreme sport athlete themselves. An effective SPC can relate to the mental aspects that these athletes deal with when performing. Also, the riders seem to be more comfortable with this type of SPC because he or she will “think, act, and look” like a rider.
Mental Skills FMX Riders’ Use to Participate in their Sport Inductive analysis resulted in five main categories: (a) Performance Challenges; (b) Mental Toughness; (c) Performance Preparation; (d) Attention Control; and (e) Anxiety Control. Fifteen higher-order and thirty-nine lower themes are included within these main categories. Each of the sub-categories will be discussed with supporting quotes from the athletes. Tables are provided below illustrating the major categories and related sub-categories. Due to the large amount of data and the fact that the study was conducted with an unexplored population (i.e., FMX riders), any themes discussed by two or more athletes was included in the results. While other qualitative studies may not include findings discussed by a small percentage of the participants, the author felt that it was important to do so in this study as these athletes have not been studied and this project provides a starting point for working with this population in the future. Further discussion of this topic will be included in Chapter 5.
Performance Challenges All the riders talked about challenges they face and have to overcome while participating in their sport. Three higher-order themes emerged. The themes are: stressors of sport, danger of the sport and the fear of back flip (see Table 4).
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Table 4. Performance Challenges
Category Higher-Order Theme Lower-Order Theme Performance Stressors (9) Performance outcome effected by Challenges (9) pressure (9) Riding environment can effect performance (4) Perspective of injury (3) Fear of re-injury (2)
Fear of Back Flip (9) Process of trick (9) Negative past experience (4) Components of mental preparation for trick (4) Outside pressure to perform (3) Dangerous outcome from mistakes (2)
Danger of Sport (9) Reaction to fear (7) Negative performance (5) Family obligations (2)
Note: ( ) = Number of athletes who discussed a theme or category is presented. 56
Though one might consider danger of the sport or fear of the back flip to be stressors, they are separated into their own categories because of the frequency with which the athletes discussed these themes.
Stressor of Sports The physical and mental demands of FMX created a lot of stressors for the athletes. The athletes discussed four main themes that caused stress on them when performing. The four lower-order themes that emerged from the data are: performance outcome affected by pressure, riding environment can affect performance, perspective of injury, and fear of re-injury.
Performance outcome affected by pressure. All nine riders talked about pressure to perform well, whether it be pressure put on by themselves or others. This pressure can have a lasting effect on their overall performance, and some pressures can lead to negative performance. Four main topics were discussed: pressure to do well at contests, negative thoughts lead to negative outcomes, less pressure at shows, and riders quit from pressure. A main stressor that can affect riders’ performance is the pressure to do well at contests. Four of the riders explained that the outcome of a contest for an amateur rider can open many doors into the sport such as, sponsorships and/or professional status; but there are no guarantees. As such, amateur FMX riders risk a great deal when competing because they feel that they have to put everything on the line just to get their name recognized by others Three riders discussed that when pressure to do well (especially in contests) is put on them, that it can lead to negative thoughts. Negative thoughts, in turn, can lead to a negative performance outcome because the riders are worrying more about how others will view their performance than the actual performance itself. 57
Pressure of riding can get to you and when there are a lot of people in a stadium and if you are trying to go pro and want to look good you will push yourself a lot harder and there is a lot more pressure for you to do well. (Aaron) Henry feels that “there is a lot of pressure no matter where you ride”. He stated that riders need to perform complex tricks in order to attract attention and make a name for themselves. Todd said that you cannot “let the pressure of the sport get to you that bad because that is when you will crash. You have to have control over yourself and thoughts.” Aaron and Jake both feel that there is less pressure on themselves when riding in shows. Jake above explains that there is less to worry about when in a show and he doesn’t feel judged by his performance. Jake enjoys the idea that he can ride and perform for others and if he messes up or repeat a trick that it is no big deal. Some riders, such as Henry feel that he is being pressured to do well every time he rides. Jake explains in more depth: When you ride in a show it is more relaxed than anything because you don’t have so much pressure that you have to do really good. If you miss a trick at a show then you miss a trick; it is not a big deal. It is not going to cost you the win or anything…Contests kind of suck, there is too much pressure. You are thinking before you ride, “am I going to do good; I don’t want to do this; I don’t want to repeat a trick.” Sometimes I will ride good and sometimes I ride bad. It depends on the pressure that is put on myself. The last contest I rode I actually put way too much pressure on myself and kind of ended up repeating a couple of tricks. (Jake)
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Two riders explained that there are riders (like Henry) who feel pressure to do well every time they ride and sometimes this pressure can get to them mentally and physically. Some riders can’t seem to cope well with this pressure and have left the sport because of it. Lately, the sport of FMX has been hurting because unfortunately there have been a lot of people who have gotten seriously hurt or killed. I know a couple people who hang up their boots because they cannot handle the pressure that is put on them. (Shane)
Riding environment can affect performance. In this section the two main topics that emerged to create this theme are: ramp equipment affecting performance and will not ride if not safe. Two of the riders compared FMX to the sport of motocross, which in the participants’ eyes is a rich sport. FMX riders’ environment and facilities are sometimes dangerous because not a lot of money is put into amateur FMX riding. If a ramp is “sketchy” (i.e., unstable) this can affect the riders’ approach to the ramp, and the riders will have to make appropriate adjustments to other bike skills such as “throttle control.” The stability of the ramp and its impact on performance was an important source of stress for the athletes. Due to the amateur status of many of the riders and the environment in which they train and compete, the facilities are not always well maintained. In one instance, rubber kitchen mats were placed just before the ramp. Aaron noted that right before he hit the ramp, his back tire would spin out. He had to make adjustments to compensate for this and reach the ramp at just the right speed; because of the specific technical approach to stay safe, his performance became cautious. In some cases, the athletes will not ride if the ramp is unsafe. 59
If a rider becomes cautious of their riding, they will take the time to analyze the situation and decide whether to move forward with riding or call it a day. Marcus says that he will not ride if the environment is not safe, because it is not worth the risk. Marcus said a lot of the promoters of the shows that he rides in “don’t care about the riders or their safety,” and the equipment is not always safe. If I don’t feel like it is safe to ride then I will call it a day and say I am not doing this, I don’t feel safe, and if the safety equipment is not safe then no way. Whether it is my bike that doesn’t feel 100% or the equipment we are riding, for instance the ramps or landing trailer doesn’t feel safe, there is no air bag on the landing trailer. There are so many things that could go wrong and my number one thing is safety and being safe. (Marcus) Three of the riders discussed how the riding facilities (i.e., shows) can affect how they perform and their decision to even continue to ride. Todd and Jeremy discussed safety at shows and how the set up can affect their performance. More specifically, the landing of each jump may be set up (i.e., airbag or padding on metal ramps) unsafely. Jeremy will ask himself if it is worth riding that day, to risk getting injured or killed. When a rider has to ask themselves questions like Jeremy did above, it will put a lot of stress on the riders and affect their perception of riding based solely on the environment in which they are riding. Aaron mentioned that at some of the shows, there will not be any pads on the landing (to prevent injuries if something goes wrong). This can distract a lot of the riders because not only do they have to worry about the process that goes into performing a trick, but they also have to consider the safety of the riding environment. This could lead to negative thoughts that could hinder their performance outcome, thereby leading to serious injury or death if they are not fully focused on the trick. 60
Perspective of injury. Injuries are a central part of FMX because of the inherent danger that comes from participating. When a mistake is made, the outcome is generally a severe injury and in some cases fatal. For three of the riders’ in the study injury had two different effects on their performance: the riders had a negative perspective on injury which leads to poor performance; and/or he riders did not allow injury to affect their performance because of the reoccurrence of injury in the sport. FMX riders’ performance is hindered by a negative perspective that they have about injury. Injury brings fear to the riders’ performance and what injury could mean to their riding status. For three of the riders, the idea of injury can have a major negative effect on their performance. In most cases injuries occur when riders are not prepared, focused, or committed to performing certain tricks. The back flip is a good example, because the riders are expected to do this trick if they want to advance to the professional ranking. Five of the riders cannot perform the back flip. The other riders have been injured from trying. On the other hand Aaron, Hank, and Henry talked about how they do not let injury or the thought of injury affect their performance. They know that injury is part of being a rider and since they are aware of that concept, they try and keep it out of their head so it cannot lead to negative performance. Some riders discussed even riding when injured, though they know how hard it is to perform when injured. Henry gave an example of riding when injured: I have broken my ankle and recompressed my spine, but a lot of that stuff I do not pay attention to, it does not bother me. I don’t let it get in my way of riding because less time I spend on my bike the less chances I have to make a name for myself. A lot of my friends call me stupid and crazy because I will keep riding when I am injured if it is not that bad. I have gone months 61
and months without riding due to injury and then I turn around and get on my bike and hit a 75 foot ramp gap and I still got it perfect. I don’t let being injured affect my performance because I can’t let it in this sport. (Henry) Hank also gave a good supporting example of riding when he was injured. The worst injury I have gotten from FMX is internal bleeding in my kidney; I was peeing blood for a month. I got a handlebar jammed in me when jumping in the wind and I landed in a sand hill. My handlebar went right into my gut; I don’t even know what happened. I didn’t go to the doctor I just dealt with it. I thought I broke my rib because I couldn’t breathe then I went to the bathroom a little bit later and was like “oh man this isn’t good.” It is the consequences of the sport and you just don’t think about it. (Hank)
Fear of re-injury. Some riders who have crashed actually experience more fear from the idea of re-injury because they already know the consequences of certain injuries and how they can affect performance. This is especially true for riders who are coming back from an injury and may lack confidence; hesitation and cautious riding when returning from an injury support this theme. Marcus discussed his fear after returning from a serious injury: I think for FMX it is one of the hardest sports to learn and the easiest to give up on. You have that certain injury and you’re laying on the ground and kind of don’t want to give up; you don’t want to go through it again. You are laying there and you want to be better and you don’t want to be hurt anymore. Once you’re healed it is getting that devil off your back. Getting over an injury and getting back on the bike is the hardest thing and making that first jump again after going through 6 months on crutches or a 62
wheel chair can be hard and your confidence is not there. That is what makes this sport different than others. (Marcus) Some riders do not have the confidence when returning from injury, and will start off gently when they return to their sport. After Jeremy returned from an injury that kept him away from his bike for three months, he “went over to the foam pit” rather than try to land a trick in the dirt. The foam pit was discussed by four riders and how it allows for a safe and comfortable environment when trying new tricks or coming back from injury. Each rider explained that the foam pit helps build their confidence and even though it doesn’t take fear completely away, it helps with the process of returning.
