PERFORMANCE

ROUTINES IN SPORT

Nikos Comoutos, PhD

Associate Professor
University of Thessaly
What about routines?
1. Definitions of the terms: pre-performance routines,
during-performance routines, and post-
performance routines
2. why athletes can benefit from the use of task-
pertinent routines
3. Mechanisms that make routines effective
4. Developing a routine: the physical component and
the psychological component
5. Examples
6. Using routines
7. Hands on… J
Definition of routine…
• Define routine….
• “a fixed and regular way of doing things”
(Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 1992, p. 1103)

• Looking at another version of the Oxford Dictionary (Concise

Oxford Dictionary, 1984) yields the following: “a regular course of
procedure, unvarying performance of certain acts” (p.
910).
Definition of routine
• A performance routine can be defined as a systematic
sequence of physical (motor) and psychological behaviors
that are demonstrated before, during, and after the
execution of a sporting task
(e.g., Velentzas, Heinen, Tennenbaum, & Schack, 2010).

• In some sports such as gymnastics, swimming, and track

and field, athletes are required to perform fixed sets of
movements which have been repeatedly and extensively
practiced.

• Why??? (Discuss…)
Definition of routine
• A performance routine is an integral part of the athlete’s
repertoire when he or she:
• (a) is preparing him or herself for the sporting act (i.e., a
pre-performance routine)
• (b) is executing the sporting act (i.e., a during-
performance routine) and
• (c) is assessing and reacting to the way he or she
performed the sporting act and/or the outcome of the act
(i.e., a post-performance routine).
Scenarios LIDOR, HACKFORT, & SCHACK, 2014

• He is standing on the free-throw • She feels that she is not able to

line, waiting for the referee to hand focus appropriately before and
him the ball. Until the ball is handed during the serve. Sometimes she
to him he imagines himself shooting focuses on the net, and some-
the ball. He focuses on his times she focuses on one of the
breathing to control arousal. He players from the opposing team.
likes to stand on the line and feels Her eyes move from one point to
good being there. In his mind he another. She feels that she would
sees himself performing the shot be happier if instead someone else
smoothly and perfectly, as he has from her team were standing in the
done numerous times before. When serving zone and serving the ball.
the referee hands him the ball, he After receiving a signal from the
directs his eyes to the rim of the referee, she performs the serve.
basket, dribbles the ball three times, The serve was easily received by
takes a deep breath, and makes the one of the players from the
shot. He does not have to look at opposing team. She felt that she did
the outcome of the throw; he listens not perform well.
to the noise generated by the ball
as it whooshes into the net. The ball
is in.
Some bowling routines
• Try to observe what do they include…

• Cognitive elements?

• Behavioral elements?
Practically speaking
• Overt physical behaviors demonstrated by the athlete
before he or she begins the sporting task. For example:
-A) the same warm-up session before he or she begins to
perform
-B) a tennis player bouncing the ball a number of times
immediately before serving can also be considered as a
physical component of a routine
• Psychological elements, For example:
• Such as focusing attention, in order to enable the
performer to cope effectively with distractions associated
with the performed act – both external (e.g., noise
generated by the crowd) and internal (e.g., negative
thoughts).
Practically speaking
• An effective routine should also include elements that can
be applied by the athlete at the end of his or her
practice/competition/ game. For example:
• A performance routine should help him or her cope with
feelings such as disappointment or frustration.
• Also, routines should help the athlete to re-organize his or
her thoughts after the competition/game in order to be
ready for the next competitive event
Example 1: Getting ready to jump
A long jumper’s routine
• 10 minutes prior to jumping mentally rehearse my jump
and relax with 10 breathes
• 3 minutes prior to jumping I remind me of my positive
thought, which I have always in writing in my bag
• 2 minutes prior to jumping I physically rehearse my hand
movement
• I take position
• 1 minute prior to jumping I say to myself: “I am strong &
ready”
• 30 seconds prior to jumping I am ready to execute
How do they work?
• The mechanisms are not 100% clear

