Developing Your Athlete’s Mental Game
We’ve heard it all before…that the mental game is the most important part of our athlete’s performance. So why is it that we don’t spend the same amount of time working on our athlete’s mental game as much as we work on their physical game? Most of us would say, “We just don’t have the time!” I would disagree, because if we deem it important, we will certainly find the time.
Here are a few things I have learned along the way about how to improve my athletes mental capacity. “Thoughts turn into emotions that create a physical response, which in turn impacts one’s performance.” This all comes down to helping our athletes become more aware of what they are thinking and feeling and how they perform based on those thoughts and feelings. So, what can we do?
Try This
Help your athletes articulate their emotions.
What are they feeling?
What is happening inside the body?
Are they feeling sad? Discouraged? Frustrated?
Allow your athletes time to understand what their physical response is.
If they are anxious - what are they doing? Shaking? Losing focus?
Encourage your athletes to think about what they can control.
Direct time, energy, and focus on the things that they can control.
When your athletes are more mentally tough, it will allow for a more positive and successful environment. Enabling our athletes to learn more about how to manage their own mental toughness will help them to perform at their optimal level increasing confidence and motivation.
Practical Application
Work on the team's mental game for the first 5-10 minutes of practice as well as during practice.
Empower your athletes to think more positively and use positive self-talk.
This might include helping them create a word or phrase that has meaning to them.
Be mindful of your athletes (What are they going through? How was their day? Where is their current focus?
Work through adverse situations in practice.
Imagery/visualization.
Relaxation techniques. Breathing (inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, and exhale for a count of 4).
Help your athletes set short-term goals which will enhance their focus. We give power to what we focus on.
Model what it looks like to manage one’s emotions (staying composed when things aren’t going their way).
Stay in the present moment.
Can we manufacture ways for our athletes to improve their mental game? The answer is most definitely yes, we simply have to take the time to do so.
