The ability to succeed in any sport comes down to more than just skill; the mental aspect also plays a major role. Team sports place an additional focus on team cooperation, adaptability and communication. However, these qualities are not as emphasized in individual sports, such as golf, bowling, tennis and many more. These sports, instead, focus more on self-motivation, mental toughness and responsibility. There is no opportunity to rely on teammates, so players must depend on themselves. Oftentimes, playing alone, especially in less physically intense sports, can cause players’ mindset to wander. For example, they have more time to develop a negative mindset in the case of playing poorly, or vice versa.
“When I go up for the actual swing, the only thing that’s going through my mind is, ‘Don’t mess this up,’” Miami Palmetto Senior High senior and golf player Noah Coulton said.
Many solo sports athletes put pressure on themselves, and they each have their own ways of motivating themselves to play well. Some utilize words of affirmations, such as encouraging and positive thoughts, while others add stress onto themselves due to a fear of failure. Individual athletes often suffer the burden of feelings of failure since they only have themselves to blame while competing.This differs from the pressure placed on a team sport because the blame is not distributed amongst a group in which everyone plays a role.
“If I’m not doing good, I’ll get down on myself, and it’s hard to come back, but that’s why I have to take a minute and realize it’s just a game of bowling,” senior bowling player Halle Meltzer said. “Overall though, it’s just very relaxing. we kind of just are doing our own thing, we’re kind of just focusing on ourselves rather than our opponents.”
The biggest aspect of a team sport is to do better than the other team, to beat them. While this desire to win is still present, a player is mainly focused on playing up to their full potential. Perhaps this is because opponents are not playing at the same time – this only applies to some solo sports, such as golf and bowling. Additionally, the privilege of being isolated from other teammates and opponents provides players with the time to recoup their thoughts and get back into the proper mindset.
“When I’m trying to swing the golf ball and there’s five kids behind me watching, the only thing that’s going through my head besides ‘Don’t mess up,’ is ‘Don’t mess up because these kids are gonna make fun of you if you screw up,’” Coulton said.
Having people watching and judging one’s every move is an additional pressure in sports. This pressure is heightened because instead of the crowd focusing on several players, all eyes are on one person.
Because a solo athlete is responsible for everything — getting to every ball, making every shot — the game can become physically exhausting. Especially in individual sports that require athleticism and endurance, building up the motivation and energy to run to each ball can become tiring. Despite how tired the player might be though, they do not have any other choice: there is no one else who will get the ball if they do not, and the point will be lost.
“When I get that feeling of tiredness, I’m still putting in my max effort and continue to push myself forward and past my limits. And if it’s ever so difficult that I just can’t do it, I will switch to a different style – one that’s less taxing – and I will change up my strategic point of view and ideas,” senior tennis player Michael Larionov said.
The responsibility in individual sports for a winning outcome can motivate one to put in the effort to become the best player possible. Their repulsion with playing poorly forces them to work as hard as possible so that they do not fail, as well as live up to their full potential.
“The part that I like about individual sports is that all your success comes directly from you: you don’t have to rely on anyone else and the full accountability is on you. When you fail, it’s only on you, and you can’t put the blame on anyone else. For me, that holds me accountable, and not being able to rely on others only pushes me to get better and to improve myself,” Larinov said.
The inability to rely on others can cause major deficits on a player’s mindset and mental health. There is a lot of pressure weighing on them, and a lot of thoughts — both positive and negative — spiraling in their heads throughout the entire game. While not playing well can lead to negative self-talk, playing well does the exact opposite. Therefore, individual sports open athletes to greater opportunities for feelings of accomplishment and pride.
“When I hit a good shot, I think I’m the best player in the world, but then when I hit a bad shot, I think I’m the worst golfer to ever exist,” Coulton said.
Team bonding plays a significant role in team sports. Working well together and team camaraderie affects the way the team plays together. Usually, getting along off the court or field will allow the team to get along and play better on the court or field. After a team utilizes each player to score a goal or make a basket, they all come together and celebrate. This dynamic does not exist in solo sports because only one person is credited with that goal or point. Therefore, celebrations after a thrilling and fulfilling moment or game are often not shared with teammates. Games do not conclude with team huddles yelling chants and laughs.
“[After I hit a good shot] I don’t really celebrate. I kind of just smile and hope that the next shot’s gonna be good,” Coulton said. “Even after I have a really good game, I leave feeling happy and proud, but I mean, I don’t really do anything to celebrate; I kind of just go along with the rest of my day.”
Members from one community who all enjoy the same sport form a team. Despite this, not actually playing with one another at the same time and working together diminishes team companionship that exists in traditional team sports. Celebrations with one another still differ from those in team sports.
“If I get a strike or a spare, or one of my teammates does, normally, we just give each other a high five or tell each other good job,” Meltzer said.
