In sport, mental toughness is one of the key criteria for success. All competitors will make mistakes, have unfortunate or even unfair things happen (for example bad referee's decisions and opponents' gamesmanship) and have disappointments. That's part of the fun! Without them, how would we grow and learn? How would we truly savour the taste of victory?
This is the first a series of articles for coaches and players/athletes, regardless of the sport you play or the level you play at, on developing Mental Toughness in sport.
Why Develop Mental Toughness in Sport?
Apart from the reasons mentioned above, being mentally tough will help us perform better under pressure, and make it more likely that we will win, or at least perform well. Also, …show more content…
Future articles will deal with and expand on these, and cover points 3, 4 and 5.
Dealing With Defeat and Poor Performance
There are several approaches. Probably the simplest is to treat it as a learning experience. Often the reason athletes struggle to overcome defeat or poor performances is that they become emotional about it.
Rather than remain upset, it is more useful to step back (mentally) and ask ourselves, "what can I learn from this situation, such that if I learned it and incorporated it into future situations I would improve my performance?" If that is too difficult, the athlete can ask themselves what advice they would give someone else who was experiencing the same situation.
It is probably also useful to do some mental rehearsal, seeing themselves in that future situation doing it perfectly. The subject of mental rehearsal, a major element of successful sporting performance, will be covered in another article.
Whether you are a player, athlete or a coach. Regardless of your sport and your current standard. Find out how your can make massive improvements in your sporting performance and
This is the first a series of articles for coaches and players/athletes, regardless of the sport you play or the level you play at, on developing Mental Toughness in sport.
Why Develop Mental Toughness in Sport?
Apart from the reasons mentioned above, being mentally tough will help us perform better under pressure, and make it more likely that we will win, or at least perform well. Also, …show more content…
Future articles will deal with and expand on these, and cover points 3, 4 and 5.
Dealing With Defeat and Poor Performance
There are several approaches. Probably the simplest is to treat it as a learning experience. Often the reason athletes struggle to overcome defeat or poor performances is that they become emotional about it.
Rather than remain upset, it is more useful to step back (mentally) and ask ourselves, "what can I learn from this situation, such that if I learned it and incorporated it into future situations I would improve my performance?" If that is too difficult, the athlete can ask themselves what advice they would give someone else who was experiencing the same situation.
It is probably also useful to do some mental rehearsal, seeing themselves in that future situation doing it perfectly. The subject of mental rehearsal, a major element of successful sporting performance, will be covered in another article.
Whether you are a player, athlete or a coach. Regardless of your sport and your current standard. Find out how your can make massive improvements in your sporting performance and