Fear of Back Flip One of the biggest dangers of the sport for professional and amateur riders is the back flip. According to all the participants of the study, the back flip is one of their biggest fears and performance challenges, as the back flip is a requirement for amateur riders to move to the professional status. Five lower-order themes emerged from the data that described why the back flip is feared by the riders. The lower-order themes are: process of trick, negative past experience, components of mental preparation for trick, outside pressure to perform, and dangerous outcomes from mistakes.
Process of trick. All of the riders talked about their fear of the back flip and how it scares them into not wanting to perform this trick because it requires a very high skill level to execute. The back flip is the main trick that is stopping these riders from moving to the professional status and they cannot get past the fear to perform the trick. Furthermore even the process of the back flip scares participants away from trying the trick. 63
The process of the back flip consists of two areas, the actual flip and taking the trick from the foam pit to dirt. The phrase “taking it to dirt” is when a rider is performing tricks on a ramp and landing on a dirt mound. The phrase is typically used among the riders when they are talking about performing a new trick in the foam pit, and “taking it to dirt” represents the next step of the trick. Jake said that the process of the back flip is scary because “you have to convince yourself that you are going to be okay even though you are going against the laws of physics.” Transitioning from the foam pit to dirt is a difficult component of the back flip process. Shane and Marcus both acknowledged that they are “scared to flip to dirt.” Shane sees himself performing the trick in the future. He thinks it is fun to do it in the foam pit but he is “not ready to take it to dirt.”
Negative past experience. Five riders discussed fear of the back flip due to past experiences. Results showed that previous attempts can lead riders to think negative thoughts before performing the back flip. Henry stated that when he tries the back flip he thinks “I hope that I am not going to land upside down on the other side of the foam pit in the dirt.” Past experiences with the back flip have also lead to even more fear for some athletes. For example, Jeremy has done a back flip before but crashed. Now when he tries the trick again, he can only perform it in the foam pit. He has a mental block when it comes to taking the trick to dirt. For one of the riders, past experiences with the back flip has led to him passing out. He recalled this experience: The first couple of times I tried to yank my bike back to do a flip and all I would see is sky. I would get dizzy in the air and pass out. All I remember is waking up and my buddies would be trying to help pull my bike out of the pit. It was one of the scariest things that has happened to me. (Henry)
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Components of mental preparation for trick. There is a lot of work that goes into being able to perform at the top level (especially when it comes to the back flip). Two participants said that FMX riders must get over their fears and have the ability to let go. Some of the riders feel that they are not mentally prepared to try the flip. I have been practicing the flip in the foam pit a little bit and I am just kind of waiting for the right time to do it. I am trying to get other stuff ready before and fully focus on the flip. I don’t want to get over my head and start doing flips when I am not ready. (Todd)
Outside pressure to perform. Amateur riders receive pressure from outside sources to perform the back flip. Marcus noted that younger spectators have come up to him at shows or competitions and asked him to perform this trick. They do not understand the skill level needed and the risks that go with this highly skilled trick, but expect it as this is commonly displayed by professional riders. Todd talked about his first time performing the back flip. For him, though, the outside pressure was positive and motivated him to perform the trick. The first time I ever tried performing the back flip I was pumped up for the most part. I was younger but I was kind of scared too but (a professional rider) was actually there and that kind of motivated me. It was kind of like peer pressure in a way with him there and I was scared but excited at the same time because I wanted to do it. I dealt with being scared by having (the professional rider) out there helping me because I probably wouldn’t have done it if it was me and my friends. But just hanging out with (the professional rider) and he would say “you got it, you can do it”… he is the 65
one that invented the back flip and basically he got me started and gave me hand signal and yelling you can do it…I knew I had to do it. (Todd) In Todd’s case he used the outside pressure to help him, but the quote gives insight that he felt pressure to do it because even though the professional rider was given him positive support, he knew he had to do it. Todd was not the only rider who talked about pressure of doing the trick to do well in the sport. All the riders mentioned that they do feel pressure to perform the trick to make it to the next level.
Dangerous outcome from mistakes. As mentioned above, fear of the back flip is an issue among the riders and the reason for the fear is the inherent danger of the trick. The back flip is a huge danger in the sport of FMX because of the severe injuries and deaths that have occurred from the trick when a mistake is made. Being able to perform the back flip is a huge risk for each individual athlete, but as outlined by Jeremy, athletes need to push themselves physically even if their “mind is saying no”. The knowledge that other riders have died as result of an incorrect back flip, compound the fear that some feel. Marcus discussed a professional rider who was considered one of the best, but died after attempting to perform a variation of the back flip: Ever since Jeremy [Lusk], you know I have been waiting to flip and I have been pushing myself to flip and I realize I need to do the flip to make it in this sport. When you lose such a pioneer of the sport and an amazing FMX rider who died doing a trick that he does every day and a trick that he is known for being the best at, you know it kind of puts everything in perspective that no matter what, anything can happen. (Marcus) 66 Danger of Sport FMX is an inherently dangerous sport. This danger represents a key mental distraction. Three main themes that were discussed among seven riders about how the danger of the sport is a performance challenge are: reaction to fear, negative performance, and family obligations.
Reaction to fear. Seven FMX riders acknowledged and accepted that danger is associated with their sport. The topics that emerged to create this theme included fear being a part of the sport, and fear going away after riding. As mentioned above, riders are aware of the danger and accept this part of the sport. However, the way each rider deals with the danger can affect performance positively or negatively. The sport is not like jumping on a skateboard or going and surfing a wave. At any moment this sport can take your life; it is a gnarly sport and there is nothing else like it. It plays a lot with your head. (Aaron) Aaron mentioned how fear from the sport can “play with your head,” but Shane explains that “fear is what you make it.” In his interview he uses horror films as an analogy to fear. He said: FMX is more mental than anything because riders have to try and get over fear. Every FMX rider is a little scared and tentative, especially when learning new tricks. But, fear is the biggest part of this sport and fear is what you make it. Some people can watch a horror film and they will go all crazy and think about it afterwards and have bad dreams. And then there are other people who are like “whatever that was cool.” That is what FMX is like, you can have the dangers affect you negatively or you can just deal with it and move forward. (Shane)
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Todd said that the fear of riding is there before you ride but “goes away after riding.” He explains: Yea I can get scared of what can happen to me, but you cannot dwell on that because that will [mess] you up. The fear is there when I start to ride, but after I get on my bike it [fear] all goes away after riding. (Todd)
Negative performance. Even though riders are aware of the danger in the sport and some are able to let the fear disappear after riding, most feel that the danger of the sport can lead to negative performances. This occurs because the riders become frustrated, hesitant, use substances to deal with the danger, and think about the danger excessively. Hank and Henry explained that frustration can lead to poor performance if an athlete does not know how to control it. Hank noted that if he makes a mistake on a trick and doesn’t feel that he did it well enough he makes an effort to control his frustration. He’ll tell himself, “I didn’t do that good (sic) and next time I am going to get up and try harder.” Hank says that becoming aware of his frustration can help his performance because he uses the opportunity to change his riding in a positive way rather than just dwelling on his mistakes. He explains: I get frustrated a lot with my riding, especially if I keep screwing up on a new trick or one I have been doing for a while. The most important thing is my awareness of the frustration because I can get all pissed off but that does no good. … So yea, being frustrated can lead to some gnarly stuff and it has happened to me, so just learn to control your frustration to help how you perform. (Hank) Henry explains that hesitation can lead to negative performance when a rider is afraid of a jump. Some riders will look at certain jumps and get “scared 68 right off the bat.” This can make a negative impact; according to the FMX riders, hesitation in performance has been closely associated with accidents. Sometimes riders use illegal substances to deal with the danger of the sport. Two athletes spoke freely about the use of drugs and their common acceptance in the FMX culture. However, the use of marijuana prior to performing can lead to a negative performance outcome. Henry discussed how being under the influence resulted in a slower reaction time: I gave up on smoking weed before I ride because it has made me way too slow for the tricks. I have learned and have progressed because you have to swing your body around and you are working every part of your body. When I smoke I have a hard time reacting fast enough to do the tricks. I have buddies who still rip up before riding, but it affects me negatively. (Henry) The sport of FMX leads some athletes to become preoccupied with thoughts related to the dangers of their participation. Five of the riders talked about how thinking about the outcomes of the sport can lead to poor performance and that riders’ need to be able to get rid of those negative thoughts before jumping. For example, Aaron noted that thinking about crashing before a jump is a bad idea because if you think about it, it will happen. “Riders can’t think about crashing in [FMX] because the chances of crashing will be less if they don’t think about it.” Shane echoed these thoughts and stated, “The biggest thing in FMX is fear and riders need to just push that stuff aside and not think about the consequences because when riders start to think is when they get in trouble.”
Family obligations. Two of the riders had a family of their own and they talked about how the danger is more relevant to them now since they became 69
fathers. Marcus talked about how he was never been afraid of the sport and the dangers that come along with it. He accepted the fact that every day could be his last day riding. This changed when he became a parent. He explained: Family did not affect the way I rode until I actually had a kid. I never really cared. I never thought about the risk until I had people relying on me. When you have kids you kind of think twice before you do things and you kind of go out and realize this is a job and there are risks. I mean there is (sic) risks to any job; driving to work you could crash your car and waddle yourself up. This is no different than me going out and riding my dirt bike. I do it enough to where the risk gets less and less. But, the risk is still there. It is still in the back of my head. The thing is to practice and stay consistent. I feel the more I practice and stay consistent, the less risk is involved. But my perspective of how I approach risk has definitely changed since I have become a dad. (Marcus)
Mental Toughness Mental toughness was the second main category that emerged from the data as all nine FMX riders discussed the importance of a mentally tough mind when participating in their sport. The riders’ defined mental toughness as the ability to use self-talk, be confident and committed (see Table 5).
