Male and Female Football Players' Anxiety before Penalty Shootout

ANXIETY BEFORE PENALTY SHOOTOUT
by (Name)
Class (Course)
Professor (Tutor)
School (University)
City and State
Date
Background
The penalty shootout in football is arguably one of the most significant sporting situations in the world. It occurs when two teams are evenly matched after two hours of a football game to distinguish a winning side (Saran, 2014). Players participating in penalty shootouts often experience anxiety before their turn due to high fans’ expectations and the players’ anticipation to score a goal (Tamimi et al., 2019). During a penalty shootout, one miss may cost the team. That is why every player taking the shot is likely to feel anxious. Such an occasion’s magnitude can affect the performance depending on the player’s ability to handle the situation (Arrondel et al., 2019). Evidence from experienced players reveals that poor penalty kicks are associated with psychological effects, including the inability to think normally or breathe correctly (Brown, 2015). Even under a standardized laboratory setting, the penalty kicks induce cognitive anxiety. Players faced with anxiety during a penalty shootout can perform sub-optimally.
According to Moll et al. (2010), soccer players are constantly subjected to a substantial series of potential psychological demands during the competition. These demands cause the onset of emotions, appraisals, and coping styles which can influence performance behaviors (Bar‐Eli and Azar, 2019). The presence of the spectators poses a salient demand for players accompanied by a stressful situation in a penalty shootout (Raja Abu Bakar Shah, 2020). Authors like Björkstrand and Jern (2013) have acknowledged that increased pressure can result in a footballer’s inability to cope, thus, increasing the chance to miss when taking a penalty. Lazarus’ transactional Cognitive Motivational Rationale Theory (CMRT) helps understand why players fail to deal with stress and emotions that exist upon exposure to the crowd (Ellis and Ward, 2021). This theory also helps determine the impact of this situation on behavior. Understanding these scenarios provides coaches and sports psychologists with the necessary information to enhance performance by implementing relevant coping strategies and programs (Englert and Bertrams, 2012).
Some authors have proposed structured and representative practices to assist players in preparing for penalty shootouts (Englert and Bertrams, 2012). Furley et al. (2017) noted that the absence of such preparation is one of the leading factors behind anxiety during penalty kicks. Wood et al. (2015) identified penalty shootouts as one of the extremely pressurizing situations in soccer. As such, it is imperative to understand the player’s penalty skills. Moreover, Lyttleton (2014) discovered that the possibility of a player to score a penalty after a previous defeat was minimal, whether or not that player was initially part of the team. Furleyet al. (2020b) also indicated that the likelihood of scoring for a side that previously emerged as the winners after penalty kicks were high. These findings indicate that penalty kicks can indeed be a mentally challenging experience that needs in-depth evaluation (Wilson et al., 2019).
Several scholars have conducted academic studies into penalty-taking to create awareness of how coaches can improve a player’s skill level to produce more successful results or widen the effects of penalty kicks (Wood et al., 2015). Tamimi et al. (2019) assessed the impact of the goalkeeper on the success rate of a penalty shot technique, whereas Phipps (2013) concentrated on technical aspects of the shot. Other authors have also investigated certain psychological factors associated with penalty taking. Greenlees et al. (2018) investigated this and concluded that anxiety plays a significant role in penalty kick success or failure.
The anxiety impact on penalty kicks continues to attract the attention of sport psychologists (Moll et al., 2010). Researchers have connected various illustrations for visuomotor impairment influenced by high anxiety to the disturbance of attention control (Horikawa, 2012). Therefore, a recent theoretical development from attention control theory and cognitive psychology may provide a fundamental framework for comprehending such performance disruptions (Jordet and Elferink-Gemser, 2012). Penalty shooting is an example of visuomotor skills where pressure can influence performance.
Indeed, several researchers have reported anxiety as the primary contributor to suboptimal performance in a penalty shootout (Jordet et al., 2016b). Kocher et al. (2019) explored the control perceptions of professional players in penalty kicks. They found that those who believed in luck during penalty shootout were more likely not to score than those who believed that penalty skill largely contribute to a player’s performance (Wood et al., 2015). According to Memmert et al. (2013), holding a view that the penalty shootout success depends on luck instead of the player’s skill increases anxiety in the penalty taker, increasing the likelihood of missing the penalty shot.
In explaining the impact of anxiety on attention control, Navia et al. (2019) opined that threat to a goal calls for detecting the source of attention and response to anxiety. In the case of a penalty shooting, an anxious player may view the goalkeeper as the cause of anxiety. For that reason, they endeavor to predict the goalkeeper’s movements (Phipps, 2013). A previous study examining soccer penalty performance reported that focusing on the goalkeeper may create tension before taking the penalty (Greenlees et al., 2018). Therefore, penalty takers should ignore the goalkeeper’s actions and adopt an attention strategy, focusing on the target areas like corners or the goal areas (Bar‐Eli and Azar, 2019). The influence of anxiety on the player’s visual attention and subsequent performance is of theoretical and practical interest to cognitive sports psychologists.
Methods
Participants
Sixteen male and female university football players aged 18-24 with competitive playing experience participated in the study (Ellis and Ward, 2021). Ten were right-footed, four were left-footed, and two used both right and left feet. All the participants had normal vision and had a medium to high penalty-taking rating. Their rating ranged from six to eight out of ten (Ellis and Ward, 2021). Researchers obtained written consent from all the participants. They also obtained approval from the local ethics committee before the study.
Task Setup
The players shot a standard-sized soccer ball toward a full-size goal (Wilson et al., 2019). The players took shots about 5m from the target center based on the standard indoor football rules. To minimize possible injuries to the goalkeeper, the whole shooting area was covered using standard gym mats of approximately 32mm (Wilson et al., 2019). This improved the goalkeeper’s safe and free diving.
The same goalkeeper participated in the entire testing period. The researchers required the goalkeeper to maintain his position until the player kicked took a shot (Wilson et al., 2019). The goalkeeper stood directly in the goal’s center with bending knees and hands by his side before each shot. These directives aimed to ensure that the penalty takers selected their target areas instead of anticipating the goalkeeper’s movements (Memmert et al., 2013). The players were told that focusing on the target locations improved their scoring chances.
Apparatus
The study was carried out at a university’s training ground. Penalty shootouts were executed to a full-size goal using a size 5m soccer ball inflated to 12.0 pounds per square inch (PSI) (Ellis and Ward, 2021). Researchers recorded the penalty kicks from three divergent angles using Panasonic digital cameras (Ak et al., 2017...