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, adidas is using neuroscience to explore how the world's best manage it. Through this unique athlete insight, spearheaded by the brand's positive rallying cry, You Got This, adidas Thailand is a part of this significant event by taking over 400 billboards across Bangkok, which aims to help everyday athletes disarm pressure and achieve their possibilities in sports.
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 moments. 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.
Dr Niklas Haeusler, 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.
Florian Alt, VP Global Brand Comms at adidas says: "Understanding the extent to which negative pressure affects performance underlines the importance of our mission to help athletes across the world overcome it - to fully unlock the joy sport brings. Ahead of a stellar year of sport, we've set out to inspire next-gen athletes to tackle pressure by giving them unique insight into how some of the world's best athletes manage pressure. Using the latest in neuroscience data and research, we have also released tools and techniques to help empower everyone to disarm pressure in sport. We hope this campaign enables athletes to get back to what they love about the game - by reminding them with our positive rallying cry - you got this."
adidas Thailand also contributes to delivering inspiration and empowerment in sports to all youth who love sports by taking over 400 digital billboards across Bangkok, including Siam Square, Siam Discovery, Siam Paragon, Central World, BTS Phrom Phong Station, and many more areas, for 30 minutes to share incredible stories, including how world-class athletes cope and overcome the pressures they face in order to return to playing sports happily, through the You Got This theme.
For more information about the campaign, please follow @adidasthailand Instagram, https://www.facebook.com/adidasTH adidas.co.th and #YouGotThis hashtag.