Self-Talk All nine riders discussed self-talk as a factor that makes them mentally tough. More specifically, the riders used self-talk to help with their performance.
Positive self-talk helps with performing tricks. All nine riders use positive self-talk to help their performance whether it is performing a trick or correcting a 70 Table 5. Mental Toughness
Category Higher-Order Theme Lower-Order Theme Mental Self-Talk (9) Positive self-talk helps with performing Toughness (9) tricks (9)
Confidence (9) Gained self-confidence from riding experience (7) Elevated by peer support (7) Needed to perform back flip (4) Self-doubt leads to poor performance (4) More positive performances (3)
Commitment (8) Components of sport (7) Creates motivation (5) Prevent injuries (3) Note: ( ) = Number of athletes who discussed a theme or category is presented. trick when a mistake is made. Jeremy explains how he uses self-talk to perform the back flip. He said, “When flipping I am think I am going to land this, I am going to come all the way around.” Riders will use positive self-talk when a mistake is made to help the next performance outcome. Todd explained that “if I mess up on a jump I will pull over and say “this trick is nothing,” or “a million people have done it, so I see no reason why I cannot do it.” Henry used self-talk to change his thinking pattern: I had to change my thinking pattern to where I am thinking, “I am going to hit this jump, I am going to practice these tricks and it is going to be good.” 71
Everything goes good when I am thinking positive. Some of the things I say to myself to get rid of the negative thoughts is pretty much knowing that any jump is nothing or looking at a 150 foot dirt to dirt gap and saying that is small. I try to keep all negativity out of my head before I hit a jump and tell myself I am going to sail off this ramp and I am going to throw a big trick and everyone is going to be stoked for me. (Henry)
Confidence The athletes acknowledged that confidence was paramount to being mentally tough and overcoming any obstacles. Confidence was discussed among five themes. These five lower-ordered themes are: gained self-confidence from riding experience, elevated by peer support, needed to perform back flip, self- doubt leads to poor performance, and more positive performances.
Gained self-confidence from riding experience. Riders’ self-confidence increased from years of riding because they gained better bike skills. Gaining better bike skills led riders to trust themselves more which lead to higher self- confidence. Shane stated: There are riders in the sport who have no bike skills and all they can do is go straight and hit a ramp. To be good in the sport you need to have good bike skills, you need to know how to control you bike in certain situations. Bike skills will, at least for me, gives me more confidence. (Shane)
Elevated by peer support. Peer support plays a major role in building rider’s confidence. Henry explained that peer support from his friends helped him elevate his level of riding. 72
All the vibes you get from being out there around certain riders just gives you the confidence to where you are pushing yourself and you are not scared or not thinking about getting hurt because you have that support system. (Henry) Four riders talked about how peer support helps them perform tricks. Jake also talked about the “vibe” he got from having the “godfather” of the back flip who was at his practice watching him perform the back flip. He said: For [the godfather] to be out there watching me and telling me how great I did and to be stoked from watching me, gave me a huge confidence booster and that just helps because that is what you need in this sport. (Jake) Marcus noted that peer support helped him get through an injury because “handling injuries is hard and you lose confidence…it is a lot on your family and your loved ones who help you through it and keep you motivated and build up your confidence to ride again.”
Needed to perform back flip. The athletes noted that being confident is central to them being able to perform the back flip. Todd stated that he knows he can do the back flip. “I can do it in my head and I know I can ride a motorcycle, but when it comes to actually putting the two together that is all confidence.” Confidence is required to be able to perform the back flip, but riders who have landed the back flip have stated that “after landing a new trick or the back flip you become more confident in you riding ability. (Jake)”
Self-doubt leads to poor performance. The FMX athletes noted that low self-confidence is associated with fear that riders get from FMX. Riders said if you have fear have this could lead to self-doubt about performance. Todd mentioned that fear has hindered his performance. 73
When I am scared and trying to get over the fear I just try to rely on my confidence. I use to be scared at a level that I thought I would never be good enough to do anything. Then I realized I need to stay confident in myself and know I have the skill level…you have to have self-confidence to get over the scary points. (Todd) Marcus also explains that self-doubt can limit one’s performance. There are a lot of guys who do their tricks really late and don’t have long extensions. It is because they mentally don’t feel confident that they are going to clear a certain distance. They want to get in the air and make sure they are going to clear the distance and then do their trick. That is the difference between the guys that have big long extensions on their trick and guys that pull their tricks really quick and get back on the bike because they are not confident enough in their riding. And mentally they do not think that they are going to make the jump. (Marcus)
More positive performances. The FMX riders also recognized that positive performances were associated with a confident mind set. Henry explained what confidence does for him when performing: When you are in the air and you feel confident you can do a rock solid and let go of your bike completely. But, if you are not confident you are going to do a simple nac nac or something because there have been times where I have gone out there where I have said I am going to do a superman seat grab, like a one handed seat grab. I got up in the air and wind up letting go of my bike completely because I feel so confident with my riding. (Henry) The athletes also acknowledged that their confidence and performance can be affected by other riders. This can be positive, as in the case of peer support, or 74
negative as explained by Jake. Jake noted that his performance is affected when “I see someone go down before my run. This affects my performance and confidence.”
Commitment Being committed in the sport is a key area to help riders become mentally tough. The athletes discussed three themes that they must be committed to and how commitment helps them to be mentally tough competitors. The three lower- order themes of commitment are: commitment to components of their sport, to create motivation, and to overcome injuries.
Components of sport. Seven riders talked about commitment to the sport and that being an important area in helping them with performance and becoming mentally tough. As Todd said “a lot of the sport has to do with the mind game and commitment. The whole sport has to do with commitment to things and I think that is all mental.” To be able to perform a trick and, in essence, do well in FMX, riders frequently talk about having commitment to specific aspects of the sport as well. Henry said that “a rider must be committed to the sport or otherwise they got (sic) to hand it down and give it up.” Commitment is also a big component to actually jumping and performing tricks. The commitment needed to perform a back flip was a key point. Todd explained: I have been able to do the back flips on trampolines and I have been confident and committing to the back flip. But when it comes to freestyle, it takes a different kind of commitment to perform from the beginning to get all the way around. (Todd)
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Marcus added that: The back flip is one of those things that the first few times a rider does it, it is fear. When a rider squares up with the ramp they have to clear their head and just commit and if they don’t commit they are just going to get hung upside down. (Marcus)
Creates motivation. When five of the riders were lacking motivation to train, they drew upon their commitment to the sport. This process helped them to increase their motivation and continue to put the effort into training and competing. For example, Henry noted that peer doubt helped him be committed. A significant person in his life once told him that he would never make it as a FMX rider or make it as a professional. He channeled this negative comment into positive motivation and recommitted to his sport in an attempt to prove that person wrong. Staying positive is another key theme used by the riders to regarding the use of commitment to remain motivated. Henry stated, “when I see myself already doing that [taking the steps to becoming a professional FMX rider] it just gives me that confidence to continue my] commitment towards the sport.” Further, being committed can help riders stay motivated to achieve their goals. Todd explained that “I set goals for myself …and that I focus on my riding and commit to my goals to stay motivated. If you have a plan then it keeps you motivated to strive for that goal.”
Prevent injuries. The athletes discussed commitment and its role in preventing injuries. More specifically, committing to the ramp or trick, rather than hesitating or being cautious, can help prevent injuries. If a rider is not committed, 76
it could lead to injury. Todd explained a time where he was not fully committed and this led to an injury. One time I lost concentration when I was I riding. I was riding at my normal practice spot and it was an off day and the feeling was not necessarily good; some days you just don’t want to ride because you are worn out from riding. I hit the ramp and I wasn’t comfortable with doing a trick even though I knew how to do the trick and I just needed to do it; then I went to do it and I wussed out and I didn’t really commit and I just messed up on the trick. When I was coming back to land I missed grabbing my handle bar and pretty much just hit the dirt. I thought I could do it and I should have just done it but I didn’t think or commit all the way through and gave up. And the consequences of me not fully committing lead me months away from the sport. (Todd) Commitment can also help an athlete “push through” injury. Hank noted that being committed keeps a rider motivated and focused on what he is trying to achieve. This commitment will encourage some athletes to ride while still injured. Comment is huge in the sport, especially when you are injured because it helps you push through the injury and ride. When I am committed I am motivated and focused on what I have to do no matter what. (Hank)
Performance Preparation The ways in which the FMX athletes prepare for performance was a major topic discussed. The four main themes riders talked about to help with performance preparation are: routines, visualization, riding preparation, and awareness. (see Table 6).
77 Table 6. Performance Preparation
Category Higher-Order Theme Lower-Order Theme Performance Routines (9) Pre-competition routine to help with Preparation performance (9) (9)
Visualization (9) Use of internal imagery to prepare for competition (9) Use of external imagery to analyze performance (6)
Riding Preparation Mental preparation to help with (6) performance (4) Music to help with preparation (4) Physical training to help with performance (3)
Awareness (4) Know your limits to prevent accidents (4) Note: ( ) = Number of athletes who discussed a theme or category is presented.
Routines Riders created routines before each competition to help with their performance. One lower-ordered theme emerged from the data: pre-competition routine to help with performance.
Pre-competition routine. All nine athletes discussed the importance of using a pre-competition routine. This included different components for each rider. Seven of the riders created a trick list and taped the list onto their handle bars to 78
avoid repeating a trick. It is important that riders do not repeat a trick during competition as this will result in point deductions. I like to know exactly what I am doing because I can’t take my focus off my riding to think about what trick I need to perform next. Having a trick list on my handlebars helps me focus and not worry about having to think of a trick on the spot. (Jeremy) Another component of the pre-competition routines comprised walking the course. Jake walked the course to analyze which trick would be best performed off of each jump. When I am walking the course I am figuring out what tricks I can do and what tricks look good off of certain jumps. I feel for where the judges are sitting so when I have a certain trick that I want the judges to see because it has different grabs in it I find the right jump that allows me to perform and the judges can see the trick clearly. (Jake) Final elements of the pre-competition routine include creating a “to do” list to check the bike and safety gear. When Marcus goes through his list prior to a ride, the first thing that goes through his mind is “safety, because safety is the biggest thing to me”. Once this process is complete, he feels prepared to execute his tricks and have a successful performance.
