Sports Psychology Techniques

Training Preparation

• You train physically for competition. You eat the right foods to fuel your body. You practice strengths and work on weaknesses to make them stronger. This is all part of pregame training and is a component of mental training. Many athletes who get nervous don't feel they have done enough to prepare. Keep a list and note that you are doing everything to give yourself the best chance to perform at your highest level.
  Doing mental imagery is another way to prepare and reinforce what you have worked on. See yourself in the situation with what you want to achieve, being very specific with every sensory detail. See yourself achieving it and feel what it is like to succeed. If part of your physical practice involves taping technique, find a roll that shows you doing things perfectly. Review this as a basis of your mental imagery and add the elements of competition into your image.

Pregame

• On game day, remember that it is natural to be nervous, and don't chastise yourself for this. Nervousness means you care about doing well, and this means you will put your best effort out. Many athletes have rituals for game day: eating the same breakfast and taking the same route to the location. They may do a specific warm-up in a specific order for a certain amount of time. The reason for this is comfort. When athletes feel they have done the right preparation, they are secure in stepping out onto the playing field. Most athletic superstitions result from a great performance, so athletes may want to repeat what was done that created the perfect storm.
  The other thing athletes do is spend some time reviewing the strategy and visualizing the implementation of it. Swimmers see the jump off the blocks and entrance into the water, smooth and fast. Tennis players see their strokes, from the first serve. Athletes must also prepare for the crowd and the noise that comes from it.

In Game

• Routines within the game are also very important. There are few successful athletes who don't have routines, though some may not even realize it. A routine within the game is how you prepare yourself for each play. Taking a breath to get the last play out of your system, focusing your energy and reviewing the strategy for the next immediate moment, nothing more. In the process of doing this mental routine, many athletes develop physical routines such as bouncing, stretching or adjusting their uniform. This keeps their minds from wandering so they can prepare themselves for the very next play. Then they stop thinking and allow all their practice and muscle memory to do what it has worked so hard to do.