A university sports department is preparing two groups of athletes for an upcoming tournament: a squad of highly experienced, elite tennis players and a group of beginner squash players. The upcoming matches will be played in front of a large, vocal crowd of student spectators.
With reference to the research by Michaels et al. (1982) on pool players, explain how the presence of the student spectators is likely to impact the performance of both the elite tennis players and the beginner squash players. Suggest how coaches can use this research to optimize the training environments for both groups of athletes.