Visualization FMX riders have the ability to visualize themselves internally and externally. Using these two imagery perspectives helps them to perform well and prepare for their performance.
Internal Imagery to prepare for competition. Riders use internal imagery before they compete. They will use internal imagery to visualize tricks before 79 hitting the ramp and to visualize a competition run. Eight of the riders explained that they use internal imagery to help visualize tricks. Todd talked about how he uses imagery when he needs to fix a trick. He uses past experiences and feelings to help guide his imagery. I know actually what it feels like to be in the air from so many years riding that when I pull over I can visualize what I need to do to fix or learn from any trick and then apply it to the same trick or others that I am trying to learn. (Todd) Jeremy describes how he uses imagery to learn new tricks: When I am learning new tricks and I don’t feel that I am getting them down where I want them to be because I will notice that I am not fully extended, I will go through how I am performing the trick in detail over in my head and picture it over and over again until I feel more comfortable with it and have more confidence. (Jeremy) Riders tend to use imagery from an internal perspective before they ride at practice, shows, or competition. Mike elaborated: I first visualize my run from beginning to end and go through what tricks I will perform off what jumps. … You have to picture doing things like superman seat grabs or double grabs. You got to picture your hands going to that seat, when actually performing the trick you can’t just jump and look where your hands should go, you have to be aware of your bike and where your hands are when they go to reach for the seat. If you don’t have this awareness it could end up that you miss the seats and hit dirt. You focus too much on the spot you need to put your hands and you don’t get a full extension from the trick because you waited so long. Visualizing yourself 80
doing that trick helps with this process because you think about it so much it just seems to become second nature. (Mike) Some athletes also used imagery away from the competition site. I visualize my tricks before competition and while am home in bed at night. Laying down helps me out because I am relaxed away from all the distractions of riding. I will visualize the tricks I am trying to learn and I will remember exactly what I was thinking the next time when riding to improve my tricks. (Marcus)
External imagery to analyze performance. The athletes use external imagery to analyze their performance. This is facilitated by looking at video footage and photos. The riders said that using external imagery helps them to analyze their performance and to correct any mistakes if needed. When I am looking at video or photo shots of myself I am looking at how big I went and how I could be bigger. I love to watch video of myself because if I perform well I am stoked. I am always watching video or looking at photos of myself to see how my technique is and how extended I am. I will take this information and visualize myself making corrections and I will go back out and practice. (Aaron) Henry explained how he uses photography to help his performance: I will look at pictures of myself riding to see if my style has progressed at all, to see if anything has changed because like my superman seat grabs, when I was first started doing them they were kind of cheesy and looking through my photos now, I can see more and more from riding I am getting more comfortable with extending my legs further and seeing in the picture to where you can see my tricks improving and getting a lot better. (Henry) 81 Riding Preparation Getting ready for performance was a key point discussed by the FMX athletes. Riders discussed the importance of mentally and physically preparing before they perform.
Mental preparation to help with performance. Four riders talked about being able to mentally push boundaries to help them prepare. Being able to push mental boundaries allows for riders to learn and help them excel in FMX. In order to get my performance where I want it to be I have to do it [mentally train] and get past that point of security on my own level. You are going to have to get pass that security to get to that next level; you have to push your mental boundaries or you will never learn. (Todd) Riders will reflect on the day to help mentally prepare for performance. The reflection takes place during down time before they go out and ride. Riders reflect on what they want to achieve that day and set small goals. To be successful you have to go into riding with a game plan. If not, you’re lost. I will always make time to reflect on the day and I usually do this on my tailgate when I get to the spot I am riding. It is nice to just sit there in silence and think about what you’re going to do. I set small goals that I want to accomplish that day. Sometimes I will even reflect after I ride, I think this is an important thing to do. (Todd)
Music to help with preparation. Riders use music before they ride to help their preparation, get “pumped up,” and focus. Riders use music as an aid to help them relax and control their anxiety before competition. The type of music that riders listen to before riding can positively or negatively affect their performance. Some riders will listen to heavy rock; others feel distracted when they listen to 82
“loud in your face” music. Todd said that “music is key” when he is preparing for competition. Shane added, “Music loosens me up and helps me relax so I am not sketching (sic).”
Physical training to help with performance. In addition to the mental preparation, the riders also noted that physical preparation plays a big role in them getting ready for performance. Being physically fit was a key theme discussed, but the athletes did identify that they need to be more athletic than strong. They need to be able to move their body well in the air, but according to Marcus the riders do not need “muscle endurance” to last a whole run. Todd does gymnastics with his brother to help him with the demands that are put on his body. He said it also helps “me prepare for tricks because it allows me to be flexible and if I need to bail (jumping off of the bike in mid-air) it [gymnastics] helps too.”
Awareness To do well in FMX, riders must be consistently aware of the obstacles they could potentially face. Riders must know when they can and cannot push themselves. If something goes wrong during performance, they must know how to “escape” and “pull out” safely. One lower order theme that emerged was that the riders need to know their limits to prevent accidents.
Know your limits to prevent accidents. Four riders noted that self- awareness was necessary to performing well and in preventing serious accidents. Riders that are aware of themselves know their limits and make good decisions about trying tricks. Todd elaborated about what it means to have self-awareness. You need to know your limits so you don’t go over them. Knowing your own limits will allow you to know what can and what can’t hurt you. I am a 83
pretty good rider for the most part where I know when I am not having a good day and know when not to push myself and know I should not push my limits if I am not concentrated because it has cost me a broken shoulder. (Todd)
Attention Control When riding and jumping off of the ramps, FMX riders must attend to the task at hand. The riders use many different techniques to help control their attention. The three main themes that were talked about to help attention control are: controlling distractions, focusing, and the ability to re-focus (see Table 7).
Table 7. Attention Control
Category Higher-Order Theme Lower-Order Theme Attention Distraction Control (8) Block out outside distractions (6) Control (9) Don’t think about negative situations (6) Shifting focus to control distractions (3)
Focus (6) Practice techniques (5) On performance (4)
Re-Focus (5) Techniques to regain focus (5) Note: ( ) = Number of athletes who discussed a theme or category is presented.
Distraction Control Like other sports, FMX riders face multiple internal and external distractions that affect their performance. The riders help control distractions by blocking out outside distractions, not thinking about negative situations, and shifting focus to control distractions. 84
Blocking out outside distractions. The FMX athletes said that blocking out distractions was an effective strategy for helping them to control their attention. More specifically, they blocked out any stress or pressure they might feel before performing, as well as the crowd. I block out the crowd by looking at what I am actually doing and not pay attention to anything else going on. If I focus on what I am doing, … this helps me block out the crowd…When you are riding you have to block out the crowd for the most part, but sometimes the crowd can pump you up and that is good, but then you have to be able to focus back on your riding and block everything out again. (Jeremy) The athletes also noted that they blocked out distractions by shutting down and tricking their mind. Jake stated, “Sometimes when it comes to riding ramps I kind of shut down a little bit so I can concentrate on what I am doing.” Also, music helps the riders block out the dangers from the sport and not think about them during their performance. Jake explained: Sometimes I will get a song or whatever stuck in my head so when I am riding I know what I want to do but I am not thinking about the process of doing that certain trick. I let it come naturally. I use music to help me mentally block myself from thinking about that certain trick and the outcome of it if something goes wrong. Music is a big factor in my riding to push myself to focus and not worry about the dangers that come from riding. (Jake)
Don’t think about negative situations. An attentional control strategy used by some riders comprises not thinking about potential distractions, such as poor riding conditions, tricks or the overall danger of the sport. Aaron stated that he 85
deals with these issues by “not thinking about it.” He goes on to say, “the more I think about it, the less I am going to pay attention to my riding.” Jake added, “I try not to think too much about the trick itself and think more about the speed or something else.”
Shifting focus to control distractions. Sometimes the riders will shift their focus to stay occupied on things other than the dangers and pressures of the sport. For example, riders will clear their minds and work on their bike before competition. Jake said, “I will distract myself by working on my bike.”
Focus The riders acknowledged the importance of focusing to perform well. Two main themes that were discussed among six of the riders about focus was: practicing techniques, and focus to create a positive performance.
Practice techniques. With respect to practice focus techniques, the FMX athletes discussed two main areas: preparing to practice their focusing skills and creating “tunnel vision” through practice. Focusing on a specific task does not come naturally to all FMX riders. As such, some riders will dedicate their entire practice time to working on their focus. For example, Todd stated: I will get into a good stretch session and just focus on what I am going to practice for that particular day and focus on it. This helps me set up a plan so I know what I want to try to do. (Todd) Some riders will dedicate their whole day to practicing on a bike until they experience “tunnel vision.” 86
I will ride from when the sun comes up until the sun goes down. It will be night time and I am still hitting the ramp even though I can barely see it. I will try to pull in over 300-400 jumps a day just to help with my performance and to help me focus because after that many jumps you begin to lose focus and I have to teach myself to get into a zone. I will practice to keep that tunnel vision down with me. (Henry)
On performance. Performance focus was a key theme discussed by the riders. Todd discussed the importance of not focusing on irrelevant stimuli in order to maximize performance. “The second you pay attention to someone that is watching you or you try to show off to look cool is the second when your concentration messes up.” When focusing during performance, some athletes noted that they will sometimes feel as if there is no bike; as if the rider and bike have become one entity instead of separate pieces of the performance. When fully focused, the “tunnel vision” that has been practiced, can also occur. This allows for a positive performance among the riders because it helps them focus. Aaron talked about how tunnel vision slows everything down for him. Right before I hit the ramp tunnel vision appears, it is kind of fast and then it is crazy because I am able to slow my performance down. Being able to slow time down when I am focused on going off a ramp helps my performance because I am able to control the sounds of the crowd, see what I am doing, and keep a clear mind. (Aaron) Focusing on riding helps athletes zone in on their approach to the ramp and the ramp itself. 87
After a rider performs a trick, he cannot dwell on how he performed the trick. Dwelling on past performances will cause a rider to not be focused on the next trick. Todd said: When you come around a turn you have to relax a bit and focus on the next trick. You can’t be thinking about the last trick and get all rallied up about it. You have to let it go and move forward, you can think about it after. Sometimes it can get to you if it is the last run of the contest, but still then you have to let it go. (Todd) For some riders, being able to focus on riding can come easily if they get “into the flow.” Jake is a rider that “once I get out and start riding the contest, I get immediately into flow because I am relaxed and focused. When I get into the flow everything just kind of goes from there and tends to work out.” Todd explained that the “only thing you want to concentrate on when riding is your bike and yourself working together.” Riders will use their sport to get away from things that are going on in their life, and they will focus solely on riding. I think I can still ride good (sic) after months away … because the passion I have for the sport and how much it makes me feel great when things are going bad in my life. I used to push myself with riding when shitty (sic) things were going on in my life. When something bad was going on I would get on my bike and ride and all the shitty (sic) things would just go away because I would be so focused on my riding. (Mike)
Re-Focus Riders can lose focus easily due to the distractions of the sport and it is important to be able to re-focus. The three lower-order themes that emerged from 88
the data regarding the athletes trying to regain their focus are: techniques to regain focus, and awareness of mistakes to help re-focus.
