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sports psychology (not OT, IMO)

Posted By: Chuck Bower
Date: Tuesday, 5 July 2011, at 5:32 p.m.

In Response To: Comment on Wimbledon Finals (Bob Koca)

A couple weeks ago there was a golf thread which asked (the equivalent of) this hypothetical:

Suppose two golf holes are identical, but one is a par 4 and the other a par 5. Suppose a players gets a 4 on one and a 6 on the other. Does it matter which hole gets which score, e.g. if he gets a birdie and a double bogey or a par and a bogey? As a further addendum, does it matter the order of the holes or scores?

The answer probably depends on the player, and in particular (hopefully) the skill/experience/ranking of the player.

One of the (in our opinions) fallacious comments we've heard from the NFL about making a potentially high variance play with higher expectation (e.g. first down try on fourth down) than the low variance, lower expectation alternative (e.g. Field Goal attempt) is the effect it has on the players. There are many variations on this argument ("some points is better than no points"; "your team's defense will feel they've been insulted by your decision"; "the offense will be demoralized if they fail to pick up the first down"; "the opponent's defense will be supercharged if they stop you"; etc.)

Shouldn't a professional ANTICIPATE all of these scenarios? Shouldn't a professional be able to minimize the emotional effects? Shouldn't a professional athlete understand that ALL POSSIBLE OUTCOMES need to be properly weighed in order to reach a conclusion?

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