THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRE-PERFORMANCE ROUTINES AND FIRST-SERVE PERCENTAGE AMONG COLLEGIATE TENNIS PLAYERS By Rebecca Thomas A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Kinesiology—Master of Science 2018 ABSTRACT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRE-PERFORMANCE ROUTINES AND FIRST-SERVE PERCENTAGE AMONG COLLEGIATE TENNIS PLAYERS By Rebecca Thomas Previous research has shown pre-performance routines have the capability of enhancing the performance of an athlete. When used correctly, a pre-performance routine can heighten one’s concentration and improve performance consistency. Earlier research studies have looked predominantly at the performance enhancing effects of routines in the sports of golf and basketball. Additionally, the majority of these studies were not completed in a competition setting, but instead were conducted in a practice or laboratory setting. The purpose of the current study was to assess the relationship between using a pre-performance routine and the first-serve percentage of a tennis serve, specifically among collegiate female tennis players within actual match play. Participants were recruited from the Women’s Team of a large Midwestern university. Video recordings were taken during a baseline phase to account for first-serve percentage without an implemented routine and then after players have participated in a routine development intervention. The Competitive State Anxiety Scale 2- Directional (CSAI-2D) was used to examine the potential relationship between pre-performance routines and competitive anxiety. Results revealed introducing a pre-performance routine into competitive match play has the ability to increase first serve percentage; specifically the increase can be seen in the first game, on pressure points, as well as for the overall match, but gains were modest. Additionally, participants also experienced a decrease in their cognitive anxiety, decrease in somatic anxiety and an increase in their self-confidence, although these differences were very small. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It has been a great experience completing this project during my time at Michigan State and it is one that would not have been completing if it weren’t for some incredible people helping me along the way. First, thank you to the three women who participated in this study. Additionally, thank you to the men’s team for allowing me to use your video cameras and your continued support throughout this process. This thesis would not have been possible without you. Next, my advisor Dr. Gould, words cannot begin to express how impactful your guidance has been; your encouragement, patience, and advice has led me to places I never thought I would go. Thank you so much for your mentorship throughout my time at MSU. To my committee, Dr. Smith and Dr. Erickson, I greatly appreciate you sharing your expertise and the time you put into this process. I would also like to thank the Department of Kinesiology and all of my fellow graduate students; your support over the past couple years has been indescribable. To my friends and family, thank you for continuing to listen to me talking about this project for the past two years. Thank you for giving me advice and support when I needed it. Finally, to Mom, Dad, and Katie, everything that I have accomplished is because of your continuous support and never-ending love. Thank you for all that you do; I am truly blessed to have a family like you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES vi vii 1 CHAPTER 1 1 Introduction 2 Specific Aims and Hypotheses 2 Primary aim 2 Related hypothesis 3 Secondary aim 3 Related hypothesis 4 CHAPTER 2 4 Literature Review 5 The Nature of Pre-performance Routines 5 The Effectiveness of Pre-Performance Routines 8 Measuring Athletes’ Pre-performance Routines 9 Pre-performance Routines and Tennis 12 Anxiety 16 CHAPTER 3 Method 16 16 Participants 17 Research Design 18 Intervention Measures 19 19 CSAI-2D 20 Video Recording 20 Procedure Data Analysis 25 CHAPTER 4 Results Pre-Service Routine Adherence Descriptive Findings Aim 1: Pre-Versus Post-Intervention Service Percentage Comparison First serve percentage in the first game Overall first serve percentage First serve percentage during pressure points Aim 2: Pre-Versus Post-Intervention Competitive Anxiety and Self-Efficacy Comparison 27 27 27 28 28 29 29 30 31 iv Cognitive anxiety effects Somatic anxiety effects Self-confidence effects CHAPTER 5 Discussion Pre-Service Routine Adherence Aim 1: First Service Percentage Aim 2: Competitive Anxiety and Self-Efficacy Anxiety Future Research Implications Limitations APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Demographic Questionnaire APPENDIX B: Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2D APPENDIX C: Serve Pre-Performance Routine Recording Note Sheet APPENDIX D: Pre-Performance Routine Handout REFERENCES v 31 32 32 33 33 33 34 36 37 38 39 39 42 43 44 45 46 55 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Serve Pre-Performance Routine Adherence Table 2: Descriptive Statistics- First Serve Percentages Table 3: Competitive Anxiety and Sub-Scale Scores 51 52 53 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Tennis first serve performance scores during first service game Figure 2: Tennis first serve performance for overall match Figure 3: Tennis first serve performance on pressure points Figure 4: Cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence scores 47 48 49 50 vii CHAPTER 1 Introduction Applied sport psychology is finding growing support for the use of pre-performance routines as an effective intervention to optimize an athlete’s performance (Hazell, Cotterill, & Hill, 2014). Routines can help improve an athlete’s performance for a number of reasons. A routine can instill a sense of familiarity for an athlete regardless of the environment they are performing in. Additionally, a routine can enhance feelings of confidence and give an athlete a sense of control over their performance. Establishing feelings of control are important because anxiety can occur when an individual feels as if they do not have control over a situation. By providing the athlete with the correct tools to build a pre-performance routine he or she can regain that sense of control and, potentially, reduce the feelings of anxiety that may occur. Focusing on a routine may also prevent one’s mind from wandering to distracting or negative thoughts throughout the performance, which will allow for consistent play. Athletes put in countless number of hours honing their physical skills; if paired with a pre-performance routine, an athlete increases their likelihood of reaching their optimal performance level during competition. Prior to the execution of a sport specific, closed skill such as a free throw in basketball and a serve in tennis, an athlete will focus on their pre-performance routine, which involves a definitive sequence of pre-established cues. By zeroing in their focus on their routine, the athlete can control their thoughts and actions. Having control over these motions can prevent distracting stimuli from interfering with the level of performance. There is a great interest in studying the effectiveness of pre-performance routines found within the literature as seen through the sheer number of studies that have looked at their 1 effectiveness within sport. However, the literature is inconsistent regarding the effectiveness of pre-performance routines. Many studies are successful in showing the positive relationship between consistent pre-performance routine use and an increase in performance (Bell, Cox, & Finch, 2010; Broomhead, Skidmore, Eggett, & Mills, 2012; Cotterill, Sanders, & Collins, 2010; Czech, Ploszay, & Burke, 2004; Hill, Hanton, Matthews, Flemming, 2011; Lee, Lee, & Kwon, 2015; Lobmeyer & Wasserman, 1986; Lonsdale & Tom, 2008; Marlow, Bull, Heath, & Shambrook, 1998; Mesagno, Marchant, Morris, 2008), while other studies have not supported the finding that by including a pre-performance routine an athlete will increase his or her performance (Gentner, McGraw, Gonzalez, Czech, 2008; Lautenbach et al., 2015). Overall, more studies support the effectiveness of pre-performance routines when the routines are individualized to the athlete and/or the routine was learned over a longer time period, allowing the athletes more practice in implementing a routine into their performance. This study builds on previous research by examining the relationship between pre- performance routines and the first serve percentage of elite tennis players. Specifically, this study extends previous research by looking at performance within the competition setting. Previous research recommends including both cognitive and behavioral components in pre-performance routines, this study will focus on the behavioral components. Specific Aims and Hypotheses Primary aim. To examine the relationship between a pre-performance routine and first serve percentage among collegiate female tennis players. Related hypothesis. The pre-performance routine intervention will increase first serve percentage during match play among collegiate female tennis players. 2 Secondary aim. To examine the relationship between a pre-performance routine, competitive anxiety, and self-efficacy among collegiate female tennis players. Related hypothesis. The pre-performance routine intervention will decrease levels of cognitive and somatic competitive anxiety and increase levels of self-efficacy experienced before a match. 3 CHAPTER 2 Literature Review Most competitive athletes want to perform their best when it counts. However, they are not always able to do so. For example, adequate preparation time for a competitive athlete can be beneficial, but having too much time during competition can lead to performance failures, such as focusing on distracting stimuli or overthinking one’s performance. Additionally, the pressure of a competitive atmosphere can induce feelings of anxiety within a competitor as they become more conscious of the situation, which can lead to poor performance (Singer, 2002). Given this state of affairs it is not surprising that athletes and coaches have turned to sport psychological techniques in an effort to better handle pressure situations and enhance performance. Moreover, within the field of sport psychology, pre-performance routines have been steadily developing as a tool to enhance sport performance and improve an athlete’s consistency (Cotterill, 2011). While pre-performance routines are being used in applied sport psychology more research is needed on them. Research not only needs to look at the overall effectiveness of pre- performance routines at improving performance but possible explanations for why any effects occur. This is the purpose of the present study. Before studying pre-performance routine effectiveness, however, the existing literature on the topic needs to be understood. The purpose of this chapter, then, is to summarize the research on pre-performance routines. This will be done by first defining pre-performance routines and discussing their components. Next, studies examining the effectiveness of routines will be presented. This will be followed by a discussion of anxiety management as an explanation for routine effectiveness. Finally, the existing literature on pre-performance routines in tennis serving will be examined. 