Regulation of activation levels in high performance beach volleyball: a case study with olympic champions

Abstract

The ability of athletes to detect the activation reactions that are most signifi cant to them and to discover the ideal performance state is one of the psychological competencies that is most determinant of an effective outcome in high performance sport. The present study was carried out with an Olympic Champion male beach volleyball team and aimed to analyze techniques or psychological strategies used by the athletes to regulate their activation levels during competitive situations during the game. Data were collected during six phases of the world beach volleyball tournament that preceded the Olympic Games in Athens, using a specifi c segment of a feedback execution instrument, which is designed to register perceived the activation level in each game and the techniques or psychological strategies used to regulate activation in different game situations. Data were provided by the athletes (self-report) 30 min after the end of each game. The results suggest that the Olympic Beach Volleyball Champions maintained an optimal activation level in the majority of the games, irrespective of the situations experienced during the games. The psychological techniques most employed to regulate activation level were cognitive techniques, which aim to change or adjust the main determinants (thoughts, perception, memory, language) and were based on self-report, attention focusing and imagery.