Techniques to regain focus. When riders lose their focus, they need to be able to manage distractions and bring their attention back to the task at hand. The riders shared several different techniques they used to refocus themselves when distracted. These included pulling over, breathing, closing their eyes, and controlling their emotions. Five of the riders will control themselves and their thoughts in silence to help re-focus when they become distracted. Jeremy stated, “When I am distracted from riding sometimes I will stop and ride out of the way and sit there and just look at my bar pad, close my eyes, and take a few deep breaths to re-focus”. As evidenced above, the refocus techniques are often used in combination with each other. Another re-focus strategy involves the athletes acknowledging that they have made a mistake. This self-awareness is a re-focusing technique, as the riders then use this information to fix the mistake or in some cases redo a trick. It is important to try not to stress over things in a contest. You don’t want to do the same trick twice and you don’t want to do a dead sailor [performing no trick in the air] in a contest either. You want to do some sort of trick but if you feel like you didn’t pull it that big, don’t stress about it too much and learn to just move on to the next trick. If you dwell on it too much it is hard to concentrate on the rest of the run and you won’t do well overall…If I miss a trick in a contest and I am feeling really hard on myself I might just do it one more time later in the run and stretch it our further to help me deal with any type of stress I might be putting on myself. (Aaron) 89 Anxiety Control The FMX riders discussed experiencing a lot of anxiety in their sport. They shared their use of positive and negative strategies to help control this anxiety (see Table 8).
Table 8. Anxiety Control
Category Higher-Order Theme Lower-Order Theme Anxiety Positive Coping Religion to help with performance (6) Control (9) Strategies (8) Adrenaline helps performance (5) Create time for self (3) Peer interaction (2)
Negative Coping Substance abuse (2) Strategies (2)
Note: ( ) = Number of athletes who discussed a theme or category is presented.
Positive Coping Strategies Eight of the FMX riders identified several positive coping strategies that they use to control their anxiety. The four main themes that were discussed to help with anxiety positively were: religion to help with performance, adrenaline helps performance, create time for self, and peer interaction.
Religion to help with performance. The riders acknowledged the importance of religion and prayer. Jeremy uses prayer before he rides to “ask for help.” Before he gets on his bike and gears up for riding him and his friends will “say a little prayer to make sure it is a safe ride and to give thanks to God for the opportunity to ride.” Aaron discussed his use of religion to perform a back flip. He said: 90
When you flip from pit to dirt, you just hope it is going to work out because the back flip can get to you. Before you go out and try the flip you are definitely asking God for some help when you are going to dirt. I will put my head down say a little prayer and go. (Aaron)
Adrenaline helps performance. The athletes noted that adrenaline that they are feeling before performance is facilitative and helps them to feel “pumped up” rather than nervous. For example, Todd talked about his first competition and how adrenaline helped him to feel ready. I am nervous before I compete but once I realized I was just having fun and I had the skills to do well and the crowd liked what I was doing, then I got into a comfort zone. Once I got into this zone I … wasn’t nervous anymore… the adrenaline I get from performing makes all my nerves go away. (Todd)
Create time for self. The FMX athletes discussed the importance of themselves when dealing with their sport. Sometimes they will just isolate themselves from others as a way to “get away from the sport.” During this time, they use the silence and sometimes even meditate. Shane said “before competition I will get away from everything and just sit there in silence. This helps me with any anxiety I am feeling about the competition.”
Peer interaction. Peer support is a key strategy used by the FMX athletes. Before competition, riders will interact with each other to relieve any pressure or anxiety. They often joke around and use humor as a way to stay relaxed. Shane noted that “I will just mess around with my buddies and have a good time and not 91
worry about things; make it the best it can be.” Some riders will watch other riders perform to help them relax. Before I practice, compete, or put on a show I am just relaxed and getting everything set up. I am watching everyone else ride and I will pick up the camera and go out there and I will relax and get shots of other people riding…I will watch what they are doing and pretty much relax my mind until it is time to get on my bike. (Mike)
Negative Coping Strategies One negative coping strategy was identified by two FMX athletes: substance abuse. These athletes used substances before and after performance to manage their stress/anxiety.
Substance abuse. Two athletes openly admitted that he and other riders use drugs to help “deal with injury” or to “take away the edge.” Henry stated: I have buddies who rip at riding but before they go out and ride they will have a drink, or smoke weed (marijuana), or have taken pills to relax and deal with previous injuries…Everyone has their own method about how they prepare to ride. Some riders meditate; others will drink or smoke a little weed. … I smoke weed to relax before I ride. (Henry)
Conclusion In conclusion, the riders were mostly unaware of sport psychology, but were interested in pursuing these services to help them with their performance. When asked about their use of mental skills before, during and after performance, all nine riders engaged in some application of mental skills. Five main categories emerged. The first two categories, Performance Challenges and Mental Toughness 92 provided support for the areas in which the use of sport psychology could be of benefit to the riders. The remaining three categories provided evidence for the riders’ current use of sport psychology skills. These findings will be discussed in the following chapter. Suggestions for future research and for applied practice will also be included.
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CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION
The following chapter will discuss the results as they relate to the extreme sport context and the applied sport psychology literature. Due to the amount of data from the study, only the most frequently discussed topics (i.e., by three or more athletes) will be discussed. Conclusions and future directions will also be included for both research-oriented and applied sport psychology consultants.
FMX Riders’ Perception of Sport Psychology The overall awareness of sport psychology among the FMX riders was limited. This result is not surprising as sport psychology had not formally been introduced to this population prior to the study. Only four riders had heard of the term sport psychology, but could neither articulate what it was or how it could be beneficial to their sport. This misunderstanding about sport psychology and how it can be helpful to athletic performance is consistent with the research conducted by Anderson, Van Raalte and Brewer (2000). Sport psychology is becoming more commonplace as professional and elite athletes are vocal about their use of sport psychology when training and competing (Wilson et al., 2009). Outreach by professional associations, such as the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) may also assist with athlete understanding. The overall perception of sport psychology among the FMX riders was positive once each rider understood what it was and how it could benefit their performance. This is consistent with other studies investigating sport psychology perceptions with athletes (Martin et al., 2001). A somewhat unique finding though is the athletes’ openness to sport psychology to help improve their performance in the absence of significant performance issues. Martin (2005) identified that many athletes only seek help when their performance is poor, yet are still hesitant to use sport psychology 94 because of the negative stigma attached to it. This was not the case for the FMX riders involved in this study. After each interview was conducted, all of the riders asked the author how they could get in contact with a SPC to start working with them towards their performance. At the time of the study all of the riders were amateurs; the component keeping them from moving to the professional rank was being able to successfully execute the back flip. Because the back flip separates amateur from professional riders, there is a lot of pressure to perform this complex trick. Not surprisingly, one of the main areas in which the riders thought seeing a SPC would be helpful was in overcoming the fear of the back flip. Many of the amateur riders were not ready to perform this trick, but felt the expectations surrounding it. The riders believed that working with a SPC could help them overcome their fear of performing the trick. This could be done through providing instruction on controlling the mind and blocking out distractions and then helping the riders practice these skills (Anderson, 2005). Two other areas for which a FMX rider may seek the help of a SPC included assistance with performance issues and coping with injury. With respect to performance issues, the main concern about the participants’ performance is executing during competitions. Performing at competition is more stressful than at shows because their sport is weighted heavily in favor of competitions. Doing well at competitions can lead to sponsorships, prize money, and prestige. In contrast, shows are an opportunity for riders to perform without having these extra distractions. Not surprisingly, many riders landed more complex tricks during shows when the outside pressure was off. Perhaps sport psychology consultants could help the riders approach both types of events in a consistent way. More specifically, if a sport psychology consultant can come in and help the riders with 95 their overall performance and treat each riding session the same then it would be beneficial for the riders. Consistent approaches can lead to confidence, which can then lead to success (Burke & Orlick, 2003). Injuries occur frequently in FMX and riders need help with their confidence when they return from injury. SPCs could help the athletes learn positive coping strategies to help them through the injury and recovery process (Brewer, Van Raalte, & Petitpas, 2007). Further, some riders lose motivation to keep riding because injury is so commonplace. The riders seemed to spend more time injured than healthy. When this occurs, the athletes may lose motivation to adhere to their rehabilitation as well as the training that they may still be able to do even though they are injured (Brewer et al., 2007). After this study was conducted the researcher began consulting with two FMX riders who were both dealing with injury issues. One rider was returning from injury and one was injured performing the back flip. These same riders said it would be beneficial to have a SPC to help them cope with injury. Other injured athletes have shared this view (Petrie, 2007). Because of the relationship between the author and the amateur riders, and the amateur riders’ open communication with others regarding their work, more awareness regarding sport psychology has occurred amongst the FMX population. After the present study’s data collection period ended, the author started to consult with some of the FMX athlete participants. (Please note that this was a supervised consulting experience.) For example, at the second annual amateur AFMXA contest, sport psychology was part of the pre-event workshops for the athletes. In fact, the author was invited to speak at the workshop about the importance of mental preparation to help with performance and safety. AFMXA has offered the author a job as the organization’s SPC (after graduation) to help further the sport for amateur riders. Also, the author has written an article on mental toughness and 96
FMX which was published in the Forty 8: Freestyle MX online magazine. The magazine’s publisher has requested that the author to write an article about sport psychology every two months. Small efforts such as the ones mentioned will help the awareness of sport psychology grow among the FMX community, and in extreme sports.