4 The Nature of Pre-performance Routines Pre-performance routines involve the systematic use of cognitive and behavioral processes and are successful in advancing one’s performance (Bell, Cox, & Finch, 2010; Lobmeyer & Wasserman, 1986). Several definitions of pre-performance routines are seen in the literature, but the most prominent definition was developed by Moran (as cited in Cotterill, Sanders, & Collins, 2010). He defined pre-performance routines as, “A sequence of task-relevant thoughts and actions which an athlete engages in systematically prior to his or her performance of a specific sports skill.” Athletes use pre-performance routines to focus on task-relevant cues to increase their concentration, promote positive self-talk to prevent the influx of negative thoughts, and to avoid an attentional-shift to the mechanical foundation of their task (Cotterill, 2011). Pre-performance routines can be deconstructed into two subcomponents: behavioral and cognitive elements (Cohn, 1990). Various tools fall into the latter category, including imagery and self-talk (Marlow, Bull, Heath, & Shambrook, 1998). Additionally, a behavioral element includes shadowing the movement about to be performed in preparation for the actual task. For example, a golfer practicing his swing before he addresses the ball would be considered a behavioral component involved in his pre-performance routine. Previous research has found that combining both the behavioral component with the cognitive component can lead to an improvement in one’s performance (Czech et al., 2004) because the individual is able to create their ideal psychological state, while fostering their preferred physiological state (Cohn, 1990). The Effectiveness of Pre-Performance Routines A number of studies have examined the effectiveness of pre-performance routines. Typical of these studies was one conducted by Lonsdale and Tam (2008). The purpose of the study was to examine the importance of temporal and behavioral consistency in pre-performance 5 routines for a free throw in basketball. For each free throw completed, the sequence of behaviors was recorded, as well as the duration of the routine. The analysis found that more accurate free throw performance was not associated with temporal consistency; however, behavioral consistency (e.g., dribbling the basketball, spinning the basketball, and/or a pause in the movement) was associated with greater accuracy for the free throws. These studies have been conducted in predominately lab and/or controlled situations using athletes from a variety of sports. Some studies have supported the effectiveness of pre- performance routines (Bell, Cox, & Finch, 2010; Broomhead, Skidmore, Eggett, & Mills, 2012; Cotterill, Sanders, & Collins, 2010; Czech, Ploszay, & Burke, 2004; Hill, Hanton, Matthews, Flemming, 2011; Lee, Lee, & Kwon, 2015; Lobmeyer & Wasseran, 1986; Lonsdale & Tom, 2008; Marlow, Bull, Heath, & Shambrook, 1998; Mesagno, Marchant, Morris, 2008) while others (Gentner, McGraw, Gonzalez, Czech, 2008; Lautenbach et al., 2015) have not. Overall, more studies support the effectiveness of pre-performance routines than fail to support their effectiveness. It has also been suggested that when routines are individualized to the athlete and/or the routine was learned over longer time periods (which allows the athletes more practice in implementing a routine into their performance) performance improves. Marlow, Bull, Heath, and Shambrook (1998) also concluded the individualization of pre- performance routines is important if routines are to enhance performance. Specifically, they argue that an athlete needs to integrate psychological skills into their preparatory routine. Furthermore, in creating an effective pre-performance routine, the routine must be fairly automatic according to Singer (2002) and in order for automaticity to occur, an adequate amount of quality practice must take place. By developing an automatic pre-performance routine, athletes are giving themselves the opportunity to perform consistently at their optimal level. 6 Singer (2002) discussed a five-step approach in an effort to maximize an individual’s performance in regard to self-paced tasks. Readying, imaging, focusing, executing, and evaluating constitute the five steps. The first step, readying, allows the athlete to prepare him or herself mentally for the task they are about to perform. During this step, they are to construct positive thoughts in regards to their performance expectations. The second step, imaging, involves mentally rehearsing the act in great detail, but in a brief manner; the purpose of this step is to feel the movement. The third step is focusing and the notion for this strategy is to zone in on one cue in the situation. Committing the mind to focus on one cue prevents negative thoughts from flooding the mind. Executing the task is the fourth step, which is when the individual carries out the task once they feel they are ready. Finally, evaluation of the task can occur, if there is adequate time (Bouchard & Singer, 1998). Ideally, sufficient execution of Singer’s five- step strategy will prevent distractors from interfering with performance. Lidor (1997) formulated a study to determine if the five-step approach can be used as an effective learning strategy for children in field settings. Two experiments were performed; one included a task comparable to bowling, whereas one included a task comparable to a team- handball throwing task. Both experiments compared a control group to an experimental group who were instructed on how to use the five-step approach pre-performance routine during the task. The primary investigator was present during each testing session for the participants, which allowed for direct observation for completion of the tasks, as direct observation is one type of instrumentation used to collect data for research, specifically in pre-performance routines. Results revealed that the experimental group, also known as the Strategy group in the study, had better accuracy in both tasks when compared to the control group. From these results, Lidor (1997) concluded the Five-step approach had the ability to improve performance on motor tasks. 7 Measuring Athletes’ Pre-performance Routines There are several methodologies that have been used to assess an individual’s routine. In particular, videotaping is used to explore the behavioral component of one’s pre-performance routine. The cognitive component of a pre-performance routine can be analyzed through self- report measures or interviews. Lee, Lee, and Kwon (2015) explored both components in their study of tenpin bowlers, as they used observations and interviews as means for data collection. Jackson and Baker (2001) also explored both components of a pre-performance routine in a case study of a rugby goal kicker. First, they recorded the kicking attempts with a video recorder and then quantitatively analyzed the data based off of physical preparation time and the concentration time. Three behavioral measures were analyzed in the study, number of glances toward the goal posts during the physical preparation time, number of glances toward the goal posts during the concentration time, and the number of steps taken prior to each kick. The second part of their study focused on qualitatively obtaining data by interviewing the rugby player. Jackson and Baker (2001) found that physical preparation time and concentration time were longer when the difficulty of the kick increased. Additionally, the number of glances towards the goal post was consistent regardless of the kick difficulty during the concentration phase, but was more variable during the physical preparation phase. Prior to the kick, the participant had the same number of steps each time. The semi-structured interview allowed researchers to have a greater understanding of the psychological skills incorporated into the rugby player’s pre-performance routine. They found numerous psychological skills were being used during his routine, including imagery, thought stopping, and cue words/statements. Although the participant was using psychological skills within his routine, he was not incorporating them on a consistent basis. The findings of this study 8 suggest temporal consistency of a pre-performance routine should be analyzed based off of the difficulty of the task. Pre-performance Routines and Tennis Pre-performance routines are used in research on tennis, especially for the closed-skill of serving (Mamassis & Doganis, 2004; Genter, McGraw, Gonzalez, & Czech, 2008; Lautenbach et al., 2015). The serve in tennis is one of the most important shots because it is the most controllable, as it is not impacted by the opponent. An effective serve will allow the server a greater opportunity to constructively set up the point to their advantage. Each time the server steps up to the line, they are allowed two serves, but first serve percentage is critical to winning matches as second serves can shift the advantage to the returner. Service faults occur when the serve is unable to place the ball in the correct box on the other side of the net. Specifically, a double fault is when a player misses both of the services attempts and therefore, loses the point. There are a multitude of environmental factors that could influence the server’s ability to place their serve in the correct box. Players have the potential to face distractions from fans, referees, opponents, and their own inner dialogue. Tennis is a peculiar sport in the sense that players make their own line calls, which can lead to controversy between opponents. Regaining focus after controversy can be a difficult task, which gives reason to the importance of using a pre-performance routine in tennis. In addition to controversy, other factors could influence the accuracy of one’s serve such as the feeling of anxiety. A player may experience physiological effects of anxiety including an increased heart rate, tightening of muscles, and rapid, shallow breathing. In many instances, players will also participate in negative psychological responses regardless of the score in the match. Additionally, tennis players are going to have already developed a pre-performance routine before they serve, especially if they are elite athletes. 