Support Is Vital for Athletes

According to a new batch of scientific studies, it would appear that crowds, encouragement and support can really make the difference, as far as winning a sports game goes. For a long time, investigators have known that the mind of the athlete or athletes gets a boost whenever the crowds cheer their names. But until the new researches this hasn't been scientifically proven. Experts from the University of Exeter's School of Sport and Health Sciences, in the UK, have been able to conclude that golfers benefiting from social support handled much better than they would have otherwise.

The study is not meant to discuss the role of natural talent in this sport or any other. Rather, the researchers have been simply trying to determine if there is any statistical correlation between the support and the performance. According to their conclusions, “Our study reveals the ongoing support of friends and family to be one of the most important factors influencing sports performance,” Tim Rees, one of the team members, explains.

“While training, tactics and luck all play a part, the encouraging words or kind gestures of a partner or friend can make the difference between a footballer scoring that winning goal, or a sprinter achieving a record time. The encouragement and support of friends and family clearly plays a massive part in building confidence, which is so important when the pressure is on,” he adds.

The most important thing, the researchers note, is that the encouragement part seems to hold true even more when stress triggered by a major sports event sets in. Under normal conditions, the most highly-rated athletes would not make mistakes, but almost all major playoffs, regardless of the sports, show rookie errors on the part of some. They are primarily caused by stress and by the pressure of the game, when stakes are extremely high.

It's in these moments that the crowd's cheers can make all the difference in the world. They could mean the perfect pass or shot, which would put the spectator's team into the leading position. But if encouragements lack, the team as a whole or at least some of its members could lose the morale on which their entire game is based. This could lead to them failing to win the game or match, and to the crowds being disappointed.