Characteristics of an Effective SPC Understanding the characteristics of an effective SPC is important when working with athletes. Martin (2005) stated that “sport psychology consultants may need to be aware of and sensitive to the unique characteristics of athletes, the sports in which they play, and the positions that they hold to reduce help-seeking barriers and facilitate healthy help-seeking behaviors” (p. 135). In the case of FMX riders, a key characteristic about their sport is its inherent danger and how the athletes perceive this risk. Four major topics emerged about how to be an effective sport psychology consultant with the FMX athletes: being a good communicator, understanding individual differences, background experience in extreme sports, and being part of (FMX) culture. Lubker et al. (2008) explained that an effective sport psychology consultant should exhibit the personality and physical characteristics, as well as the specific counseling techniques that are deemed successful in the sport industry. For the present study, the personality and physical characteristics that were suggested include the SPC looking like, talking like, and acting like the riders. During the first meeting an athlete will make an impression about the consultant by how he or she looks, dresses, and presents him or herself (Lubker et al., 2008). Because sport psychology is new to the FMX riders, trust is a key factor. They may be more willing to trust a SPC who looks like them because in the athletes’ minds this 97
individual can relate to how they feel or understand their need to participate in dangerous activities. The author anticipates that as the awareness and acceptance of sport psychology increases in FMX, the acceptance of other SPCs will increase as well. However if the SPC does not look, talk or behave like the riders, having experience in extreme sports would still allow for an effective consulting experience. The key point is that the consultant needs to be genuine. When this occurs, sport psychology has a better chance of being accepted in all facets of FMX which may also lead to the process of sport psychology being accepted in other avenues of extreme sport as well.
Awareness of Sport Psychology Organizations None of the participants were aware that professional sport psychology organizations were available to them and that they could contact these organizations for assistance in receiving sport psychology consulting services. This is consistent with the literature as even with the increasing awareness of sport psychology due to professional organizations like AASP (Wilson et al., 2009) there is still lack of awareness among all sports. In looking at this situation from an alternative perspective, there may be a lack of willingness among sport psychology organizations and SPCs to reach out to other domains of sport, such as extreme sports. This may stem from not knowing enough about this culture/sport to be effective, coupled with uneasiness surrounding new sport contexts. It is anticipated that the results of the present study may start to bridge a gap between FMX and extreme sport cultures and the sport psychology field. 98 Exposure to Sport Psychology Consultants There is a need for sport psychology consultants in FMX because these athletes are looking for someone who can help them with performance issues, help them cope with injury (or worse), as well as assisting them with the back flip and the fear that tends to accompany it. While some studies have found that athletes have a negative perception about sport psychology services and SPCs (e.g., Zizzi & Perna, 2003), the FMX riders wanted to engage in sport psychology consulting. It seems that a SPC working at the amateur level may be able to assist the athletes with understanding their limits and how far they can and should push themselves. For example, if a rider feels pressure to perform a certain trick, he may end up attempting to do it even though he is not ready. This can lead to injury and increases the time needed for the athlete to succeed in the sport. If a SPC can help riders with their self-awareness, not only could they be helping with performance, but they may also help in saving a life. This view may seem farfetched, but riders face death everyday that they ride. If a SPC could teach techniques to help with performance preparation and keep a rider safe, the SPC would be providing a service far more valuable than if he or she focused solely on performance issues.
Use of Sport Psychology among FMX Riders All nine riders described using mental skills to participate in their sport and were able to articulate how they used these skills Some of the results from this study support the literature on sport psychology use by extreme sport athletes (Burke & Orlick, 2003; Coleman & Orlick, 2006; Weder, 2009). The results also revealed new topics (e.g., substance abuse) to help further the literature on sport psychology among extreme sport athletes. 99
Inductive analysis resulted in five main categories: Performance Challenges, Mental Toughness, Performance Preparation, Attention Control, and Anxiety Control. All nine participants discussed each category at least once. Each category will be presented below but due to the volume of the data, only the most important themes (i.e., those that were discussed by two or more athletes) will be discussed.
Performance Challenges FMX riders discussed several challenges that can affect their performance, with two of the main ones being injury and fear of re-injury. This is consistent with the literature on fear of injury and re-injury among extreme sport athletes (Coble, Selin, & Erickson, 2003; Reuter & Short, 2005). Although this research is consistent with the literature on extreme sport athletes it also differs because the FMX population is the second study to come from the “mainstream” category discussed in chapter one. Due to the nature of the sport, injuries frequently occur. However, the negative perspective many riders have about injury, can impact their performance in a detrimental way. According to the athletes, if they think about getting injured, or are fearful of this, they often become injured. Further, the athletes also worry about returning to their sport after they have been injured because they may get reinjured upon return. This finding is consistent with the literature as it is well-documented that athletes fear returning to sport due to injury because of a fear of re-injury (Tracey, 2003). In another study, Reuter and Short (2005) examined the perceived risk of injury among athletes. According to their research fear of injury can lead to a psychological barrier of performance. The three components of fear of injury are: loss of confidence, a worry or concern of being injured, and a risk of being injured. 100
Another challenge to the riders’ performance besides injury is the fear of the back flip. The back flip plays a big role in the riders’ performance because this trick is needed to receive professional status. There is a lot of pressure that is put on them from themselves and others to perform the back flip. Some of the riders have a mental block when it comes to performing the back flip and others have fear from past experiences with the trick. The main fear that was talked about among all the riders is the idea of severe lifetime injuries and death. The back flip is a trick that has taken the lives of two FMX riders and put another in a two week long coma. Severe injury or death are very real possibilities each time the athletes train or compete. Thus, the present study supports the literature regarding inherent danger in extreme sports and the fact that extreme sport athletes face a greater likelihood of injury as compared to traditional sport athletes. Though rare, death has occurred in other extreme sports also. For example, Kerr (2007) investigated a female skydiver who was present during a friend’s death as a result of a skydiving accident. This affected the skydiver immensely, so much so that she has not returned to her sport. Big mountain skier, Jonny Law (Law et al., 2008) openly discussed his acceptance of death due to the inherent danger of the sport and the unsteady environment. The present study gives another example of an athlete’s death, but this death has made an impact on the culture of FMX. Since his death, the sport is more focused towards safety. For example, AFMXA was founded to help young riders stay safe and to try and prevent any life threating injuries by providing a safe riding environment (AFMXA, 2009). The AFMXA has created and implemented workshops, hosted competitions and shows all the while emphasizing positive performance and safety issues. 101 Mental Toughness FMX athletes can deal with performance challenges by being mentally tough competitors. Mental toughness is defined as “a natural or developed psychological edge that enables mentally tough performers to generally cope better than their opponents with the demands and related pressures that occur at the highest level in sport” (Connaughton, Hanton, & Jones, 2010, p. 168). FMX riders described having this “edge” over their opponents by being committed, having confidence, and using self-talk. These three components help riders deal with performance challenges. This research can add to the literature on mental toughness because the definition of mental toughness and what makes a mentally tough competitor is still in debate (Connaughton & Hanton, 2009; Gould, Dieffenbach, & Moffett, 2002). Commitment to overall sport is most important because any type of hesitation can lead to poor performance and injury. Riders talked about the ability to commit to a jump by being confident and using positive self-talk to help with performance. These three components are discussed frequently in the literature on extreme sports and performance outcome (Burke & Orlick, 2003; Coleman & Orlick, 2006; Law et al., 2008; Weder, 2009). Similar to the present study, Burke and Orlick (2003) found that mental toughness was a major contributor to elite climbers dealing with the challenges they faced when climbing Mount Everest.
Performance Preparation The ability to prepare mentally and physically to perform is a huge contribution to success among the FMX riders. Results from the study are consistent with the literature on extreme sport athletes (Burke & Orlick, 2003; Coleman & Orlick; 2006; Kabush & Orlick, 2001; Partington et al., 2009; Weder, 2009). More specifically, pre-competition routines and imagery were found to be 102
key factors for performance preparation. FMX riders, like other extreme sport athletes adapt imagery into their pre-competition routine (Burke & Orlick, 2003; Kabush & Orlick, 2001). A unique concept that emerged that is not present in other extreme sport literature is the use of external imagery to analyze performance. After analyzing their performance (i.e., video and photograph) FMX riders will implement what they analyzed in their pre-competition routine.