9 Behaviorally, they will bounce the ball the same number of times before each first serve or look at the spot on the court where they plan on serving the ball. Cognitively, they may participate in positive self-talk or partake in deep breathing to relax before serving. Although players may have already developed pre-performance routines, some may not be aware they are participating in a routine at all. Furthermore, these actions may be executed without a purpose in mind or can be restructured, according to the five-step approach, in an attempt to be more effective for the player. For all of these reasons, it seems as if a pre-performance routine would be beneficial in negating these negative experiences a player can go through in any given match. Previous studies on pre-performance routines and tennis serves are limited, especially in determining the effectiveness relative to collegiate athletes. Bouchard and Singer (1998) tested Singer’s five-step strategy with recreational university tennis players. The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of two methods of instructing the five-step strategy on performance and learning of the tennis serve. The participants were divided into three groups: no strategy, the five-step strategy with audio and written transcription, or the five-step strategy with videotape modeling. Participants were to complete seven testing blocks, which consisted of serving 10 first serves into one of the service boxes. The first two testing blocks were used to collect baseline data on the first day. After these first two trials were complete, the participants participated in the acquisition phase. During this phase, the groups were introduced to the five-step approach depending on the group they were assigned to. Once they learned the approach, the participants completed trial blocks three, four, and five. The retention phase ranged from two to four days and consisted of trial blocks six and seven, but no additional instructions were given to the participants on these days. Once all the trials were complete, a questionnaire was taken in an attempt to assess the player’s use of the strategy. The findings suggest learning occurred due to 10 the five-step strategy, but no significant differences in performance were found among the groups. Gentner, McGraw, Gonzalez, and Czech (2008) performed an observational study to investigate first serve pre-service routines of elite tennis players. When analyzing the data, players were categorized into using a consistent pre-service routine or into the non-routine group. Of the four participants, only one was found to have maintained their pre-service routine at least 80 percent of the time classifying this individual as consistently using a pre-service routine. The other three participants fell into the non-routine group because they did not use their pre-service routine at least 80 percent of the time. In comparison, the non-routine group had a higher mean serving percentage, than the routine group (69 percent to 66 percent respectively). The findings suggest elite tennis players’ tend to lack consistency in using pre-performance routines and this inconsistency still allowed for a higher serve percentage than the consistent routine user. A few limitations in this study include a small sample size, inability to detect cognitive routines, and a short time span of observation. Lautenbach et al., (2015) performed an intervention study assessing how performance in a high-pressure situation would be affected with the use of a non-automated pre-performance routine in tennis. The participants were classified as experienced tennis players because they played an average of four hours per week and have played tennis for an average of 16 years. Identical pre-performance routines were developed for the participants. The routines were taught to the participants for four weeks and each week a sport psychologist trained the participants for 30 minutes. Additionally, they were to practice their routine about 70 times per week on their own. The results did not show an increase in performance in the high-pressure situation. However, it was found that the use of routines enhanced performance consistency. These 11 findings suggest the use of a pre-performance routine will help an individual keep their performance consistent when performing under pressure. In summary, the research examining pre-performance routines in tennis is inconsistent relative to its performance enhancing effects. The limited research conducted to date shows that pre-performance routines can be learned and lead to more consistent performance. However, it has not been found to be effective in enhancing performance in pressure situations. A problem with this research is that only a few studies have been conducted in the field under competitive conditions. And in that study pre-performance routines were not customized to the individual. It is clear that more research is needed in this area. Furthermore, research is minimal in regards to the relationship between competitive anxiety and pre-performance routines in collegiate athletes. The purpose of this study is to investigate if players have the ability to improve their performance, specifically first serve percentage, by introducing a pre-performance routine in an attempt to reduce the level of competitive anxiety they feel prior to the start of a match. Anxiety The formulation of this study was inspired by the individualized zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) model developed by a Russian sport psychologist, Yuri Hanin. The IZOF model holds that athletes perform at their best when they are in their optimal zone of state anxiety. Additionally, when players’ emotional levels are outside of their zones, their performance will suffer. It is important to note that a player’s optimal level of state anxiety does not have to occur right at the center of the continuum, instead it varies from individual to individual. In addition to varying levels of state anxiety, the optimal level is seen as a zone rather than a specific point. This indicates that each athlete has their own specific optimal zone in 12 regards to the level of state anxiety they need to perform at their best (Ruiz, Raglin, & Hanin, 2017; Weinberg & Gould, 2011). In regards to the current study, anxiety is often described in the applied setting as an inhibitor to performance. Although no optimal zone was measured for this study, somatic and cognitive anxiety were analyzed prior to performance. As previously stated, athletes have individualized optimal zones of functioning in order to perform at their best. This notion corresponds with Cotterill et al.’s (2010) recommendation that pre-performance routines should be individualized based upon the players own needs in order to have the most impact on performance (Cotterill et al., 2010). Specifically, Cotterill et al., (2010) interviewed six golfers about the importance of developing effective pre-performance routines and found that creating an individualized pre-performance routine is likely to increase the performance effectiveness. The golfers explained how the primary function of using a pre- performance routine was to allow them to focus their attention on the current task and control their attentional focus. Major themes were formulated from the interviews and Cotterill et al., (2010) suggest the development of routines should be based upon three things: coping resources, situational appraisals of each player, and personality. The study suggested, then, that a routine that is specific to an individual player’s needs could have greater success in preparing an athlete for optimal performance. Although, exploration of pre-performance routines and competitive anxiety has not been thoroughly explored in collegiate tennis, there have been studies looking at other populations. Semi-professional soccer players, between the ages of 17 and 18, participated in a study by Hazell, Cotterill, and Hill (2014) in an attempt to determine how pre-performance routines can impact performance, anxiety levels, and self-efficacy. The study consisted of a pre/post intervention, where the experimental group would learn an individualized pre-performance 13 routine over the course of a seven-day period. The pre-performance routines were built on the guidelines suggested by Cotterill (2011). Specifically, the six steps included: understanding the task requirements, videotaping performance, clarifying the meaning of existing behaviors, developing a function and a focus for each behavioral component, constructing the new routine, and practice using the routine prior to skill execution. Each participant was required to take 10 penalty kicks from the penalty spot located 12 yards from the goal. The performance was scored based off of the accuracy of the penalty kick and not solely off of successfully kicking the ball into the goal. Self-efficacy was measured by asking the participants, “At the present moment in time, to what degree do you believe that your physical, technical, tactical, and mental skills will combine to help you execute the penalty successfully?” Participants answered this question with a percentage (0% to 100%) of how confident they were feeling to terms of that particular penalty kick. Additionally, the researchers collected anxiety scores with the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory 2 (CSAI-2; Martens, Burton, Vealey, 1990). Results revealed that the experimental group had significantly higher performance scores in comparison to the control group. In regards to self-efficacy, there were no significant differences between the groups. Furthermore, cognitive anxiety also had no significant differences between the groups, but the results indicated the experimental group, who received the pre-performance routine training, was able to reduce their somatic anxiety levels. These findings correspond with the findings of Mesagno and Mullane- Grant (2010) and Hill, Matthews, Fleming, & Hanton (2011). Additionally, Hazell et al. (2014) also found support for the importance of individualized pre-performance routines as they can build on the preferred mindset of the athlete. The current findings on pre-performance routines indicate they can effectively influence performance outcomes in a multitude of sports and although these findings are important for the 14 advancement of pre-performance routines, few studies have actually occurred in a field setting (Bell et al., 2010; Cohn, Rotella, Lloyd, 1990; Lee et al., 2015). It is unclear how the pressure of an actual competition may relate to the results found within the laboratory setting. In addition, it is important to observe how the influence of additional factors, such as competitive anxiety, may impact pre-performance routines in regards to consistency of use and effectiveness. 