New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences

In this study, it is aim to determine the average state-trait anxiety levels of amateur football players before competition. It has been carried out with forty-five players. The age of the players ranges between fifteen and seventeen. In order to determine the anxiety levels of the players, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used as data collection tool. While analyzing the collected data, frequency (f), percentage (%), standard deviation and ANOVA analyses have been made. After these analyses, it has been found out that the players do not have high level of anxiety levels. It has also been seen that the age and sports age variables do not create a significant difference on the anxiety levels of the players.


Introduction
In today's sport, the perfectness in physical capacity is not enough to increase the sportive performance above high levels.Sportsmen do also have a specific capacity, which must be taken into consideration at least as much as the physical aspect.For this reason, sportsmen experiencing emotional changes cannot not attain the expected success though they are physically ready (Tavacioglu, 1999).Considering that many professional sportsmen have perfect talents in terms of psychological capacities such as motivating themselves, managing their anxiety, concentration and determining aims in addition to their physical and physiological capacities, it is seen that the effect of psychological aspect on increasing sportive performance should not be disregarded (Koc, 2004).
There are a lot of psychological factors affecting performance in sport, one of which is anxiety.While anxiety can be defined as a state of expectation that upsets or distresses one about future, an nervous state mingled with insecurity feeling (Oncul, 2000), it can also refer to a kind of feeling experienced in case of a danger possibility caused by the external world or any situation perceived and interpreted as dangerous by anybody (Alisinanoglu & Ulutas, 2000).When one is anxious, he/she feels insecure as if something will happen and hence worries (Nar, 2005).The anxiety state that is mostly caused by a subconscious memory of a terrifying stimulus (Morgan, 2000) implies a situation where physical symptoms such as shaking, sweating, throbbing and high pulse are observed (Beck & Emery, 2006).
Anxiety is divided into two types as state anxiety and trait anxiety.State anxiety refers to a kind of anxiety caused by external stress, based mostly on reasonable factors that can also be understood by others and generally on temporary states experienced by anybody (Kuru, 2000).State anxiety is an important criterion to understand a sportsman.It is an important type of anxiety in on-going competitions, after and before competitions.It is also related to the characteristics of a sportsman (Ikizler, 1993).
Trait anxiety, on the other hand, is defined as the perception of a stressful situation as dangerous or threatening and the increase and continuity of state emotional reaction frequency and intensity against such threats (Ozguven, 1994).The density and duration of this type of anxiety change according to the characteristics.If one's character is inclined to anxiety, this will affect the trait anxiety level (Ikizler, 1993).Trait anxiety cannot be observed directly in human behaviors.However, it is possible to benefit from the density and frequency of the state anxiety reactions found out in different time and conditions (Oner & Le Compte, 1998).
The anxiety level is highly important for the player to carry out the demanded or expected performance.The anxiety level can affect the result of the competition and the performance in a negative way (Baser, 1998).As the anxiety level increases, the player becomes more unable to take right decisions or display his talents.The ones under high stress can make some wrong actions.Extreme anxiety can cause the players to forget some of the actions that they know well and have practiced a lot.It can also lead them to make some negative actions by creating some complexity in their emotions (Gumus, 2002).This study aims to determine the average state-trait anxiety levels of amateur football players before competition.

Method
The sample of the research consists of forty-five male players between 15-17 ages who attend youth league competitions.For personal information, gender, age, sport age, regions and branch have been taken into consideration.The questionnaire includes forty questions -twenty state questions, twenty trait questions.

Data collection tools and data collection
In order to calculate state and trait anxiety level of the players that have attended our research, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory has been used.The inventory's Turkish translation, validity and reliability tests were made by Oner and Le Compte (1998).This inventory, a kind of self-evaluation type, included forty entries with short expressions.The inventory consists of two parts: one of which includes "state anxiety form" with twenty entries aiming to determine the momentary feelings; while the other includes "trait anxiety form" with twenty entries aiming to determine the general feelings.
In order to collect date for the research, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was applied by a researcher to volunteer "Izmit Football Club, Kocaeli Gunes Sports Club and Basaran Sports Club" players as a group in the fields where the matches would be played before the competition.The players were instructed in a detailed way before the data collection tools were applied.Calculation tools were applied.

Data analysis
Statistical analysis of the research was made with 20.0 SPSS statistics program.After noting down the variables of the samples individually, state and trait anxiety points were entered.Then age, sports age, state anxiety points and trait anxiety points average and standard deviation values, the age group frequency of players, the frequency and percentage of sports age, the frequency and percentage of state anxiety points, the frequency and percentage trait anxiety points as well as the significance between state and trait anxiety were examined.