It is suggested that…
• Their cognitive and behavioral elements when
used intentionally
• help regulate arousal and
• enhance concentration (Boutcher, 1990; Boutcher)
• thus induce optimal physiological & psychological states (Crews,
1987)
Mental calibration model
• The mental calibration model (Schack & Hackfort, 2007;
Schack et al., 2005) suggests that most of the problems that
arise during competition are more likely to be caused by a
mental breakdown rather than by physiological difficulties.
• This means that the basic elements and sequences from which
a motor action is built are integrated and organized in order to
attain a specific action goal.
• Moreover, the physiological problems that arise are often due
to failures in athletes’ mental functioning.
• The best way for athletes to affect physiological functioning is
to direct mental skill strategies towards resolving the cause of
the physiological deterioration – for example, changing the
negative thinking that causes anxiety during competition.
Practically speaking
• For example, bouncing a ball in a volleyball serve routine
supplies the server with information about the ball, the
floor, and the state of his or her muscles.
• This information can then be used to calibrate the motor
system in order to be optimally prepared for the serve.
Other possible explanations for pre-
performance routines
• Attentional control
• PPR help direct attention to task-relevant cues (Gould & Udry, 1994;
Weinberg & Gould, 1995)

• Warm-up decrement
• PPR create the psychological and physiological readiness, that was lost
during game breaks (in closed skills) (Schmidt, 1988)

• Automatic skill execution

• PPR prevent the athlete from consciously controlling specific
movements that may inhibit smooth and coordinated skill thus promote
automaticity (Boutcher, 1990)
Performance routines focus on execution NOT on
outcome
Performance routines in
macro and micro sporting events
• A macro sporting event is the entire event in which the
athlete is engaged, such as a practice session, a
competition, or a game.
• A micro sporting event is considered to be a specific event
within the macro event.

In essence, what the athlete does on a regular basis

throughout: (a) the days/hours/minutes before the event;
(b) the actual event; and (c) the days/hours/minutes after
the event, can be considered as perfor- mance routines.
A performance routine is very personal…

• Each athlete’s routine may include

• behaviors
• Cognitions
that suit him/her and help him/her perform

The main objective of an effective performance routine is to

facilitate learning, performance, and achievement. Effective
performance routines are usually mastered with a high
degree of consistency; they become an integral part of the
micro event – the self- paced act – either deliberately or
subcon- sciously, depending on the skill level of the athlete
(Lidor & Singer, 2003).
What kind of behaviors?
• Metal rehearsal
• relaxation
• Mimicking part or whole actual movements
Cognitions to be included?
• Thoughts
• Positive
• On execution elements
• Motivational
• Focusing on an specific element of the skill
Teaching beginning athletes performance
routines.

• Why???

it is assumed that all skilled athletes who are involved in

sports more or less use some kind of performance
routine, either taught by the coach/instructor or developed
intuitively.
A three-phase model of teaching pre-
performance routines
• Phase 1 – Preliminary preparatory instructions
The athletes should experience different routines in order
to be able to select the most appropriate ones for them. In
this phase, a dialogue concerning how to use the routines
should be conducted between the coach and the athlete.
The coach should listen to the athlete’s demands and
preferences when he or she practices different routines.
The coach should present various routines to the athlete
that can be used when performing self-paced tasks.
Phase 2 – Task-specific preparatory
instructions.
• The objective of Phase 2 is to enable the athlete to adopt
a consistent set of routines that best reflect his or her
individual needs and preferences. After experiencing
different routines in Phase 1, the athletes should establish
their own routines. They should feel comfortable with the
selected routines and integrate their components with the
techniques of the performed self-paced task.
• Example: Free-throw shot: dribbling the ball three times
while standing on the shooting line) and psychological
(e.g., looking at the front area of the rim before and during
the shot) components when performing the free-throw
shot.
Phase 3 – Preparatory instructions for the
real-life self-paced event.
• The objective of Phase 3 is to enable the athletes to
practice their selected routines in conditions simulating
the real-life self-paced events that they may face during
actual practices, games, or competitions. Two situational
conditions are taken into account in this phase – time
constraints and external distractions.
• Example: five seconds are allotted to the basketball
player to prepare him- or herself for the free-throw shot
and should be practiced under noisy conditions (e.g.,
performing while a tape recorder generates the noise of
hostile fans).
Golfers’ routines:
What’s the common element?
• Jack Nicklaus • Tiger Woods
• A routine is prepared and its
effectiveness tested during training
season not close to competitions!