15 CHAPTER 3 Method Participants The research participants in this study consisted of three collegiate female tennis players. In order to be included in the study, the participants had to be on the Varsity Women’s Tennis Team of a large Midwestern University and consistently play in the singles lineup for competitions. This stipulation was in place to ensure the participants have already learned the skills required to play tennis and are highly automated. This allowed the participants to focus on developing and implementing their routine instead of completing the skill. Additionally, players must have had no previous experience working with a sport psychologist on developing a pre- performance routine. Purposeful sampling was used to select each participant based upon their participation on the tennis team and discussions with the head coach. The principal investigator met with the head coach to determine which players were most suitable to participate in this study. Specifically, emphasis was placed on selecting players that had low first service percentages, as they could likely benefit from the implementation of a pre-performance routine the most. Additionally, the study included players who were thought to suffer from high anxiety either prior to their performance or during their performance, as the development of a routine might help reduce anxiety or unwanted nonproductive thoughts and behaviors resulting from increased anxiety. When determining which players may suffer from high anxiety, the coach was asked to think about which players struggle to perform at their best during pressure situations. Once the players were identified they were informed of the voluntary nature of the study, their rights as participants explained, and a request for participation made. All three of the players who were 16 identified by the coach agreed to take part and player consent was attained at practice before the start of the study. Participant 1 was 21 years old and a senior. She had played varsity tennis for three championship seasons and was #1 on the team for the season the data was collected. Her first serve percentage was 54.31%. This participant won-loss record was 74 wins and 43 losses in singles throughout her career. Although she has performed well, her junior year spring season, resulted in a win-loss record of 8 wins and 13 losses. Participant 2 was 17 years old and a freshman. The fall season was her first varsity tennis season playing collegiate tennis and has yet to experience playing during a spring championship season. Participant 2 played #4 on the team. Her first serve percentage was 50%. During the fall season, Participant 2’s won-loss record was 6 wins and 1 loss in singles. Finally, Participant 3 was 19 years old and a sophomore. She had played varsity tennis for two championship seasons and was #6 on the team for the season the data was collected. Her first serve percentage was 46.35%. This participant won-loss record was 19 wins and 16 losses. Research Design The present study will employ a multiple case study design. This research design allowed for the assessment of the relationship between a pre-performance routine, competitive anxiety levels, self-confidence levels and tennis first-serve performance. The independent variables consisted of the pre-performance routine intervention and the dependent variables included assessments of cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, self-confidence and tennis serve performance. Specifically, this study examined both cognitive and somatic competitive anxiety. Baseline observations were collected for all participants during three competitive matches. The players serving performance was observed over two tournaments where they 17 served a minimum of 15-20 games over the course of the three matches. The serves were video recorded at the baseline. The principal researcher reviewed the video and the performance was coded using a pre-performance routine note sheet created specifically for this study based off of the five step-approach (See APPENDIX C). The initial routine was observed and tracked using this note sheet, but not all five steps were observable. The researcher only tracked the behavioral components of each routine due to the inability of seeing the cognitive thought process. Patterns were looked for throughout the video recording. Once the data was collected from the three matches, the pre-performance routine intervention would be individually developed with each of the participants. The study covered an eight-week period and the dependent variables were compared across the pre- and post-intervention stages. Serve performance was recorded during all competitive match play. Since the tennis serve was the primary dependent variable, the intervention phase was introduced once the performance scores were collected after the three baseline matches. In total, each participant played in 4 tournaments; 2 tournaments were pre- intervention and 2 tournaments were post-intervention. Within each tournament, coaches’ delegate the tier a player performs in and this is based off of the position in the line-up each individual will play in. Due to this, each participant played similar level competitors throughout the entirety of the study. Intervention Once the observation phase was over, the principal researcher scheduled an individual meeting with each of the participants. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the importance of using a pre-performance routine, in addition to the importance of developing a pre- performance routine to be used during play. 18 After the participants were informed of the importance of using a pre-performance routine, the participants were introduced to the five-step approach (Singer, 2002). Introduction to the five-steps was delivered through a handout explicitly laying out what the five steps are, as well as what each step would consist of (See APPENDIX D). The idea was to allow the participant to be as familiar and comfortable with the five-step approach and allow for a more collaborative experience in designing the routine. The final phase of the intervention revolved around each participant and their dedication to practicing the routine outside of meeting with the principal researcher. Essentially, intentional and repetitive practice would lead to automaticity of the routine. Each participant was instructed to practice how he or she wants to perform during competitions. If they did not practice their routines in practice, how could they expect to perform the skill during competitions? In addition, participants met with the researcher for approximately hour per week to review their pre- performance routine and determine if any adjustments need to be made. Measures Each participant completed a demographic questionnaire. The questionnaire asked the participants their gender, age, ethnicity, number of years participating in tennis, academic year in college, and experience with a pre-performance routine. (See APPENDIX A) CSAI-2D. The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2D) (Jones & Uphill, 2004) assessed competitive anxiety. The purpose of this scale was to measure the intensity and direction of the three subscales: somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence. The CSAI-2D entailed a total of 54 items consisting of three subscales, which used a 4-point ordinal scale that extends from 1(not at all) to 4 (very much so). The subscales included somatic state anxiety (i.e., “I feel tense in my stomach”), cognitive state anxiety (i.e., “I am concerned about 19 not being able to concentrate today”) and self-confidence (i.e. “I feel self-confident) and ranged from a low of 9 to a high of 36 per subscale. The internal consistency for the three intensity subscales is adequate with alphas between 0.70 and 0.90. The CSAI-2D also measured the directionality of each subscale and whether the participant viewed their feelings as facilitative or debilitative for their performance. This portion of the measure used a seven-point scale ranging from very debilitative (-3) to very facilitative (+3). (See APPENDIX B) Video Recording. The skill being performed for this study was the first-serve in a tennis match. The tennis serves were video recorded in order to specifically observe temporal and behavioral consistency of the pre-performance routine for the first serve, in addition to the participant’s serving accuracy. Analysis of the temporal and behavioral consistency of the players was used to determine if they were using a consistent pre-performance routine. This strategy is common in the pre-performance routine research (Cotterill et al., 2010; Czech et al., 2004; Velentzas et al., 2010). After the participant completes the CSAI-2D five to 10 minutes before their match, video recordings were taken of the match entirety. Each participant had to have at least two matches video recorded. In conjunction with video recordings, a Serve Pre- Performance Routine Recording Checklist was completed on paper by the principal investigator. The purpose of the checklist was to have an independent record of the score, ability to analyze pressure points and first-serve percentage overall. Procedure The principal investigator initially contacted the head coach of the tennis team to determine their player’s level of interest in participating in the study. Players were given letters of consent after seeking IRB approval in order to ensure the women had interest in participating and understood their rights as human subjects. Once the study was approved, the principal 20 investigator met with the players after a predetermined practice. During this meeting, questions were answered about the study and the potential participants will be given information about the rationale of the study. Players will be informed the study will be analyzing first serve percentages, but pre-performance routines were not discussed in order to prevent contamination of the baseline data. Once the players agree to participate in the study, they signed the consent form. Participants then completed the CSAI-2D prior to their competitive match. Once they completed the questionnaire, the participants played their match. All matches were recorded and first-serve percentages calculated. Three matches were used to determine the baseline of each player, which included at least 15-20 service games. Once the baseline data was collected, the players met individually with the principal investigator to develop their pre-performance routine. The informal consultation occurred with each of the participants to discuss the benefits of incorporating a pre-performance routine within their performance and building this routine off of current consistent behaviors they already perform. Again, the routines being developed used the five-step approach (Singer, 2002). This allowed the pre-performance routine to be individualized to each player, but have standardized components. The designed pre-performance routines were used as a model when recording competition. Each weekly conversation differed depending on the needs of the participant. Participant 1 would meet with the researcher prior to the start of practice to get to the core of her routine. Having a background in psychology, Participant 1 has fully invested in learning new cognitive and behavioral components to incorporate in her routine. She wanted to know the what, how, and why of each component she was incorporating into her routine. The conversations revolved around focus and breathing. 