Works Cited

Works Cited

Ilyasi, Gasem, Parisa Sedagati, and Mir Hamid Salehian. "Relationship Between The Sport Orientation And Emotional Intelligence Among Team And Individual Athletes." Annals Of Biological Research 2.4 (2011): 476-481. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2012.

Kristen Reincke, et al. "Mental Toughness In Sports." Coach & Athletic Director 77.9 (2008): 30-32. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2012.

Christina M. Spengler, et al. "Effect Of Respiratory Muscle Training On Exercise Performance In Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis." Sports Medicine 42.8 (2012): 707-724. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2012.

Jay Beck. “College Football’s Popularity Continues to Rise.” www.rantsports.com

 

 

Wells Fargo Arena

Wells Fargo:

Wells Fargo is more than just a 14,000 seating arena packed with legacies and history of previous student-athletes, but it is used for multiple uses throughout the year such as graduation ceremonies and freshmen welcome assemblies and concerts. It is where student-athletes who play the sports, volleyball, basketball, wrestling and gymnastics can prove their success as Sun Devils. The aspects of evaluation present in this space are evident every week. During volleyball games the basketball, baseball, swim, and other teams are there supporting their fellow family members simply because it creates a support system for not only the competing team, but for the supporters as well. How? Because what is done for one team occurs for the other, if the basketball team supports the volleyball team, then the volleyball team will support the basketball team in Wells Fargo. It serves to student-athletes to help play their roles as a Sun Devil, by showing off the amount of hard work they invest in their sport through practice during game days. They prove to the community the winning tradition at ASU by gaining success in each performance.  It becomes a safe haven and familiar place to compete against other PAC 12 teams, where the Sun Devils have a home court advantage and can be supported by other student-athletes and students at ASU. Having big sporting events in Wells Fargo creates the opportunities for student-athletes to be a supportive family member in the Sun Devil family by wearing maroon and gold and cheering on their brothers and sisters. The goal of performing at home for Sun Devils in to get that advantage of being comfortable and having the crowd cheer for your successes. Pressures come along with playing at home, the athletes carry the weight of having to win and therefore become emotionally engaged in their competition. This is what makes a good student-athlete, it is being emotionally invested during practice and games. “Results showed that there is a positive correlation between sport orientation and emotional intelligence and a positive correlation between competitiveness and goal setting with emotional  intelligence among team and individuals athletes”. (Ilyasi, Gasem, Parisa Sedagati, and Mir Hamid Salehian, 2011) The way a student-athlete chooses to respond to the pressures of playing at home and in front of peers determines the mental game which greatly contributes to their performance and final result. Successes and failures will both happen; the student-athletes who are successful are the ones whose successes outweigh failures.

[Sun Devil Volleyball at Wells Fargo Arena; Photo credit: Whitney Follette (2011)]

Training Facilities

[Weatherup Center and Athletes Performance credit: ASU website; facilities]

North ASU Campus is filled with sport complexes and training facilities for various sports Sun Devil athletes participate in. The Weatherup Center, Kajikawa football practice fields,  gymnastics and wrestling training facilities and athletes performance located on the east side of Rural road give student athletes specifically designed spaces for their sport. Each designed with the focus of safety, convenience, and with the athlete in mind so that every day or every time they are training all they need to focus on is the task at hand. With team and individuals goals at their focus, in these spaces, student-athletes leave the academics at the door and give all they have mentally and physically to prepare for their season, game, race, and competition whatever it may be. This is a place where academics takes a back seat, and strictly athletics are the focus. In order to successfully do so, student-athletes must make sure that whatever they had to accomplish academically has been completed beforehand so that their focus does not waver. What makes student-athletes at ASU great is the exceptional mental focus they have invested in the tasks at hand. As important the mental aspect is for sports, it is a very difficult thing to teach and master (Kristen Reincke, 2012). Once they enter the facility everything becomes about taking steps toward achieving success. Weatherup designed with both men’s and women’s gyms, locker and media rooms is used for all-year round training for the collegiate teams as well as summer camps and other athletic department events. Both gymnastics and wrestling training facilities are state-of-the-art in continued pursuit of excellence of both teams. Although there are multiple efficiently designed training facilities on ASU’s campus, they all serve the same purpose. With that national champion title in every athlete’s dream, they work extremely hard and get tested to ensure improvement.  These tests are physical, mental, technical, or tactile, to cover every aspect of their sport. These tests are also ways to measure success or failure of an athlete’s capability to persevere and never stop until the goals of the team or personal goals have been achieved. For a team that practices everyday they get physically tested to perform at a high level every practice, because of the dedication to sports, Sun Devils have a love for improvement and practice, and as testing duration increases so does the capability to improve performance not matter what sport (Christina M. Spengler, 2012)