Conclusions, Discussion and Suggestions
This section discusses and interprets the findings of the research, questioning whether the state and trait anxiety levels of the surveyed players change according to various variables.The effects of state and trait anxiety are an important research area to examine the performance display in today's sport competitions.There exist many factors affecting the anxiety levels of the players and their positive effects are researched.However, it is believed that there does not exist enough study on young people and children.For this purpose, it is significant to make a research on the anxiety levels of sportsmen at of 15-17 (Karabulut, Atasoy, Kaya & Karabulut 2013).
The research has shown that while the average trait anxiety points of the male footballers (at the age of 15-17) are 48.35,their average state anxiety points amount to 49.51.As far as the surveyed players' state and trait anxiety relations with the age averages are concerned, there has been found no significant difference in terms of "p" value.Similarly, there does not exist a significant difference in the relationship of the age averages of sports ages of players with their state and trait anxiety levels in terms of "p" value.According to the literature findings, it is possible to conclude that the results have been affected by the fact that the players are adolescents.The findings obtained from a research made on adolescent sportsmen by Basaran, Tasgin, Sanioglu and Taskin (2009) and Adali (2006) show similarities with the findings of this study.Individuals experience anxiety at every age, but the reasons for anxiety change.While one feels anxious of being away from his/her mother, he/she feels anxious of making friends during primary school years.During adolescence period, he/she starts to feel anxious of looking nice to the opposite sex and being unsuccessful.The years when anxiety is experienced the most refer to the first two years in one's life and the adolescence period (Sinanoglu & Ulutas, 2000).Literature review supports our research.
When we look at table 7, there does not exist a significant difference in the relationship of the age averages of the surveyed players with their state and trait anxiety levels.Similarly, Table 8 shows that there does not exist a significant difference in the relationship of the age averages of sports ages of players with their state and trait anxiety levels.When the literature is reviewed, it is seen that no significant difference between state and trait anxiety levels of the sportsmen in terms of sports year variable has been found out in a study carried out by Karabulut et al. (2013).As a result, it is possible to conclude that sports year variable does not create a difference on the anxiety levels of the players.With their research carried out with different groups, (2003), Erbas (2005), Adali (2006) and Bingol, Coban, Bingol and Gundogdu (2012) found out that the year during which one does sport does not affect state or trait anxiety levels.The obtained findings do also support the findings of this study (Karabulut et al., 2013).
According to the study, no significant difference has been found out between state and trait anxiety levels of the sportsmen in terms of sports year variable.This can lead us to conclude that sports year does not create any difference on anxiety levels of the sportsmen.With their research carried out with different groups, Yucel (2003), Erbas (2005), Adali (2006) and Bingol et al. (2012) found out that the year during which one does sport does not affect state or trait anxiety levels.The obtained findings do also support the findings of this study.When the age groups of the sportsmen are examined, it is seen that there does not exist a significant difference.Similarly, when the significance of the difference between state and trait anxiety levels is analyzed, no significant difference has been found out.
As Table 1 shows, the average of the surveyed players is 15.86; its standard deviation 1.70, the average of their sports age 2.8; its standard deviation 1.55, the average of sap 49.51; its standard deviation 5.83, the average of tap 48.35; its standard deviation 5.92.In Table 2, 20 of the surveyed players (44.4%) are at the age of 20, 11 (24.5%) at the age of 16, 14 (31.1%) at the age of 17.According to the Table 3, 7 players (15.5%) have been doing sport for 1 year, 9 players (20%) for 2 years, 17 (37.9%)players for 3 years, 6 players (13.3%) for 4 years and 6 players for 5 years (13.3%).
Table 6 shows that there does not exist a significant difference between average state and trait levels.Table 7 shows that there does not exist a significant difference in the relationship of the age averages of the surveyed players with their state and trait anxiety levels, because p value is less than p<0,05.Under this condition, the age of the sportsmen does not affect their state or trait anxiety levels.Table 8 shows that there does not exist a significant difference in the relationship of the sports age averages of the surveyed players with their state and trait anxiety levels, because p value is less than p<0.05.Under this condition, the sports age of the sportsmen does not affect their state or trait anxiety levels.
The research subject can be expanded.More studies can be carried out by applying it after competitions.As the anxiety is not much in these age groups, better results can be obtained in branchbased trainings, because it is the period when they take the main education in the most effective way.There does not exist enough study on young sportsmen and hence the study should be expanded to be applied on more sportsmen and different branches.It can be also beneficial to give education to the trainers and sportsmen about the methods with which they can manage their anxiety levels.What is more, all kinds of training activities for all sport branches can be intensified for these age groups.