21 The conversations began around her breath and the art of deep breathing. Participant 1 felt as if her mind was constantly wandering while she was performing; it would bounce around from past results to future opponents. All of this movement in her mind was creating pressure for her to win, especially since it was her senior year; this was her last opportunity to make a mark on the program. By having Participant 1 bring her awareness to her breath, she was able to bring her mind to the current moment and be absorbed in the present. Participant 1 continued to practice bringing her awareness to her breath to control the moment. A lot of the pressure participant 1 felt was due to a loss of control once she stepped on the court to play a match. Participant 1 decided to work on controlling her breath to help control her response to the moment. Together, the primary investigator and participant 1 worked on deep breathing to help her calm down during her performance. Once breathing had been worked through, the next topic discussed was focus; taking control of her mind, in a clear and vivid way. She started training her ability to exert deliberate mental effort on what was important during her performance. One example of how she reinforced this idea was asking herself, “What’s important now?” She began asking herself this phrase when she found herself getting distracted or frustrated during her performance. Within her routine, she also used behavioral cues to keep her focus while serving. For example, she would walk to the line bouncing the ball with her racket to the ground. She zoned in on the way the ball bounced off her strings forcefully to the ground. Once she got to the line she would bounce the ball with her hand 3 times, this was her behavioral cue that it was time to serve and she would visualize the serve she was about to hit. Focus takes effort and for participant 1, it was working through that she did not need to be 100 percent focused throughout the entire match; she needed to be able to let her focus drop during change overs and use cues to 22 bring her focus back while performing. This ebb and flow of her focus allowed her to stay mentally relaxed because she knew she had the tools to shift her focus back to performance. Participant 1 felt she needed to take advantage of the physical breaks to allow her brain a mental break. She would then use her cognitive and behavioral cues within her routine to reinforce her focus throughout her serve game. Each week, participant 2 would meet with the primary researcher to discuss the behavioral and cognitive components within her routine after practice. At the time of the study, participant 2 was undecided in regards to her major of study and had not taken any psychology courses in high school. Coming into college, participant 2 had higher self-confidence because she had been successful throughout her junior tennis career and was excited to begin playing collegiate tennis. Her game style was that of a grinder, very consistent. This was a cause for concern for participant 2 because she felt those girls with big weapons, such as a big forehand, would prevent her from being as successful in this new realm of tennis because they would be able to crush her serve. The primary investigator and participant 2 focused on using her routine to build confidence in her serve. Additionally, conversations centered on self-talk and breathing. Buy-in from participant 2 was strong because she wanted to prove herself as an asset to the team and felt working with the primary investigator would help give her performance an edge. Self-talk directly influences the confidence of an individual because one’s thoughts/internal dialogue can feed confidence positively or negatively depending on what the athlete is saying. Furthermore, the brain is influenced by intent; one may say, “I don’t want to double fault”, their brain will understand “double fault.” Likewise, if participant 2 is telling herself her serve is going to get crushed by stronger players, then she may not fully accelerate her racket head speed in an attempt to prevent serving a second serve, but is in turn hurting first 23 serve. On the contrary, she may try to serve harder than usual due to her self-talk trying to prevent other girls from crushing her serve, but result in missing from over hitting. Humans tend to focus on the negatives, so participant 2 worked on being aware of what she was telling herself while on court. First, participant 2 worked on recognizing her self-talk and determining if what she was telling herself was helping or hurting her performance. If she felt her commentary was hurting her performance, she practiced stopping the thought using a physical cue paired with deep breathing. She was drawn to her towel because she found it the easiest place to take a couple deep breaths. She then began pairing her deep breathing with the physical cue of using her towel to wipe away her negative thoughts. Participant 2 would then take 1 more deep breath and tell herself a verbal cue to redirect her thoughts to sometime productive. The most important component for participant 2 was listening to what she was telling herself and understanding how it was impacting her confidence levels. Finally, participant 3 had the lowest amount of buy-in of participant 3 because she felt as if she were going through a sophomore slump and was not sure how she could pull herself out of it. Many of the conversations centered on the idea of a sophomore slump and how she could use her mental strength to revive the rest of the season. Similarly to participant 2, self-talk consistently was discussed as she continued to fuel her mind with negative thoughts indicating she would not be able to pull her performance out of her sophomore slump. This negative self- talk was impacting her confidence levels for the worse. Additionally, she felt as if she was just going through the motions at practice and during matches. Together, participant 3 and the researcher worked on changing her mindset and how she was talking to herself. This cognitive component of her routine was going to be essential for her success on the court. 24 First, participant 2 needed to become aware of how she was talking to herself and determine if those thoughts were productive or destructive for her performance. She continued to work on recognize how she was talking to herself throughout the length of the study. She would then use a verbal cue as a trigger to help her move on from the thought and return her focus to her performance. Working on her self-talk was also going to impact her confidence on the court. Additionally, it was stressed that she was not going to have perfectly positive self-talk moving forward. Everyone is bound to have negative thoughts flow through their mind to try to disrupt performance, but it is about how one then responds to the thought; are we going to buy in to the thought or are we going to change it? Participant 2 decided she was going to change her thoughts and use her verbal cue within her routine to help her do that. Video recording occurred at collegiate competitions during the eight-week length of the study. All the players in the study played in the same collegiate tournaments. The recordings did not interfere with play, as the video cameras were placed on top of the court fence. Three baseline matches were recorded, followed by three matches post intervention. Data Analysis Visual analysis was used to organize and show a visual representation of the data through a graphical approach, which is one of the most common approaches used for case study data analysis in the sport and exercise context (Baker, 2011). A visual representation of the baseline data and intervention data was graphed in order to show the service performance scores and results from the CSAI-2D of each participant. Visual inspection was used to analyze changes in first serve performance, competitive anxiety, and self-confidence, based upon changes in mean. 25 Data was recorded at the time of play and the primary investigator then reviewed and coded all of the footage captured. Footage included a total of six matches for each of the three participants over the course of four tournaments. Each participant played in three matches prior to the pre-performance routine intervention and three matches post intervention over the course of a three-month time span. Once the data was collected, it was broken down in three different ways and analyzed to determine the impact of the pre-performance routine. The primary objective was to analyze the first service game of the participants. This game was chosen because it is the closet point in the match to the anxiety levels an individual feels prior to a match. The second objective was to analyze first serves for the overall match because it may show the impact a pre-performance routine has over first serve percentage throughout competitive play. The final objective was to analyze first serve percentage during critical points and/or pressure situations. These situations were defined as situations during a match when the outcome of the point is critical for overall success, which may heighten the pressure of the situation, including serving during a game point, set point, or match point. Additionally, adherence to pre-performance routine was analyzed through behavioral and temporal consistency. Behavioral consistency was defined by how well the participant was able to stick to the behavioral components of their serve pre-performance routine and temporal consistency was defined by how well the participant was able to consistently perform their routine based upon the length of time to complete the routine. 