Developing Sport Expertise, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 10

“CHOKING” IN SPORT

RESEARCH AND IMPLICATIONS

ROBIN C. JACKSON, SIAN L. BEILOCK, AND NOEL P. KINRADE

 

INTRODUCTION

I was trying as hard as I could; I yearned for victory more intensely than in any match I had ever played; and yet it was as if I had regressed to the time when I was a beginner … My movements were sometimes lethargic, sometimes jerky, my technique lacked any semblance of fluency and coherence.

(Matthew Syed, journalist and former international table tennis player)

Elite sport performers have attained their status by demonstrating an ability to execute skills with a level of precision superior to their peers. What has intrigued spectators, coaches, and psychologists, not to mention the performers themselves, is how they ...