INFLUENCE OF STRESS ON COMBAT ATHLETES IN EDO STATE

ABSTRACT

The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of this study comprised all the combat athletes Edo states sports commission totaling 148. The type of combat sports was placed into six(6) categories namely Judo, Karate, Kickboxing, Kung-fu, Taekwando and Wrestling. Using proportionate sampling technique a total of 120 combat athletes made up the sample for the study The instrument was validated by three experts in human kinetics and sports science and reliability of 0.75 was obtained. The instrument that was used for this study was a self –constructed questionnaire. Four point rating scale was used. Data was analyzed using mean and standard and a criterion mean of 2.50 was used for acceptance and rejection level. The result showed that sources of stress stem from worries about injuries, family disturbances, negative comments from coaches and worries about performing poorly in a competition, difficulties balancing sports and non-sports commitments and lack of facilities and equipment, it also showed that stress causes combat athletes to experience performance related burdens, elevated anxiety, substance abuse, exhaustion and fatigue as well as decreased sleep while visualization, physical relaxation, exercise and cognitive restructuring are strategies to manage stress. It was recommended among others that sports psychologist should be employed to assist the players in managing stress related problems.