For competitive athletes, training your mind is as important as training your body. Mental training is key to reducing stress, controlling your emotions, and developing coping mechanisms that will maintain a positive mindset in tight game situations. The mind is like a mirror that hold pictures, ideas, thoughts and words that we use to describe ourselves. An athlete's self-image shapes how he or she functions and performs in game action.
Instructions
Improve Your Concentration as an Athlete
1. Practice with distractions surrounding you, and acclimate yourself in ignoring them. Fixating on external factors outside of your control (weather conditions, poor warm-up, or mistakes from prior contests) will disrupt your concentration coming into the contest at hand. Negative thoughts cost energy, creates anxiety, and serves as a distraction to your teammates.
2. Come up with a few key words to remind you on what you should be focusing on during the competition. These key words should also help with your visualization of the event as well. Visualization is one of the best training mechanisms to bring your mind and body together, and also helps you to focus on your everyday cares in your non-athletic life.
3. Never judge your performance separately from the team. Avoid rating your play as good or bad, and accept the result of the contest for what it is. There is little you can do to change the outcome, learn from your good play while striving in practice to improve on your weaknesses. Mistakes are part of the learning process, to fixate on them will create tension on the team.
4. Practice simulated game situations during your workout routines. This will provide comfort and ensure details were not miss during your preparation for the contest. It is easy to overlook simple tasks during pressure situations in a game.
5. Practice eye control, and never let your eyes wander from the field of play. Keep your focus internal, as there is no reason to focus on others around you. This will create anxiety on your part.
6. Learn to stay within the moment at hand in the contest. A simple way to accomplish this is creating a game plan for yourself. This will involve on planning for every conceivable play by your opponent, and how you will execute to stopping them in these situations. Focus on the here and now during the game, and if your attention starts to drift away, then gently bring your concentration back by looking at the game plan during breaks in the action.
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