Pressures of an Athlete
Athletes dealing with pressure: Sidney Crosby
Vincent Paul
Mr. Greenley
PSE 4U
May 29th, 2013
It was on a Saturday, the date was January 1st, 2008, and millions of hockey fans young and old tuned in front of TV screens and the Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York in preparation for the most exciting hockey game of the century. The locker doors opened, and each player one by one followed until there was just me left, I took a last look behind me at the empty room and went out as captain of the Pittsburgh penguins. As I took my first step into the stadium making my way towards the ice rink, it was evident an NHL record 71 217 screaming fans were waiting for us. In these situations, our team sports psychologist had always taught us some tricks to visualize our way to victory even with this immense pressure falling on our backs. This is just one example of the numerous pressured situations we all went through that season. Pressure may be defined as “the feeling of stressful urgency caused by the necessity of doing or achieving something, esp. with limited time” (Simpson 2010). Pressures on an athlete are amplified to a rate only they can control. As an athlete, I believe we are breed to overcome this feeling and strive for better results despite the odds. From an early age in Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia I was always in the spotlight and got used to hundreds or people rushing in for interviews or even pictures with me. Some can say I grew up pretty fast, I was ahead of my years in skill and character, which I also believe, had a strong influence on dealing with pressure. Finally, as face of the Pittsburgh penguins I am expected to deal with pressure better then anyone else on my team, I am the leader.
Firstly, from fairly young ages me and many other athletes are brought up in environments where it is inevitable to over come any pressured situations. Not only do we develop physically in our game but we also develop mentally. The mental
Vincent Paul
Mr. Greenley
PSE 4U
May 29th, 2013
It was on a Saturday, the date was January 1st, 2008, and millions of hockey fans young and old tuned in front of TV screens and the Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York in preparation for the most exciting hockey game of the century. The locker doors opened, and each player one by one followed until there was just me left, I took a last look behind me at the empty room and went out as captain of the Pittsburgh penguins. As I took my first step into the stadium making my way towards the ice rink, it was evident an NHL record 71 217 screaming fans were waiting for us. In these situations, our team sports psychologist had always taught us some tricks to visualize our way to victory even with this immense pressure falling on our backs. This is just one example of the numerous pressured situations we all went through that season. Pressure may be defined as “the feeling of stressful urgency caused by the necessity of doing or achieving something, esp. with limited time” (Simpson 2010). Pressures on an athlete are amplified to a rate only they can control. As an athlete, I believe we are breed to overcome this feeling and strive for better results despite the odds. From an early age in Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia I was always in the spotlight and got used to hundreds or people rushing in for interviews or even pictures with me. Some can say I grew up pretty fast, I was ahead of my years in skill and character, which I also believe, had a strong influence on dealing with pressure. Finally, as face of the Pittsburgh penguins I am expected to deal with pressure better then anyone else on my team, I am the leader.
Firstly, from fairly young ages me and many other athletes are brought up in environments where it is inevitable to over come any pressured situations. Not only do we develop physically in our game but we also develop mentally. The mental