Attention Control Most of the research with extreme sport athletes has emphasized focus and has been conducted by Orlick and his colleagues (e.g., Burke & Orlick, 2003; Coleman & Orlick, 2006; Kabush & Orlick, 2001; Law et al., 2008; Partington et al., 2009; Schneider et al., 2007; Weder, 2009). This may have to do with Orlick’s Wheel of Excellence (Orlick, 2008) where focus is the center of the wheel and performance revolves around the ability to be in the moment. For example, Kabush and Orlick (2001) conducted a study with elite mountain bike racers on focusing for excellence. Results showed that the mountain bike racers practiced focus in their training regiments. The FMX athletes in the present study also explicitly practiced their focusing skills. A second similar finding between Kabush and Orlick (2001) and the present study was the athletes’ ability to re-focus when mistakes were made and continue towards positive performance. Another interesting finding of the present study was the athletes’ use of “blocking out” and “not thinking” about certain situations in order to fully focus on their performance. These techniques might provide an opportunity for FMX or other extreme sport athletes to deal with the inherent danger of their sport. The ability to learn about how these athletes are able to do this under high inherent danger and pressure can help a SPC in the future when working with these specific athletes. 103 Anxiety Control Riders use positive and negative coping strategies to help control anxiety they experience as a result of participation in their sport. Some of the important findings for positive coping strategies are the use of religion and music. Religion was a unique finding because FMX is known as the “rage of the extreme sports world” and the sport was built around anarchy and rebellion against the rules (Diggs, 2009). But due to the inherent danger and injuries that have been occurring, more and more riders are finding religion and “God” to help with safety and performance. Research conducted on spirituality and sport psychology is limited in the literature but research shows that it has focused on peak performance. Prayer before competition is becoming more popular among athletes and especially Christian athletes (Watson & Czech, 2005; Watson & Nesti, 2005). This research adds to the limited literature of spirituality and sports performance. Riders are very open about the use of drugs to help cope with the stressors of their sport. Rinehart and Sydnor (2003) recognized that the culture associated with FMX athletes is one of recklessness and that its athletes are often thought of as “party animals”. Given the present study’s athletes’ use of drugs and alcohol as a means to cope, it seems that this label fits. Dickson, Gray, Downey, Saunders, and Newman (2008) conducted a study on snowboarders and injury. In their study, athletes drank alcohol and used marijuana, heroin, and ecstasy to deal with their injuries. In the present study only marijuana (mostly before performance), pills (i.e., Vicodin), and alcohol were discussed. However, using substances, which can slow reaction time and cause other motor behavior problems (Ito, Dalley, Robbins, & Everitt, 2002), may actually add to the danger (and stress) instead of helping the athletes manage it. A SPC could benefit FMX riders by teaching positive coping strategies to help riders deal with stressors associated with their sport.
104 Conclusion Though the FMX riders were not very aware of sport psychology and professional organizations, they were very receptive to working with a SPC in the future. In fact, all nine participants stated that sport psychology could benefit FMX because of the importance of the mental aspect to performance. All nine riders described using mental skills to participate in their sport. Results demonstrated that FMX riders face unique challenges in their sport. These challenges include internal and external pressure to perform well in order to achieve professional status while coping with inherent danger. The riders talked about Performance Challenges, Mental Toughness (to deal with the challenges), Performance Preparation, Attention Control, and Anxiety Control (all how they use mental skills while dealing with the pressure mentioned above). For example, a FMX rider must be able to consistently perform a back flip to compete at the professional level, and this trick can lead to serious injury or even death (e.g., Jeremy Lusk). However, the back flip is no longer the minimum standard to compete (Diggs, 2009), as many athletes are further pushing the limits of what they can do on a dirt bike (i.e., double back flips, 360s) to achieve success at today’s competitions. The present study explored a rising sport among the extreme sport culture. Introducing sport psychology and mental skills in this context could benefit the sport and help riders stay safe. In conclusion, FMX and extreme sport athletes in general, represent a new direction in which the field of sport psychology could grow.
Future Directions The FMX athletes’ ability to use mental skills while facing extreme danger was an interesting discovery. One of the findings showed that mental toughness 105 was a key contributor to the athletes being able to train and compete in their sport. Mental toughness seems to be a inadequate factor in the extreme sport literature (Burke & Orlick, 2003), and part of an ongoing debate elsewhere in terms of what this construct (i.e., mental toughness) represents (Connaughton et al., 2010). This may have to do with the stress and challenges that extreme athletes face while performing in dangerous environment. Future studies may wish to explore mental toughness with more rigor in an attempt to better understand this vital component to successful performance. Future research could continue to explore other extreme sport athletes. Additionally, the use of negative coping strategies such as drug and alcohol use warrant further exploration as these methods may lead to serious detrimental health outcomes. This research is a stepping stone for present or future sport psychology consultants who want to know more about how to be an effective consultant with a different type of athlete. The research showed that there is no present sport psychology consultant working in the sport of FMX, but that there is an urgent need for these resources due to the constant injuries and recent deaths. A sport psychology consultant may be able to help riders with performance issues and help them stay safe.
106
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APPENDICES 115
APPENDIX A: PILOT STUDY DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONNAIRE 116
What is your gender? __Male __Female What is your age? __18-24 years old __25-29 years old __30-34 years old __40 years and older What is your race? __White __White, non-Hispanic __African American __Hispanic __Asian-Pacific Islander __Native American __Other (please identify):______How many years have you been riding FMX?______
How many years have you been riding FMX professionally?______
How many times do you practice a week?______
117
How many competitions/shows do you do a year?______
What is your highest finish in the X-games competitions?______
What is your highest finish in the Dew Tour competition?______
What is the most serious injury that has happened to you through FMX?______
118
APPENDIX B: PILOT STUDY INTERVIEW GUIDE 119
1. Define sport psychology (read paper to participant).
2. Prior to today, had you ever heard of the term sport psychology?
No. Move on.
Yes. Could you tell me what knew about sport psychology prior to
today. How did this compare to the definition that I gave you?
3. Prior to today, were you aware of Association of Applied Sport Psychology
(AASP)?
4. Do you think sport psychology and mental skills could be useful to FMX
riders?
No. Why not?
Yes. Could you tell me a little why you think that?
5. Define sport psychology consultant (read paper to participant)
6. Have you ever met with a sport psychology consultant?
Yes.
i. Tell me about the experience (was it good, bad, helpful, etc.)
ii. How did you learn about your sport psychology consultant?
No. Would you go see one?
7. Do you use mental skills before participating in your sport?
No. Move on. 120 Yes. Could you tell me about the mental skills you use? Probe a lot
here.
8. Do you use mental skills during your sport?
No. Move on.
Yes. Could you tell me about the mental skills you use? Probe a lot
here.
9. Do you use mental skills after participating in your sport?
No. Move on.
Yes. Could you tell me about the mental skills you use? Probe a lot
here.
10. Your sport is really dangerous. Do you do anything mentally to deal with
the natural danger?
No. Move on.
Yes. Could you tell me more about what you do mentally to deal
with the natural danger?
11. To compete and do well and essentially become a professional rider, the
back flip needs to be in your bag of tricks. Is this correct?
12. Do you use mental skills before, during, or after performing the back flip?
No. Move on.
Yes. Could you tell me more about the mental skills you use before
(during or after) performing the back flip? 121 13. Final question. Do you have anything to add about the perception of sport
psychology or your use/non-use of mental skills in the sport?
122
APPENDIX C: PILOT STUDY HANDOUT OF DEFINITIONS 123
Sport Psychology For the purpose of this study, sport psychology is the scientific study of people and their behaviors in sport contexts and the practical application of that knowledge. Sport psychologist identify principles and guidelines that professionals can use to help adults and children participate in and benefit from sport and exercise activities in both team and individual performance. Sport psychology deals with increasing athletic performance by teaching important skills such as (but not limited too): goal setting, relaxation, positive self-talk, imagery, focus/refocus, coping with injury, and visualization.
Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Is the foremost professional organization for sport psychology consultants and its certification process is comprehensive. Certified consultants have to meet a minimum standard of education and training in the sport sciences and psychology as well as undergoing an extensive review process (Wilson, Gilbert, Gilbert, & Sailor, 2009).
Sport Psychology Consultant For the purpose of this study, a sport psychology consultant is defined as a professional who provides organized consultation with individual athletes, teams, and/or coaches specifically to enhance performance. For example, a sport psychology consultant might be employed to help collegiate athletes improve performance, overcome the pressures of competition, or deal with issues involved with injury and rehabilitation.
124
Sport psychology consultants are not necessarily trained to address clinical issues such as personality disorders, substance abuse, or eating disorders. Similarly, clinical psychologists are not necessarily trained to offer sport psychology consultation. Therefore, a clinical psychologist who works with athletes is not automatically a sport psychology consultant unless they have supplemented their education and training with coursework and practical experience in the specific field of sport psychology (Wilson et al., 2009).
125
APPENDIX D: INFORMED CONSENT 126 Whenever a research project is undertaken with human participants, the written consent of the participants must be obtained. This does not imply, of course, that the project in question necessarily involves a risk. In view of the respect owed the participants, California State University, Fresno has made this type of agreement mandatory.
The purpose of the proposed study is to investigate the perceptions about sport psychology held by these athletes and their use/non-use of sport psychology skills. Participants will be asked to share experiences in their sport and answer questions related to the above. Results of the project will complement existing sport psychology literature, as well as provide new information related to the extreme sport athlete. A practical outcome is to use this information to better equip sport psychology consultants as they seek to work with extreme sport athletes in their practice.
If I agree to participate, my participation will consist of a pilot interview which could be held over the phone or in person. The interview will be audio taped and will occur at a mutually convenient time. I understand that the information shared by me will be used only for the purpose of the study and that my anonymity will be protected. I further understand that interview transcripts, signed consent forms, audiocassette tapes and other collected data will be stored confidentially.
Any information requests or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project may be addressed to the principal investigator, Dr. Jenelle N. Gilbert (559-278- 8902 or [email protected]) in the Kinesiology Department at California State University, Fresno. There are two copies of the consent form, one of which I may keep. Please complete the section below. Thank you for your cooperation and time. It is sincerely appreciated.
I, ______(please print your name) agree / do not agree (please circle one) to collaborate in the study, Sport Psychology and Extreme Sport Athletes conducted by Sean Chamberlain and Dr. Jenelle N. Gilbert, Department of Kinesiology, California State University , Fresno.
I understand that I am free to withdraw from the interview process at any time without consequence. I am also aware that I may refuse to answer any interview questions.
Athlete’s signature ______Date: ______
Witness’ signature ______Date: ______127
APPENDIX E: MAIN STUDY INTERVIEW GUIDE 128
1. How old are you?
2. What is your race?
3. How many years have you been riding FMX?
4. How many times do you practice a week?
5. How many competitions do you do a year?
6. What is the highest finish in a competition you have achieved?
7. What is the most serious injury that has happened to you through FMX
8. Define sport psychology (read paper to participant).
9. Prior to today, had you ever heard of the term sport psychology?
No. Move on.