26 CHAPTER 4 Results This study was designed to extend the previous research by looking at the utility of developing pre-performance service routines on serve performance within the competition setting. It had two specific aims and associated hypotheses. The primary aim was to examine the relationship between a pre-performance routine and first serve percentage among collegiate female tennis players. It was hypothesized that an athlete specific pre-performance routine intervention would increase first serve percentage during match play for each of the three collegiate female tennis players participating. A secondary aim was to examine the relationship between the players’ pre-performance routines, competitive cognitive and somatic anxiety, and self-efficacy. It was hypothesized that the pre-performance routine intervention would decrease levels of pre-match competitive anxiety and increase pre-match levels of self-confidence. The findings will be presented by first presenting the routines of each of the three players. Next, the participants’ scores on the various measures, both as a group of three and separately, were examined. Then the results used to test each of the major aims and associated hypotheses will follow. Pre-Service Routine Adherence Each of the 3 participants met individually to develop their pre-performance routines with an emphasis placed on Singer’s 5 step approach (Singer, 2002). Furthermore, participants established cognitive and behavioral components consistent with Singer’s 5 step approach. Each participant’s routine was analyzed based upon their behavioral adherence and their temporal adherence to determine how consistent they were in using their pre-performance routine during competition. Specifically, the average behavioral adherence was 70.67%, while the average 27 temporal adherence was 64.67%. Table 1 contains a listing of what comprised the steps of each player’s routine. It also contains the percentage of time that the player adhered to their routine behaviorally and temporally post intervention. Descriptive Findings Table 2 contains the descriptive performance data for all participants. An inspection of this table reveals that participants serve percentages ranged from 39 to 64%. All three participants had higher mean scores post intervention, which will be discussed in depth later in these results. Table 3 contains the means and standard deviations for the competitive anxiety data. Results showed that all of the participants experienced a similar amount of cognitive (M=18.28) and somatic anxiety (M=16.06) compared to scores (M=18.04 and M=17.26, respectively) from norms published by Martens, Vealey, and Burton (1990), who developed the original CSAI-2, which is without directional measures. On the subscale of self-confidence, the 3 participants scored similarly (M=24.39) to that of Martens et al. (1990) (M=25.02) norms. Further inspection of this table shows that the Participants 1 and 2’s anxiety scores were in the low moderate range while Participant 3’s cognitive and somatic anxiety scores were higher. As expected, post-routine anxiety scores decreased for all participants while confidence increased. Aim 1: Pre- Versus Post-Intervention Service Percentage Comparison Aim 1 was designed to examine the relationship between a pre-performance routine and first serve percentage among collegiate female tennis players. This was tested using three dependent variables: (1) first serve percentage in the first game; (2) overall first serve percentage; and (3) first serve percentage during pressure points (See Table 2). Results for each 28 of these dependent variables are discussed below. It should also be noted that mean scores were relatively stable across the 3 pre and 3 post intervention matches for all participants. First serve percentage in the first game. The first game of the match was analyzed because it is the closest service game to the anxiety level assessments that players completed prior to the match. Mean scores for serve percentage were calculated for the first game by adding the total number of serves for made and missed serves. The number of made serves was then divided by the total number of first serves hit during the first game of the match. Overall, the participants post routine intervention scores were higher than the pre- intervention scores (See Figure 1). Participant 1 ranged from 40% first serve percentage up to 57% prior to the intervention. The scores for the three matches post intervention ranged from 60% to 75% for Participant 1. Participant 2 and 3 have similar findings. Participant 2 began the study with first serve percentages between 40% and 60%, followed by first serve percentages between 60% and 80% post intervention. Additionally, Participant 3 saw success post routine intervention with first serve percentages ranging from 57% up to 75% over the course of the three matches. As hypothesized, then, the results support the notion that developing a pre- performance routine will facilitate first service performance in the first game of a match. Overall first serve percentage. Overall first serve percentage of each participant for each match was also examined pre and post intervention. Again, totals were found for the number of made and missed serves per game and then totaled to find the number of made and missed serves throughout the entirety of each match played. To find the average percentage of first serves made, the number of made during the overall match was divided by the total number hit. Similar to the first serve first game dependent variable, each participant experienced an increase in overall first serve percentages over the course of the study post intervention. 29 Participant 1 had serve percentages between 53% and 61% prior to the intervention and post intervention serve percentages ranging from 65% to 71%. Participant 2 saw similar improvement in first service performance; starting the study with serve percentages between 42% and 56% prior to the intervention and concluding the study with serve percentages between 59% and 64% post intervention. The final participant continued the trend of improved first service performance with serve percentages between 42% and 56% pre-intervention, followed by serve percentages between 56% and 63% post-intervention. First serve percentage during pressure points. The final performance measure used in this study was first serve percentages of each participant during pressure points. These pressure points were defined as the points in the matches that were critical to the overall success of the match including, game, set, and match points. Average first serve percentage for pressure points was calculated by taking the number of made first serves and dividing it by the total number of serves hit on pressure points. Although all three types of critical points were analyzed, only game points were graphed because not all participants served for the set or the match in each of the matches. Furthermore, if an individual is serving for the match, they are also serving on a set point and a game point. Due to this, all pressure points can be filtered down to game points, even though some game points have more weight in regards to if it is also a match and/or a set point. Overall, this dependent variable saw the lowest serve percentage scores pre-intervention compared to the first two objectives. Pre-intervention, Participant 1 first serve percentages ranged from 50% to 56% with a range of 50% to 67% following the intervention. Participant 2 ranged from 39% to 53% pre-intervention and 43% to 56% post-intervention. Participant 3 had first serve percentages between 38% and 53% prior to the intervention on pressure points and saw improvement in their serve with percentages ranging between 57% and 61%. The hypothesis 30 that the pre-performance routines would facilitate performance post-intervention was supported but the gains were more modest. Although gains were modest, these findings have prominent practical significance in collegiate tennis. Ideally, each player wants to strike a balance between power and consistency. This balance is usually seen between 60-65% first serves made. Two out of the three participants increased their serve percentage to fall into this category with Participant 1 serving at 60% and Participant 2 serving at 61%; Participant 3 is close to the mark, but ended data collection with a serve percentage of 59%. Additionally, all 3 participants had low standard deviations indicating over the course of the 3 post intervention matches, their serve percentages were relatively stable. Aim 2: Pre- Versus Post-Intervention Competitive Anxiety and Self-Efficacy Comparison The secondary aim of this study was to examine the relationship between a pre- performance routine, competitive anxiety, and self-efficacy using the CSAI-2D. Mean results for scores on the CSAI-2D are summarized in Table 3 and graphed in Figure 4. Post intervention, somatic anxiety scores were found on the low end of the scale, whereas confidence scores were on the high end. Cognitive anxiety effects. Inspection of CSAI-2D scores pre (M = 19.44) and post intervention (M = 17.11) revealed that competitive anxiety scores decreased post intervention. Scores for Participant 1 CSAI-2D pre (M = 16.33) and post intervention (M = 15.67), Participant 2 CSAI-2D scores pre (M = 17.33) and post intervention (M = 16.57) and Participant 3 CSAI-2D scores pre (M = 24.67) and post intervention (M = 20.00). Looking at the cognitive anxiety scores per individual, a decrease in recorded score is seen. Additionally, when averaged across the three participants, a decrease in cognitive anxiety by about 2 points is seen. Hence, support was generated for the hypothesized effects of a decrease in cognitive anxiety post intervention. 31 Somatic anxiety effects. CSAI-2D scores pre (M = 17.44) and post intervention (M = 14.67) revealed that the participants perceptions of the physiological elements of anxiety were reduced prior to performance. Participant 1’s CSAI-2D pre (M = 14.67) and post intervention (M = 13.33) scores decreased as did Participant 2’s CSAI-2D scores pre (M = 16.33) and post intervention (M = 14.00). Participant 3 CSAI-2D scores pre (M = 21.33) and post intervention (M = 16.67) saw a decrease as well. Looking at the cognitive anxiety scores at the individual level, a decrease in recorded score is seen. Additionally, when averaged as a group of 3, a decrease in somatic anxiety by almost 3 points is seen. Hence, support was generated for the hypothesized effects of a decrease in somatic anxiety post intervention. Self-confidence effects. CSAI-2D scores pre (M = 23.33) and post intervention (M = 25.44) revealed that all three participants trusted their abilities post intervention more so then prior to the intervention. Specifically, Participant 1 experienced an increase in mean CSAI-2D scores from pre (M = 22.33) to post intervention (M = 24.67). Participant 2 mean CSAI-2D scores also increased from pre (M = 25.00) to post intervention (M = 26.67). Participant 3 gained the most trust in their abilities post intervention indicated by her CSAI-2D scores pre (M = 21.00) and post intervention (M = 25.76). Looking at the self-confidence subscale scores per individual, an increase in recorded score is seen. Additionally, when averaged as a group of 3, an increase in self-confidence by about 2 points is seen. Hence, support was generated for the hypothesized effects of an increase in confidence post intervention. 