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Abstract: Objective: The aim of the study was to examine whether training with mild levels of anxiety helps in maintaining performance under higher levels of anxiety. Methods: Novices practiced dart throwing while they were hanging low on a climbing wall either with or without mild anxiety. After training, participants were tested under low, mild, and high anxiety (in the latter case high on the climbing wall). Results: Despite systematic increases in anxiety, heart rate, and perceived effort from low to mild to high anxiety the group that had trained with anxiety performed equally well on all three tests, while performance of the control group deteriorated with high anxiety. Conclusion: It is concluded that practicing perceptual-motor tasks under mild levels of anxiety can also prevent choking when performing with higher levels of anxiety. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the empathic accuracy of sport coaches in relation to feedback of information. Coaches'' experience and qualification level were also considered. Method: Sixty badminton coaches were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. All coaches watched a video of an athlete''s technical training session with her coach. At designated segments of the video all coaches were asked to make inferences about what the athlete''s thoughts and feelings had been. Only the coaches in the experimental group were given corrective feedback on the athlete''s thoughts and feelings following their inference. Empathic accuracy was estimated by comparing these inferences with the athlete''s own self-reported thoughts and feelings. Results: It was shown that both groups'' empathic accuracy improved over the course of watching the video; however, the experimental group improved significantly more. It was found that coaches'' experience was significantly associated with empathic accuracy for the control group only. Conclusions: The results suggest that continued exposure to an athlete increases a coach''s empathic accuracy and that this can be significantly improved with accurate feedback about that athlete. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]