Yes. Could you tell me what knew about sport psychology prior to
today. How did this compare to the definition that I gave you?
10. Prior to today, were you aware of any sport psychology organizations?
No. Read definition of AASP.
Yes. What organizations have you heard of and how did you hear
about them? If AASP is not mentioned, read definition.
11. Do you think sport psychology and mental skills could be useful to FMX
riders?
No. Why not?
Yes. Could you tell me a little why you think that? 129 12. Do you use mental skills before participating in your sport?
No. Move on.
Yes. Could you tell me about the mental skills you use? Probe a lot
here.
13. Do you use mental skills during your sport?
No. Move on.
Yes. Could you tell me about the mental skills you use? Probe a lot
here.
14. Do you use mental skills after participating in your sport?
No. Move on.
Yes. Could you tell me about the mental skills you use? Probe a lot
here.
15. Talking with top professional FMX riders, I have been told that to do well
and essentially become a professional rider, the back flip needs to be in
your bag of tricks. Can you do a back flip?
No. Are you practicing on the back flip or plan to in the future?
Yes. Could you tell me more about the mental skills you use before
(during or after) performing the back flip?
16. Define sport psychology consultant (read paper to participant)
17. Have you ever met with a sport psychology consultant?
Yes. 130 i. Tell me about the experience (was it good, bad, helpful, etc.)
ii. How did you learn about your sport psychology consultant?
No. Next question.
18. Would you work with a SPC in the future?
Yes. Why?
No. Why not?
19. If yes, what characteristics should that person have in order to be effective?
20. Is there anything you want to learn more about in terms of sport
psychology?
Yes. Explain.
No. Why not?
21. Final question. Do you have anything to add about the perception of sport
psychology or your use of mental skills in the sport?
131
APPENDIX F: PARTICIPANT REQUEST EMAIL
132 Subject: FMX Rider Participation Requested
Hello (Name Here),
My name is Sean Chamberlain; I am a graduate student at California State University, Fresno. I was at the AFMXA 1st Annual Amateur Competition in Pala, CA. Drew Brown introduced me to you and the other riders during the ‘rider’s meeting’ before the competition. I was the graduate student who was conducting interviews with the pro riders about sport psychology. Sport Psychology includes skills such as relaxation, coping, visualization, focus, and self talk. Top professional riders have about sport psychology and how it can be successfully used.
The purpose of this email is to ask for your request to participate in my thesis study with freestyle motocross riders. The purpose of the study is to investigate freestyle motocross (FMX) participants’ perceptions about sport psychology and their use of mental skills.
If you agree to participate, the study will consist of an interview which could be held over the phone or in person. The interview will be audio taped and will occur at a mutually convenient time. The information shared by you will be used only for the purpose of the study and your identity will be protected.
If you are interested in participating in the study and/or have questions about the study you may reply back to me via email or by phone (831-254-4086). Please reply by (DATE HERE). Further information will be given to you at that time. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you by the (DATE HERE).
133
APPENDIX G: PARTICIPANT AGREEMENT EMAIL 134
Subject: Information Regarding FMX Study
Hello (NAME HERE),
Thank you for your agreeing to participate in my thesis study. Could I please have your phone number so I may call you and set up an agreeable time to conduct the interview? If you are out of state (California) we can set up a time to do the phone interview. I have attached the consent form and the interview questions that I will be asking you. Could you please sign the consent form and bring it with you when we conduct the interview. If we are conducting a phone interview I will give you further detail about signing the consent form. Also, will you please look over the interview questions so you will be familiar with them? Thank you. 135
APPENDIX H: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
136
1. How old are you?
2. What is your race?
3. How many years have you been riding FMX?
4. How many times do you practice a week?
5. How many competitions do you do a year?
6. What is the highest finish in a competition you have achieved?
7. What is the most serious injury that has happened to you through FMX?
8. Define sport psychology (read paper to participant).
9. Prior to today, had you ever heard of the term sport psychology?
10. Prior to today, were you aware of any sport psychology organizations?
11. Do you think sport psychology and mental skills could be useful to FMX
riders?
12. Define sport psychology consultant (read paper to participant)
13. Have you ever met with a sport psychology consultant?
14. Do you use mental skills before participating in your sport?
15. Do you use mental skills during your sport?
16. Do you use mental skills after participating in your sport?
17. Talking with top professional FMX riders, I have been told that to do well
and essentially become a professional rider, the back flip needs to be in
your bag of tricks. Can you do a back flip? 137
18. Final question. Do you have anything to add about the perception of sport
psychology or your use/non-use of mental skills in the sport?
138
APPENDIX I: PARTICIPANT REQUEST FOLLOW-UP EMAIL
139
Subject: FMX Rider Participation Request Follow Up
Hello (Name Here),
This is a follow up email requesting your participation in my thesis study with freestyle motocross riders. If you did not receive the last email please see below. If you do not want to participate in the study will you please send me an email by (DATE HERE) to let me know you are not interested. Thank you again, for your time.
------
If you did not receive the last email I sent out I first would like to introduce myself, my name is Sean Chamberlain; I am a graduate student at California State University, Fresno. I was at the AFMXA 1st Annual Amateur Competition in Pala, CA. Drew Brown introduced me to you and the other riders during the ‘rider’s meeting’ before the competition. I was the graduate student who was conducting interviews with the pro riders about sport psychology. Sport Psychology includes skills such as relaxation, coping, visualization, focus, and self talk. Top professional riders have about sport psychology and how it can be successfully used.
The purpose of this email is to ask for your request to participate in my thesis study with freestyle motocross riders. The purpose of the study is to investigate freestyle motocross (FMX) participants’ perceptions about sport psychology and their use of mental skills. 140
If you agree to participate, the study will consist of an interview which could be held over the phone or in person. The interview will be audio taped and will occur at a mutually convenient time. The information shared by you will be used only for the purpose of the study and your identity will be protected.
If you are interested in participating in the study and/or have questions about the study you may reply back to me via email or by phone (831-254-4086). Please reply by (DATE HERE). Further information will be given to you at that time. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you by the (DATE HERE). 141
APPENDIX J: PARTICIPANT REQUEST LAST FOLLOW-UP EMAIL
142
Subject: Last Request for FMX Rider Participation
Hello (NAME HERE),
I have recently contacted you about participating in my thesis study with FMX riders. I have not heard from you and would like to request your participation in the study. Some of your colleagues have already been interviewed and have found it to be a very positive experience. I hope that you will read the information below about the study and agree to participate. Should you wish to be involved, please contact me via email or by phone (831-254-4086) by (DATE HERE). If I don’t hear from you by (DATE HERE), I will assume that you are not interested in participating. Thank you for your time. I look forward to speaking with you soon.
------
If you did not receive the last email I sent out I first would like to introduce myself, my name is Sean Chamberlain; I am a graduate student at California State University, Fresno. I was at the AFMXA 1st Annual Amateur Competition in Pala, CA. Drew Brown introduced me to you and the other riders during the ‘rider’s meeting’ before the competition. I was the graduate student who was conducting interviews with the pro riders about sport psychology. Sport Psychology includes skills such as relaxation, coping, visualization, focus, and self talk. Top professional riders have about sport psychology and how it can be successfully used.
The purpose of this email is to ask for your request to participate in my thesis study with freestyle motocross riders. The purpose of the study is to investigate freestyle motocross (FMX) participants’ perceptions about sport psychology and their use of mental skills.
If you agree to participate, the study will consist of an interview which could be held over the phone or in person. The interview will be audio taped and will occur at a mutually convenient time. The information shared by you will be used only for the purpose of the study and your identity will be protected.
143
If you are interested in participating in the study and/or have questions about the study you may reply back to me via email or by phone (831-254-4086). Please reply by (DATE HERE). Further information will be given to you at that time. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you by the (DATE HERE). 144
APPENDIX K: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT EMAIL FOR MEMBER CHECKING 145
Subject: Reviewing Interview Transcript
Hello (NAME HERE),
Thank you again for conducting an interview with me. I have even a better insight into FMX. Attached are the interview transcripts I talked to you about during our interview. Please look over the transcripts and verify that your thoughts were accurately represented and to make any additions, deletions, or changes to the text if needed. Could you please send me the transcripts by (DATE HERE). Thank you again for your time.
146
APPENDIX L: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT FOLLOW-UP EMAIL FOR MEMBER CHECKING 147
Subject: Reviewing Interview Transcript Follow up
Hello (NAME HERE),
This is a follow up email to see if you have looked over the transcripts I sent you. Reminder, could you please verify that your thoughts were accurately represented and to make any additions, deletions, or changes to the text if needed. I have re- attached the transcripts. Could you please send me the transcripts by (DATE HERE)? Thank you for your time. If I don’t hear from you by (DATE HERE), I will assume that the transcripts are an accurate representation.
California State University, Fresno
Non-Exclusive Distribution License (to make your thesis available electronically via the library’s eCollections database)
By submitting this license, you (the author or copyright holder) grant to CSU, Fresno Digital Scholar the non-exclusive right to reproduce, translate (as defined in the next paragraph), and/or distribute your submission (including the abstract) worldwide in print and electronic format and in any medium, including but not limited to audio or video.
You agree that CSU, Fresno may, without changing the content, translate the submission to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation.
You also agree that the submission is your original work, and that you have the right to grant the rights contained in this license. You also represent that your submission does not, to the best of your knowledge, infringe upon anyone’s copyright.
If the submission reproduces material for which you do not hold copyright and that would not be considered fair use outside the copyright law, you represent that you have obtained the unrestricted permission of the copyright owner to grant CSU, Fresno the rights required by this license, and that such third-party material is clearly identified and acknowledged within the text or content of the submission.
If the submission is based upon work that has been sponsored or supported by an agency or organization other than California State University, Fresno, you represent that you have fulfilled any right of review or other obligations required by such contract or agreement.
California State University, Fresno will clearly identify your name as the author or owner of the submission and will not make any alteration, other than as allowed by this license, to your submission. By typing your name and date in the fields below, you indicate your agreement to the terms of this distribution license.
Sean Michael Chamberlain Type full name as it appears on submission
3/22/11
Date