Anxiety is a subjective feeling of apprehension and heightened physiological tension.
The term is often used with arousal, but anxiety is usually restricted to high arousal states, which produce feelings of discomfort. The condition is closely associated with the concept of fear, but is more a feeling of what might happen rather than a response to an obvious fear invoking situation. Anxiety can be viewed as an enduring personality trait and also as a temporary state.
Athletes who control anxiety and channel arousal levels in the appropriate direction have a significant advantage over there competitors. Great athletes can clearly identify the ideal arousal state before competition and have an inherent ability to get themselves there on a consistent basis. The ideal arousal state can be developed with consistent practise.