32 CHAPTER 5 Discussion The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between a pre-performance routine and the first-serve percentage of a tennis serve, specifically among collegiate female tennis players within match play. Based upon the literature, it was hypothesized that developing and utilizing a pre-performance service routine would increase first serve percentage, reduce cognitive and somatic anxiety and enhance self-confidence in collegiate tennis players. Pre-Service Routine Adherence Czech, Ploszay, and Burke (2004) studied collegiate basketball players and free throw shooting accuracy in relationship to the maintenance of their pre-performance routines. They found free throw shooting accuracy was not significantly related to pre-performance maintenance, though those with higher maintenance had higher shooting percentages. Similar findings were apparent in the current study; although behavioral maintenance percentages were above 60% (Table 1). Gains in first serve percentages were modest. Even though the gains were modest, participants with greater behavioral adherence during their pre-performance routine had higher first serve percentages overall and during their first service game. Furthermore, Lonsdale and Tam (2008) found that adherence to a dominant pre-performance routine was related to greater free throw accuracy among NBA players. In regard to temporal consistency, the overall average 64.67%. While some evidence does suggest that temporal consistency is important for accuracy (Wrisberg & Pein, 1992), the current findings indicate there would be no accuracy differences based on temporal consistency. This also added further support to the more prominent body of evidence that temporal 33 consistency does not influence skill accuracy (Jackson, 2003; Lonsdale & Tam, 2008; Southard & Miracle, 1993). Within the sport of tennis, however, strict pre-performance routine maintenance may not be as important for successful performance. While there is a stoppage of play prior to each first serve and it is in the sole control of the server, there are different environmental factors present that are not present in other sports. These factors include a let from a ball coming onto the court from a neighboring match, the pace in which the opponent is playing, spectator and/or teammate’s movement and interference from a referee. Servers in tennis have a different environment to perform their closed-skill in, which can even change from serve to serve. Aim 1: First Service Percentage Aim 1 was designed to examine the relationship between a pre-performance routine and first serve percentage among collegiate female tennis players. It was hypothesized that the pre- performance routine intervention would increase first serve percentage during match play. The present findings lend partial support for these hypotheses. In regards to increasing first serve percentage the implementation of a pre-performance routine appeared to be successful for the three participants, which lends support to the implementation of pre-performance routines prior to serving in women’s collegiate tennis. While based on the visual representation of the data, it appears that the pre-performance routine intervention enhanced serving performance, it did not have a significant impact on the anxiety levels the players may feel prior to serving performance. These performance findings are consistent with a number of studies that examined routine effects across sports (Bell, Cox, & Finch, 2010; Broomhead, Skidmore, Eggett, & Mills, 2012; Cotterill, Sanders, & Collins, 2010; Czech, Ploszay, & Burke, 2004; Hill, Hanton, Matthews, Flemming, 2011; Lee, Lee, & Kwon, 2015; Lobmeyer & Wasserman, 1986; Lonsdale 34 & Tom, 2008; Marlow, Bull, Heath, & Shambrook, 1998; Mesagno, Marchant, Morris, 2008), as well as in tennis studies (Mamassis & Doganis, 2004; Genter, McGraw, Gonzalez, & Czech, 2008; Lautenbach et al., 2015; Bouchard & Singer, 1998). What is especially important about the findings of the current study is the fact the data was collected in actual competitions which has not been previously done in many studies. Furthermore, previous studies support the effectiveness of pre-performance routines when the routines are individualized to the athlete. The current study provides support to these finding because the implementation of each routine was individualized to each participant, which resulted in an increase in first serve percentage for each participant. The improvement in serving performance, when calculated as a serving percentage, has particular importance because even a relatively small percentage increase (10%) can result in making 2 or 3 more serves. These 2 or 3 additional successful serves can make a significant difference in the outcome of a match. For example, within the first serve game, Participant 1 served 7 first serves, of which she made 4 and missed 3 making her serve percentage for her first service game of the match 57%. Had Participant 1 made 5 first serves and missed 2 in the first game, her first serve percentage would have gone up to 71%. If she improves her serve count by 1 more, the serving percentage is increasingly higher (86%; 6/7). This improvement in a competitive environment could be the difference between winning and losing the game. A tennis player’s goal is to make as many first serves during the match as she or he can, as it can give them the advantage in the point due to the fact it is the only shot in tennis that is completely in the players control. Higher first serve percentages have the opportunity to increase the chances of winning the point and in turn, the match. With this concept in mind, the results indicate that the use of a pre-performance routine may improve women’s collegiate tennis players serving 35 performance, which ultimately increases the player’s chances of winning points during their service game. Aim 2: Competitive Anxiety and Self-Efficacy The secondary aim of this study was to examine the relationship between a pre- performance routine, competitive anxiety, and self-efficacy using the CSAI-2D. The hypothesis that developing a pre-performance serving routine would reduce anxiety and enhance self- confidence was not fully supported. Specifically, while all participants reported lower cognitive and somatic anxiety and increased self-confidence post intervention these differences were very small. Furthermore, in regard to direction, participants reported the experience of cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety to be positive. On the self-confidence subscale, participants also reported their experiences to be in a positive direction. The positive interpretations of their experiences of cognitive and somatic anxiety are likely due to their years of experience and perceived experience level, which may also be influenced by their positive experience of self- confidence. However, Jones and Uphill (2004), who also used the CSAI-2D, advise caution when interpreting the directional nature of the scores due to their finding that 37.1% of their participants incorrectly classified their scores. There are several possible explanations for the lack of meaningful effects of the intervention on anxiety and confidence. First, perhaps the anxiety assessment was not sensitive enough to pick up difference in what the players were feeling or was not given close enough to the actual serves to be accurate. Second, while the intervention was aimed at helping the player improve performance by following a set behavioral routine (e.g., bounce the ball twice) it did not include specific anxiety management strategies (e.g., taking centering breaths or repeat positive affirmations) crafted for each player. Another possible explanation for the lack of meaningful 36 effects of the intervention on anxiety may be related to how the participants perceive his or her feelings of anxiety prior to their performance. Participants reported their experience of cognitive and somatic anxiety to be in a positive direction indicating participants perceive these feelings of anxiety help their performance. Further research should include qualitative research interviews to further explore athletes’ perceptions of anxiety prior to performance. Finally, perhaps since the assessment occurs prior to performance each participant’s routine prior to performance should be analyzed as well. Specific anxiety management strategies can be central to one’s pre- performance routine prior to a first serve, as well as prior to stepping on the court. Anxiety This study used the individualized zones of optimal functioning model (IZOF) to provide inspiration for the creation of the study. The IZOF model holds that athletes perform at their best when they are in their optimal zone of state anxiety. Additionally, when players’ emotional levels are outside of their zones, their performance will suffer. Each athlete has their own specific optimal zone in regards to the level of state anxiety they need to perform at their best (Ruiz, Raglin, & Hanin, 2017; Weinberg & Gould, 2011). Although this study did not find the optimal zone of each participant, cognitive and somatic anxiety were measured prior to performance. The current study provides support to the relationship between competitive anxiety and pre-performance routines, although moderately. Each participant experienced a decrease in their cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety prior to their performance post intervention, as well as an increase in first serve percentage. Although the pre-performance routine appeared to help participants perform better with lower levels of cognitive and somatic anxiety, it may not have 37 been their optimal zone state of anxiety. Future research should continue looking at the relationship between competitive anxiety and pre-performance routines. Future Research More information is needed on the relationship between cognitive anxiety and pre- performance routines. The current study’s sample size included only 3 female collegiate tennis players. Specifically, larger, more diverse samples (i.e., different sports, experience levels) are needed to further verify the relationship between cognitive anxiety and pre-performance routines. It might be useful to employ the CSAI-2D retrospectively, where players would look at match videos and retrospectively rate how they felt just before serving (perhaps on critical points). Retrospective assessments have been used successfully in optimal zone of functioning research. Additional research is also needed to better understand how experiences of self- confidence may influence feelings and attributions of cognitive anxiety. A better understanding of how the use of a pre-performance routine could affect those who report low self-confidence or being debilitated by feelings of cognitive anxiety is also needed. Intervention studies assessing cognitive anxiety, with particular interest in self-confidence, before and after the introduction of pre-performance routines, would be ideal. Future research directions may also include longer intervention time periods, implementation during their championship season, and looking at pre- match routines. Finally, qualitative research interviews with participants’ pre and post routine development might be a useful methodology to employ. Furthermore, future studies should expand their research designs by including control groups and staggered baselines. A control group would allow for the anticipated improvement in performance to be assessed. Specifically, it would allow researchers to determine how impactful 38 including a routine is to one’s performance, or determine if it is merely a result of performing over the course of a season. Implications The findings