| CONFLICTS
in sports occur frequently because of the pressure of competition. It can
transpire any time before, during, or after competition when athletes are
most stressed or excited. Such conflicts are amplified in expression and
feeling due to the athletes' strong need and desire to win. Conflicts among athletes, or between an athlete and
coach, can destroy an entire career in a short period of time.
Athletes may spend 15-20 years training (e.g. to compete and win in the
Olympic Games), but if 3 months before the competition they get involved
in a serious conflict, it can destroy all their hard work and effort put
forth preparing for a major event. Conflict may even cause athletes to
withdraw from competition. Seemingly trivial incidents can become very
crucial when maximum performance and results are called for. Identifying
the nature of the conflict, and finding solutions is possible only
through an understanding of the characters of the parties involved in
the dispute. The Optimax Character Assessment
and Life-Balance Assessment
tools are able to instantly
identify the causes and suggest solutions to minimize or even eliminate conflict.
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ATHLETE-COACH conflict often occurs because both parties do
not understand each other's characters. Take the example of a coach
and athlete, both with low tolerance. Because of their tolerance level
each will initially approach any situation with a negative or opposing
attitude. This is not due to their lack of respect for each other, but
to a lack of understanding of the way a particular character type communicates.
Being aware of the different types of characters, allows one to adjust
his or her behaviour in order to achieve a desired response from the
other person.
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ATHLETE-ATHLETE conflict can lead to a much more dramatic
outcome. There are documented cases where an athlete on the same
performance level as another athlete and representing the same country
tried to sabotage the success of the other.
Dr. Peter Guy, from Optimax, was at one point involved in a similar
type of conflict. He was able to prevent it escalating into an
untenable situation through the use of Character Assessment. This
tool clarified the dynamics of the relationship between these two
athletes and he was successful in developing a healthy, competitive
and positive relationship among the athletes. In the end, both
athletes acknowledged the other as the best athlete in the world
diffusing the situation before a major competition.
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