Taylor Delagrange
Sports Psychology
Dr. Vitale
Feb. 11, 2014
Perseverance
I have decided to interview my roommate and Hampden-Sydney College soccer player, Josiah Fleming. I asked him what was a sport experience that had impacted him and became important in his life. He is originally from Texas and he had moved to Virginia to live with his Dad. He was playing at a high level in Texas and wanted to continue this high level of playing in Virginia. His dad emailed a soccer club, the Richmond Strikers Academy 18 u-team, and had asked if his son could try-out for their team. The coach decided to let him try-out and give him a chance. Josiah was homesick and did not want to be in Virginia, so his playing abilities were not up to par. He tried-out and sadly did not make the team. Josiah knew that he was not able to play up to par and wanted to receive another chance to show them that the last try-out was just a fluke. So, he had received another chance and this time he was more confident in his playing abilities and he was just in sync with his body and was doing everything that he needed to do. The coaches were thoroughly impressed with his performance and knew that he had great potential, so they allowed him to play for their 18 u-team. That is incredible considering he was only 16 and would be playing with 18 year-olds. For the second part of the interview I will analyze his personal experience and decide the factors from a psychological standpoint.
When Josiah first tried-out for the team he had low confidence due to the fact that he was in a new environment and was feeling homesick. The low confidence led to his poor playing ability and therefore led to him not making the team. Josiah was also in a very competitive environment that was new to him and he was not the best player, unlike his last team that he was on in Texas. When one is put into a new environment there confidence level is affected. When Josiah found out he did not make the team this disappointed him and wanted to show the coach that he could perform much better. So, he set himself new goals to achieve. He made his goals short-term and realistic. Goals are not effective if the goals are not obtainable or too long. Josiah also followed the Bandura’s self-efficacy model. He believed that he could make the team if he played to his normal abilities. He also became motivated to do better because he had a poor performance at his last outing. With his goal setting, motivation, and confidence all in order he was sure to put on a better performance. Sure enough when he got his second chance he played much better and was able to make the team. It just goes to show that if put in the right environment and one sets goals that are realistic and obtainable then anything is possible.