Athletes consider fitness training as a natural part of training and many have become more focused on their diet.
Why is mental preparation so important?
Performance in every sport is a reflection of different abilities or areas of each individual. It is a physical side that we must train, it is a technical side where it doesn’t matter which sport it is. Especially for professional athletes where the details are decisive. If an athlete underestimates one side, it will be shown in the performance. Therefore, it is important that we also work on our mental side.
What should mental preparation look like?
It cannot be said exactly because we are all different. Someone prepares by themselves and does not even realize it, doesn’t need any special preparation. He has psychological resilience and knows how to prepare for a match. Someone is helped by a coach or someone from the team who is training and mentally preparing him. Someone needs to work specifically with a mental coach or sports psychologist. Specific training takes place in a larger form of training where they focus on coping with the development of concentration, coping with stress. Self-confidence is very important. The psychologist will draw up a plan according to which the athlete is preparing for a given competition, whether it is a world championship or just a playoff in the main competition.
It happens very often that tremors appear in athletes before an important match. Of course, it’s natural and someone can handle it better than others.
How should we overcome it to give the best possible performance?
It is very important how we perceive the whole situation, either as a threat that I can spoil something in the match or the opportunity to show something, to appear in front of the audience or to make a record in the number of goals or points in the match. The mental setting for the match is an important factor from which everything then unfolds.
Motivation is part of every performance. It often happens that player is over motivated. It is important that you want to achieve something very much, but you need to calm down and focus on the important things in the given match and the result will definitely come. It is important to determine before the match the things that we want to achieve during the match and focus on them.
You need to determine the real goals which you have trained and that you can realistically achieve. If we set ourselves goals too high and we will not succeed, we will be drawn to the ground and we will be demotivated. So, choosing primary goals is very important.
I can do it in training but I can’t do it in my match?
In the match, we are pressured and expected to bring a certain result. Of course, this is primarily happening with top athletes. If we are talking about children and if they are just starting to play sport, it is obvious they should do it for fun and to enjoyment. Every progress will be pleased. Players need to train more on their mental side and perceive their emotions, manage stress better, concentrate on the situation and self-believe that I can handle it just like in training.
Sometimes the challenges are set high and very difficult. It is very crucial to take smaller steps and gradually make it into one big whole.
