A sport can be defined as any organized and more so an entertaining activity that entails competition and requires a lot of strategy, commitment and fair play for success and sustainability (Magee, 2003, p. 178). As far as different sports are concerned, a winner is supposed to be defined by acceptable and objective means that will not create any problem. Most common sports are defined and governed by a set of rules that are supposed to be adhered to by participants as time goes by.
There are a wide number of sports that suit each individuals needs. In this case, there are games that are classified as either mind sports or Olympic sports. Mind sports involve a lot of skilful thinking while Olympic sports are characterized by a lot of physical and mental involvement (Lacey, 2007, p. 148). There are other non-competitive activities that may be referred to as recreation games or sports. As a matter of fact, there are certain games that require a lot of skills for one to excel.
In extreme cases, there are other sports that don’t need a lot of skills but there is a well defined criterion that is used to judge them. Some sports are normally played for fun but others are purely professional and in this case they have been known to bring in a lot of revenue (Magee, 2003, p. 174). As a matter of fact, professional sports have emerged as a major source of entertainment to many people.
As much as some sports may require a lot of skills for one to succeed, participants are supposed to show and display a lot of good sportsmanship in the games that they are participating in (Weinberg and Gould, 2003, p. 15). In this case, they are expected to observe the standards of conduct as stipulated in the rules and regulations that guide the game.
Therefore, there has been a general argument that there are various factors that determine the success of a given individual in his/her preferred sport. These factors may always vary depending on an individuals sport or activity. Personality is very important as far as sports performance is concerned. This is because it gives an individuals trait and general behavior (Magee, 2003, p. 173). As a matter of fact, it is an attribute that might vary in different individuals.
Personality development is wholesomely related to character development in all perspectives. This is because it studies different individual characters over a given period of time. In this case, it is quite undeniable that one can be able to predict sports performance from personality measurement (Spalding, 2010, p. 9). This is despite the fact that different sports have a well defined set of practice that is supposed to be followed and adhered to as time goes by for one to be fully acquainted with what he/she is supposed to do.
In recent years, there have been conflicts as per to why some sports are being changed to make them popular and in the process enhance their profitability. In this case, such sports have ended up loosing their traditional and valued traditions. As much as these issues have arisen as time goes by, the general aspect of sportsmanship has not been eroded (Magee, 2003, p. 175). This has been guided by the general attitude that revolves around fair play, ethical behavior and integrity.
Since there has been a lot of professionalism in sports, we need to look at the guiding principles that have an impact on the performance of sports. These are factors that help a sportsman to be successful in that particular game or sport (Cox, 2002, p. 11). It has been argued that sports performance can be measured based on ones personality. In this case, a participant’s personality will be defined by various psychological factors that revolve around him.
Such psychological factors that will mould a person include self confidence, anxiety and stress. The relationship between personality and performance is always hard to understand but needs to be well evaluated and looked at. Personality is very important in sports development and needs to be harnessed and modeled for success (Spalding, 2010, p. 14). A sportsman needs to be well behaved and this is directly related to his personality. If a sportsman believes that his team is not good, he can not perform well as expected.
People are supposed to be committed to sports to achieve good and sustainable results. This is mostly applicable to professional sportsmen who earn their living from sports. For instance, if one is a workaholic, he will likely perform to his best as time goes by (Weinberg and Gould, 2003, p. 16). Sportsmen are not supposed to be selfish as they are expected to work together as a team. Selfishness is directly related to personality and needs to be avoided at all costs.
This is because a team is supposed to work together and if one is nice to others, the whole team will work together with him to develop his/her talent and performance in the sport. In this case, it is easy to help out a team mate who has been nice to you all along than to help an individual who has always been selfish (Lacey, 2007, p. 134). As a matter of fact, the teams’ performance is highly dependent on people’s personality.
Sportsmen are supposed to have a high morale when they are going to play at a given period of time. In this case, they are supposed to be happy as it will have an impact on their general performance in the field or pitch (Magee, 2003, p. 170). There are two aspects of personality that are supposed to bee looked at. This includes positive personality and negative personality.
Personality can also be grouped into two types. This is ether type A or type B. Type A sportsmen are always impatient and have been known to lack tolerance towards other individuals or team mates. These people always have high levels of anxiety that can not enhance their performance in sports (Spalding, 2010, p. 29). This means that a highly anxious individual will not concentrate on what he/she is supposed to do in the field.
Type B individuals are always tolerant to others and more relaxed. This means that they can accommodate anybody in the team. Such individuals can always encourage their team mates to keep up with their spirit even when they are not performing well (Lacey, 2007, p. 137). As a matter of fact, they have low levels of personal anxiety. This means that they can always be ready to accommodate and deal withy any challenge that might come by as they go about their business and activity of sportsmanship.
By looking at the two types of personality, it is quite evident that personality can be used to measure performance. This is because we can always look at the teams’ personality as a whole and predict if they will be able to perform as expected (Cox, 2002, p. 11). As a matter of fact, sportsmen are supposed to be highly tolerant for them to perform well in their teams and on an individual basis.
Therefore, we can say that personality greatly effects how a sportsman performs in a given sport. It should be known that we have different personalities that need to be understood for sustainability in sports (Lacey, 2007, p. 177). As a matter of fact, personality measurement has been used by various organizations and institutions to select teams that are supposed to participate in games and sports.
Personality defines the emotional and mental traits of sportsmen. Therefore, it is easy to measure a team’s performance by evaluating ones emotional traits. An emotional person can not perform well as expected (Cox, 2002, p. 19). This is because they will not be ready to accept mistakes that they have done and they will always be ready to come up with blame games instead of embracing collective responsibility.
As far as sports are concerned, personality is a distinctive trait that has a direct bearing on the teams overall performance. There are various factors that affect an individual’s personality in sports (Weinberg and Gould, 2003, p. 36). Gender limits the kind of games that different people can participate in but it does not have a direct impact on personality. Wholesomely, there is a very big relationship between personality and sports performance in a broad way.
As much as skills and abilities have an impact on sports performance, an individual needs to have unique and distinctive traits to be successful in sports. Despite the fact that personality is complex it needs to well understood for long term sustainability in sports performance (Cox, 2002, p. 35). This therefore justifies the fact we can easily predict sports performance based on personality measurement.
Reference List
Cox, R.H. (2002). Sport Psychology: Concepts and applications (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Lacey, D. (2007). It takes a bad loser to become a good winner. Journal on enhancing the advancement of sports, 3(6), 121-174.
Magee, S. (2003).101 Ways to Be a Terrific Sports Parent. Journal on sports development, 2, 168- 180.
Spalding, A. (2010). Without a governing body, cheerleaders face identity crisis. New Jersey: Herald.
Weinberg, R.S., & Gould, D. (2003). Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. (3rd ed.) United States: Human Kinetics.