ADIDAS UNVEILS ITS AMBITION TO HELP ATHLETES OVERCOME
HIGH PRESSURE MOMENTS IN SPORT
adidas sets out to tackle the negative impact of pressure in sport as it reveals that grassroot athletes can experience up to the same amount of pressure as those at elite level, but are less equipped to handle it
To understand the physiological effect pressure has, adidas partnered with leading sport neuroscientists, neuro11, studying sporting icons.
From tactically using time to regain focus in basketball, revealing the optimal area of a goal to strike a penalty, to reducing dwell time on putting in golf, adidas is releasing a neuroscience-powered athlete guidance series
South Africa, February 12th 2024: adidas unveils its ambition to help disarm negative pressure in sport by working with elite and grassroots athletes to reveal the impact it can have on performance. Uncovering how pressure has a significant impact on the next-generation’s relationship with sport, affecting enjoyment and overall participation,spearheaded by the brand’s positive rallying cry – You Got This – the goal is to help everyday athletes disarm pressure and achieve their possibilities in sport.
Through cutting-edge research, adidas discovered the extent to which pressure is experienced across all levels of sport. The main finding from this study was that grassroots athletes and their elite counterparts experience similarly intense levels of pressure in high-stake moments – but elite athletes were up to 40% more effective at managing pressure during these moments1. To help close this gap, adidas is working with leading neuroscientists, neuro11, to set out how and why negative pressure hinders play, whilst providing guidance on how athletes at all levels can help to disarm this feeling.
Bringing together a selection of its elite athletes across football, basketball, and golf, as well as grassroot players from the same sports, adidas and neuro11 captured and analysed their cerebral readings during high pressure moments. FIFA World Cup 2022 winner Emiliano Martínez, Ryder Cup 2023 champion Ludvig Åberg, eight-time WNBA All-Star Nneka Ogwumike, breakthrough golfing phenom Rose Zhang, and WSL star forward Stina Blackstenius all took part in the study to help athletes around the world better understand pressure and how to overcome it.
Dr Niklas Häusler, co-founder of neuro11 says, “While pressure looks and feels different for everyone, there is a scientific sweet spot in the brain that all can reach – the optimal zone, commonly referred to as “being in the zone”. This is where the brain is physically relaxed but mentally focussed, leading to optimal movement and performance. When we work with athletes, we study their brain frequencies to establish how often and how deeply they enter this optimal zone during pressure moments, as well as what contributes to them falling into ‘too low’ or ‘too high’ zones for performance, all with the intention of teaching routines that they can implement. Building on this, and in support of adidas’ mission to help everyday athletes realise their potential, we have created practical guidance that helps enhance performance, when it matters the most.”
Delving deeper into some of the most pressured moments in sport, adidas and neuro11 studied professional and amateur athletes during penalty shootouts, high-stakes putts, and must-make free-throws. Through measuring how their brains reacted and calculating how effectively and efficiently each athlete was able to reach the optimal zone, the findings demonstrate to what extent the elite athletes are better prepared in facing pressure and show what steps grassroots athletes can take to help better disarm pressure.