demonstrate the ability of players using a pre-performance routine to increase first serve percentage during the first service game of a match, overall first serve performance, and during pressure situations. The results of this study have important implications for many different individuals involved in collegiate tennis, including, players, sport psychologists, and collegiate coaches. Specifically, coaches can begin to incorporate developing their player pre-performance service routines into their training programs to help enhance their players’ performances. Limitations Although the current study lends support to the use of pre-performance routines, several limitations exist. First, the study utilized a small and specific sample, which makes it difficult to generalize to other sports and age groups. Second, the study did not occur during the athletes competitive spring season, instead it occurred during tournament play throughout the less competitive fall season. Although, both are important competitions, the spring season is typically perceived to have more pressure associated with each match because an individual’s result can make or break a season. Third, the current study was unable to assess the cognitive components each participants’ pre-performance routine. Specifically, successful execution of a routine is largely due to the cognitive thought processes involved. During one-on-one meetings with the athletes, emphasis was placed on these cognitive components, but they were unable to be measured during performance. This is when using qualitative interviews may be useful, in conjunction with video play back. A combination of these two changes would allow for greater 39 understanding of the importance of cognitive components used in a routine. Both the behavioral and cognitive components of a pre-performance routine are considered to be important in creating an effective routine. Although the participants practiced their individual routines throughout the eight weeks of the study, there may not have been enough time for the routines to become totally automatic. Pre-performance routines are developed and practiced so that the skill becomes automatic and a natural part of the athlete’s performance. As is the case with any new skill, the performer must devote a certain level of conscious effort and time to practice the skill until it is learned. Although many of the behaviors the participants used in their intervention pre-performance routines were already being employed prior to the intervention, many of the thought processes or inner dialogue were not occurring regularly, including deep breathing and/or visualization. However, psychological processes beyond cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and confidence were not assessed in this study. Gaps in the literature inspired the design of the current study, but the investigator did not directly address these within this study. In regards to the design of the study, a staggered baseline was not included due to the time constraint of the tournament schedule. Since the intervention would start at different times it would be possible to conclude that the changes in performance would be due to the intervention rather than to a chance factor or progression of the season. Throughout a collegiate season, it is hoped that performance will be maintained or increase as the season progresses. This causes a threat to the conclusions drawn, as it cannot be concluded that the intervention was the primary cause of the increase in performance over the course of the season. Many times though, this is not the case due to multiple reasons such as fatigue or a lack of individualized practices in comparison to training as a junior tennis player. Additionally, due 40 to the multiple case study design, no control group was included in the study, which prevents improvement of performance to be compared, but this allowed the researchers to dive more into each participant’s intervention and look at changes when compared to themselves. 41 APPENDICES 42 APPENDIX A: Demographic Questionnaire Dear Collegiate Athlete, Thank you for participating in this study. Please be assured that all of your information you provide will be kept completely confidential. Although I will need an ID # to keep your data together, your individual answers will not be made available to anyone. Results will be made available to you, other athletes involved in the study, and the coaches, if so desired. Pre-performance ID # (# in Singles Line-up) __________ 1. What is your gender? o Male o Female 2. Which of the following best describes your Race/Ethnicity? o Black o White o Hispanic o Native American o Asian o Mixed Race o Other 3. What is your age? Please write in your age ______ 4. What is your year in school? o Freshman o Sophomore o Junior o Senior o Other 5. How many years of tennis experience do you have? o ≤ 1 Year o 2-4 Years o 4-8 Years o 8-12 Years o 12+ Years 6. Have you ever worked with a sport psychologist or a mental coach before? o Yes o No 43 APPENDIX B: Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2D Competition Day Date__/__/__ Time before competition (_____minutes) Directions: A number of statements that athletes have used to describe their feelings before competition are given below. Read each statement and then circle the appropriate number to the right of the statement to indicate how you feel right now—at this moment. There are no right or wrong answers. Do not spend too much time on any one statement, but choose the answer which describes your feelings right now. 44 APPENDIX C: Serve Pre-Performance Routine Recording Note Sheet Executing Evaluating Game Readying Imaging 1 2 3 4 5 6 Focusing Attention 45 APPENDIX D: Pre-Performance Routine Handout 46 1.(cid:9)Readying(cid:9)Obtain(cid:9)mental-emotional(cid:9)state(cid:9)(E.g.(cid:9)bouncing(cid:9)the(cid:9)ball,(cid:9)deep(cid:9)breath)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)2.(cid:9)Imaging(cid:9)Mentally(cid:9)picture(cid:9)the(cid:9)serve(cid:9)you(cid:9)are(cid:9)going(cid:9)to(cid:9)perform(cid:9)(E.g.(cid:9)visualization)(cid:9)(cid:9)3.(cid:9)Focusing(cid:9)Attention(cid:9)Relevant(cid:9)external(cid:9)cue(cid:9)or(cid:9)thought(cid:9)(E.g.(cid:9)focus(cid:9)on(cid:9)strings,(cid:9)spot(cid:9)on(cid:9)court)(cid:9)(cid:9)4.(cid:9)Executing(cid:9)With(cid:9)a(cid:9)quiet(cid:9)mind,(cid:9)serve(cid:9)when(cid:9)you(cid:9)feel(cid:9)ready(cid:9)(cid:9)5.(cid:9)Evaluating(cid:9)If(cid:9)time(cid:9)permits,(cid:9)use(cid:9)available(cid:9)feedback(cid:9)to(cid:9)learn(cid:9)from(cid:9)(E.g.(cid:9)Did(cid:9)I(cid:9)follow(cid:9)my(cid:9)routine?(cid:9)Was(cid:9)serve(cid:9)successful?)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)1. Readying(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)2. Imaging(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)3. Focusing(cid:9)Attention(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)4. Executing(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)5. Evaluating(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:9) Figure 1: Tennis first serve performance scores during first service game Participant 1 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% e g a t n e c r e P e v r e S t s r i F 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% e g a t n e c r e P e v r e S t s r i F 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% e g a t n e c r e P e v r e S t s r i F Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match Participant 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match Participant 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match 47 Figure 2: Tennis first serve performance for overall match Participant 1 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% e g a t n e c r e P e v r e S t s r i F 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% e g a t n e c r e P e v r e S t s r i F 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% e g a t n e c r e P e v r e S t s r i F 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match Participant 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match Participant 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match 48 Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Figure 3: Tennis first serve performance on pressure points Participant 1 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% e g a t n e c r e P e v r e S s r i F 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match Participant 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match Participant 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match 49 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% e g a t n e c r e P e v r e S t s r i F 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% e g a t n e c r e P e v r e S t s r i F Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Figure 4: Cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence scores Participant 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match Participant 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match Participant 3 e r o c S e r o c S e r o c S 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennis Match 50 Cognitive Anxiety Somatic Anxiety Self-Confidence Cognitive Anxiety Somatic Anxiety Self-Confidence Cognitive Anxiety Somatic Anxiety Self-Confidence Table 1: Serve Pre-Performance Routine Adherence Participant Readying Imaging Executing Behavioral Adherence 71% Serve Temporal Adherence 65% Serve 73% 68% Serve 68% 61% 1 2 3 Walk to fence while focusing on strings. Grab ball. Walk to fence. Use towel. Walk to line. Walk to fence. Use towel. Walk to line. 2 Deep Breaths. Pick target. 1 Deep Breath while picking target. Pick target. 2 Deep Breaths. Focusing Attention Bounce ball with racket on baseline. 3 ball dribbles. Bounce ball with racket 2 ball dribbles. Bounce on toes. 3 ball bounce while spinning racket once. 51 Table 2: Descriptive Statistics- First Serve Percentages Participant Overall First Game Pressure Points M SD M SD M SD 1 2 3 Pre 0.54 Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post 0.61 0.05 0.03 0.53 0.64 0.11 0.09 0.53 0.60 0.03 0.09 0.50 0.61 0.07 0.03 0.50 0.71 0.10 0.10 0.45 0.50 0.08 0.07 0.46 0.59 0.07 0.04 0.39 0.63 0.22 0.09 0.43 0.58 0.06 0.26 Total 0.50 0.60 0.04 0.01 0.47 0.66 0.07 0.05 0.47 0.56 0.05 0.05 52 Table 3: Competitive Anxiety and Sub-Scale Scores Sub-Scales Cognitive Anxiety Pre Mean Standard Deviation Participant 1 16.33 Participant 2 17.33 Participant 3 24.67 Total 19.44 Somatic Anxiety Participant 1 14.67 Participant 2 16.33 Participant 3 21.33 Post 15.67 16.57 20.00 17.11 13.33 14.00 16.67 Pre 4.51 1.15 2.89 13.65 3.06 2.31 2.08 Post 1.53 0.58 1.00 7.51 1.53 1.00 1.53 Total 17.44 14.67 10.41 14.67 Self-Confidence Participant 1 22.33 Participant 2 25.00 Participant 3 21.00 24.67 26.67 25.76 Total 23.33 25.44 0.58 1.15 3.46 8.89 1.53 1.00 2.08 3.21 53 REFERENCES 55 REFERENCES Barker, J. 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