• You may need a lot of changes in

order and content as you assist and
athlete develop a routine that works!
In general when do we usually use a
routine?
• Before executing a task
• Before a race/competition
• To refocus
• To mentally come back after a mistake
What is a superstitious behavior?
• A behavior that does not have a clear technical function in the
execution of skill, yet is believed to control luck and/or other
external factors (Moran, 1996)

• Superstitious acts, or ‘rituals’ as they are better known, are part

of a ‘widely accepted’ practice used by athletes across many
different cultures (Womack, 1992, as cited by Bleak &
Frederick, 1998). The repetitive nature of these actions leads to
use of the term ‘Superstitious Ritual’. Although the use of these
behaviours is prevalent, little research has been done to
specifically examine superstition in sport, the psychological
implications of superstitious ritual on the athlete and particularly
on their subsequent performance
Routine or Ritual?
• the Jacksonville Jaguars'
John Henderson may
have the most awesome
pregame ritual ever.

• He has a trainer slap him

as hard as they can.

• Just watch the video

below and see Henderson
get worked up into a
raving lunatic. I would not
want to play against this
guy after watching this
video.
Routine or Ritual?
• James Lebron

• Pre-performance routines are

often developed by sports
psychologists (Bleak &
Frederick, 1998) or coaching
staff for individuals or teams.
The subjective nature of
superstition means the
athlete establishes all rituals
independently (ceremonial
aspect, superstitious
elements with no real
influence on performance.
A pre-execution routine
• Sense of flying
• What are its elements?
• When does it really start?
A free-throw shot in basketball
• For the psychological components,
• For the physical components, (a) Imagine her/himself performing
the player is recommended the shot while standing on the
to:(a)Get a position on the free- shooting line (e.g., imagining the
throw line (e.g., setting the feet trajectory of the ball to the basket;
and assuming a comfortable
position);(b) Dribble the ball a imagining how the ball goes through
number of times (e.g., bouncing the rim; imagining the sound
the ball three to five times); (c) generated by the ball when it goes
Hold the ball after completing through the rim and touches the
the drib-bling act; (d) Spin the net);(b) Focus attention on the front
ball while it is held in his or her area of the rim before and during
hands; (e)Use breathing control the shooting act (e.g., directing the
(e.g., inhaling deeply and eyes at the rim; clearing the mind of
exhaling slowly while holding
the ball in the hands); (f)Release any thoughts; relaxing);(c)Self-talk
the ball; (g) Follow-through (e.g., while holding the ball (e.g., using
hands should follow the ball to selected words associated with the
the basket). shooting task: “be focused,” “be
relaxed,” and “do it”)
References
• Boutcher, S.H. (1990). The role of • Cohn, P.J. (1990). Preperformance
performance routines in sport. In J.G. routines in sport: Theoretical support
Jones & L. Hardy (Eds.), Stress and and practical implications. The Sport
performance in sport (pp.221–245). New
York, NY: Wiley.
Psychologist, 4, 301–312.

• Lidor, R. (2009). Free-throw shots in • Lidor, R. (2007). Preparatory routines

basketball: Physical and psychological in self-paced events: Do they benefit
routines. In E. Tsung-Min Hung, R. Lidor & the skilled athletes? Can they help the
D. Hackfort (Eds.), Psychology of sport beginners? In G. Tenenbaum & R.C.
excellence (pp.53–61). Morgantown, WV: Eklund (Eds.), Handbook of sport
Fitness Information Technology. psychology (3rd ed., pp.445–465).
New York, NY: Wiley.
• Velentzas, K., Heinen, T., Tenenbaum, G. &
Schack, T. (2010). Functional mental
representation of volleyball routines in German • Lidor, R. (2010). Pre-performance
youth female national players. Journal of routines. In S.J. Hanrahan & M.B.
Applied Sport Psychology, 22, 474–485. Andersen (Eds.), Routledge
handbook of applied sport psychology
(pp.537– 546). London, UK:
Routledge.
Let’s design some routines…

1. Write a pre-performance routine for a sport of your

choice
Preset cognitions & behaviors

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