A Shooter Who Shoots 96 in Practice and 88 in Finals
Jasleen, 17, is the school's best 10 m air rifle shooter. In practice her 10-shot series average is 96.4; in her last three competitions her first series was 95, 94 and 96, then fell to 88-90, and she finished outside the medals each time. She now reports a racing heart and sweaty palms starting the night before, a fixed thought - if I miss this one the selectors will drop me - and she slows her aim until the target picture wobbles. She has started asking to withdraw. Her coach responds by raising his voice, reminding her of the state record and adding 30 extra shots to every session. The state championship is six weeks away. She practises 90 minutes daily and has no routine between shots. Her parents report that she has stopped eating properly before matches.
1. Explain what is happening to Jasleen using arousal and anxiety concepts, and explain why the coach's response is likely to make it worse.
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Jasleen shows the classic pattern of cognitive anxiety with over-arousal in a fine-motor skill.
- Somatic signs - racing heart, sweaty palms - reflect sympathetic activation. In rifle shooting, high arousal raises muscle tension and tremor, so the hold becomes less steady and the shot breaks late or off-centre, which matches her slowed aim and wobbling sight picture.
- Cognitive signs - the thought if I miss this one the selectors will drop me - are a threat appraisal. She is judging the situation as high-importance and her own ability as doubtful, which raises state anxiety further.
- Why practice is better than finals: there is no evaluation in training, so arousal stays near her individual optimum. Competition pushes her past it. The inverted-U idea predicts a decline beyond the optimum, and the catastrophe model predicts a sharp, not gradual, drop once cognitive anxiety is high - exactly the 96 to 88 fall.
- Motivational climate: her coach is raising the perceived importance (state record talk), increasing punishment and adding volume. That increases threat, adds fatigue, and turns every session into a test, so the anxiety becomes attached to shooting itself. Extra shots on a fatigued fine-motor skill also teach poorer technique. His response is high in ego-involvement and low in support, which is the opposite of what reduces cognitive anxiety.
2. Design a six-week psychological skills programme with specific techniques, and state how the coach and parents must change their behaviour.
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Weeks 1-2 - awareness and self-regulation. Teach the difference between arousal and performance and set a task goal that she controls: for example, complete the pre-shot routine on at least 9 of 10 shots. Introduce breathing (inhale 4 s, hold 2 s, exhale 6 s, twice before the shot) and progressive muscular relaxation after training so she can recognise and release tension. One short session with the coach so he learns the same language.
Weeks 3-4 - imagery and self-talk. Five minutes of daily imagery in the range with real kit: the standing position, the trigger release, the follow-through. Replace the threat thought with a process cue (steady hold, smooth trigger). Practise thought-stopping on the selection thought, then refocusing on the routine rather than on the score.
Weeks 5-6 - pressure rehearsal. Simulate finals: an audience, a scoreboard, a shot-clock, and a series where only the second half counts. Practise the routine under mild noise and distraction, then under spectators, moving from easier to harder conditions. Debrief on routine adherence, not on score.
Coach: stop raising his voice and stop mentioning records before competition; give technical instruction only in practice; use encouragement for routine and effort. Parents: restore a normal pre-match meal (a light carbohydrate meal two to three hours before) and stop discussing selection at the venue.
Also arrange: a check with the school counsellor if she continues to ask to withdraw, and restore normal sleep and eating before the event - anxiety management cannot compensate for a fasting athlete.
3. How would you measure whether the programme is working, and what would tell you to refer her on?
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Use repeated, simple measures examined over time rather than a single test:
- Performance: 10-shot series scores in practice versus simulated finals, and the first-series to last-series drop, the pattern that is currently costing her medals.
- Process adherence: a checklist score of how many shots followed the complete pre-shot routine, and the number of imagery and breathing sessions completed each week.
- Self-report: rate anxiety and confidence 1-10 before each session and record whether the anxiety is felt as helpful or harmful; a simple intensity and direction rating is sufficient in a school setting.
- Physiological: heart rate one minute before the first shot, tracked in practice and in simulation.
- Behavioural: number of withdrawal requests, and coach-rated confidence during finals simulation.
What would make you refer on: persistent low mood, sleep loss, panic symptoms, a return of eating restriction, or continued requests to withdraw despite the programme. Those point beyond performance anxiety and need the school counsellor or a doctor. Also refer if there is no change at all after four weeks of consistent practice, because the problem may be technical or physical rather than psychological.