What is a common effect of high anxiety on athletic performance?

High anxiety can significantly impact athletic performance, primarily leading to impaired performance. When athletes experience high levels of anxiety, they often find it more challenging to concentrate, which can hinder their ability to execute skills effectively. This impairment might stem from excessive worry about outcomes, fear of failure, or overwhelming nervousness, all of which can disrupt an athlete's focus and decision-making processes.

Under stressful conditions, physical symptoms of anxiety, such as increased heart rate and muscle tension, can also detract from an athlete's ability to perform optimally. Instead of being able to rely on automatic skills that have been developed through practice, anxiety may cause athletes to overthink or second-guess their actions, leading to mistakes or a decline in overall performance.

In contrast, while some may argue that anxiety can enhance focus in moderate amounts due to increased arousal, high anxiety typically crosses a threshold that begins to impair performance rather than enhance it. Similarly, the claim that anxiety has no impact or that it solely benefits team sports does not align with the established findings in sports psychology, which indicate that high anxiety is generally detrimental to individual performance across various contexts.