By Barb V
Studies show that within groups of athletes of equal ability, those who practice mental training outperform those who don’t almost every time. Mental skills, like physical skills, need constant practice. One key to achieving success in sports is learning how to focus on the task and not let negative thoughts intrude. From the book The Boys in the Boatthat I recently read, I loved the saying “keep your mind in the boat”, which was explained as staying focused, thinking of nothing outside of the boat. Those athletes and teams who are able to do that — WIN! During these changing times when so much is uncertain in high school, college, and professional sports, it will be the athlete/team who stays focused on their goals, both short-, mid-, and long-term, who will win and attain those goals. At elite levels of sport, the athlete who typically wins is the one that can and does stay focused throughout competition; they do not allow negative thoughts, jeering fans, weather, or a small mistake to govern and control their outcomes. The way you address current issues and the uncertainty of the future today will have a profound outcome on your athletic endeavors, goals and life.
Choices!
Where are your choices leading you? Regardless of your circumstances, each moment presents us with decisions to make. It doesn’t matter what trial or success we experience; each trace back to a specific choice. At any given moment we can choose to doubt, fear, worry, be angry, depressed or miserable, or we can choose to move forward. We always have the ability to become unstuck and move forward on the path of life we want for ourselves because the choice is always our own.
Visualization!
Extraordinary people live their lives backwards—they envision the future, accept their present strengths, weaknesses and situation, and then create their desired outcomes. Many of you may already be utilizing the power of visualization but must realize it is twice as important now than it has ever been. For those of you not familiar with visualization, it is the practice of being able to see what you want to attain through your mind’s eye. Although visualization sounds as though it only implies sight, in actuality to fully take advantage of visualization, you should use all 5 senses—sight, sound, smell, taste & touch. During my quest to be the best javelin thrower, I would lay in bed every night and mentally visualize my warmups, competition, and personal best performances. I would practice this visualization drawing from past performances of being “in the zone” and uniting it with future competitions so that my mind and body did not know the difference between what was real and imagined. During my visualization sessions, I would overcome any and all obstacles that other athletes had not prepared for, including weather, jeering fans, schedule changes, unpredicted delays, and equipment malfunctions, and still come out on top.
Preparation!
Another key element to success is preparation. Visualizing allows your brain to imagine and perform the things that are possible, while proper preparation and practice prepares your body and mind to overcome obstacles. One of my favorite memories was when teammates would tease me about getting so excited to practice in inclement weather such as snow, high winds and rain. It was this preparation that allowed me to set an NCAA D-1 school record in a cold and driving rainstorm during a mid-April track meet where many other athletes either pulled out of the meet or had their worst performances ever. I know that it is was my preparation and enthusiasm during those many foul-weather practices that allowed me to have a peak performance.
Focused Concentration!
Focus:
to direct one’s attention or efforts on a central point during an activity.
Concentration:
exclusive attention to one thing; keeping your mind in a closed mental state.
As an athlete, staying focused and keeping your thoughts in the moment, concentrating on what you are doing and what you should do next, should be your number one priority during both practice and competition. How do you limit distractions and calm your busy mind? Our schools don’t teach our students nor do our coaches teach our athletes how to focus and block out distractions. Concentration is a critical component of anything you want to accomplish. Concentration and focus are like muscles which get stronger the more you exercise them. We must practice thinking without allowing our thoughts to jump from one thought to another.
We must always practice being in the here and now and be present in our conscious awareness. When your coach is explaining something, you must make a concentrated effort to pay attention to nothing other than what your coach is teaching. If you notice your awareness shifting away from what your coach is saying, you must refocus yourself on the immediate moment in which you should be fully present. If you are reading a book for a class, you should train your eyes on the words as though nothing else exists. When you are able to master this type of concentration in the classroom and then transfer it onto the playing field, you will experience the feelings of being “in the zone” more powerfully than ever.
Opportunities to Grow!
Turn choices and challenges into opportunities for growth. We must always keep a healthy perspective on the things that matter most. While many of our peers are taking these days off from practice and workouts, the successful athlete is using these chaotic times to better themselves while working on their weaknesses, allowing themselves to get a little closer to their goals each and every day. Motivation cannot be given; it can only be drawn upon from within. Neither a coach, teammate, nor a parent can motivate you — only you can motivate yourself through your priorities and goals. This can only come from your WHY! If your “why” is big enough, it will assist you in overcoming and surpassing any obstacles or roadblocks on your path. Many high school athletes today do not know how to get in front of college coaches when seasons and competitions are being canceled or postponed. These are uncertain times where no one can predict what the future of high school, college, or professional sports will look like even a year from now. Outside of a world war, the Olympics have never been postponed or canceled. It is the strong-willed, goal-oriented, focused athlete who will not allow current situations to distract them from fulfilling their dreams, but rather motivate them in continuing to prepare themselves in becoming a better athlete who is ready when sports begin again. So what is it that you can do now to continue training even without a coach or a team due to your local circumstances and current societal regulations/suggestions? How can you get yourself seen or in front of coaches during this time and if your season gets canceled?
Getting Seen!
In sport just like in business, it’s not who you know but rather who knows of you. Also in sport as it is in business, you need not only a training plan but also a marketing plan, as you and your coach should be getting you in front of the next level coaches that you want to play for. A rule in business is that buyers do not buy until after at least 7 extremely targeted positive interactions. It is suggested that you create 7-21 positive interactions with each of the coaching programs/coaches that you are interested in. (Keep in mind current NCAA rules and regulations for coach/athlete interactions.) The following is a checklist/marketing plan for getting you seen:
- Select the schools and the coaches that you are interested in playing for.
- Do your due diligence in learning as much as you can about the coach, coaching staff, overall athletic program and current athletes. With social media (Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram), MaxPreps and other athletic listing services, you should be able to gather all of the needed information about the schools and coaching programs you want to be associated with.
- When appropriate submit your interest in writing to those coaches and programs. Share your personal WHY and interest for wanting to play for that school. Emails don’t always get opened, however postcards and “lumpy mail” do. A great tool for sending out postcards and “lumpy mail” is Banner Season which you can check out at this link.
- Consider creating your own highlight YouTube channel or blog that you also reference on your postcards and “lumpy mail.” Dedicate this YouTube channel for this single purpose. Take into consideration whether or not you will allow public comments on your channel. (Be aware of all social media posting that you do as schools, coaching programs, and scholarship funding search the internet to find out more about you as well. Make sure that everything you post or that is posted about you portrays the type of athlete you want to be seen as.)
- Consider posting positive current training accomplishments and workouts that show and highlight the self-motivated steps and activities that you are still doing while others may be taking a break. Also consider sending postcards/snapshots of the same material.
- Keep your current coaches abreast of what your intentions and goals are even if your season is canceled. (Remember coaches are people, too, and they do have conversations off the record when they get together in informal settings.)
- Create opportunities for you to be noticed and seen by your local media (tv/newspapers/radio) doing good and giving back to your community. Let your local media know of any goodwill activities that you coordinate or have an active leadership position in so that others can highlight you doing good.
Remember in the long run you are responsible for how you handle yourself during these times, both on the field and off. Your dedication, focus and commitment to your future will be seen through your activities in what you do both publicly and privately. It is your responsibility to get yourself seen, not that of your coach, athletic director, parent or school.
This is an opportunity for you to show the world who you are and the positive impacts that you are willing to make personally and within your sport and community. This is the time for you to envision and visualize who you will be when sport returns – using future perfect planning, and focused concentration, you can use visualization today to attract and create what you want for your tomorrow. Seize Your Moment Today!
Barb V can be reached at www.BarbV.Fun to assist athletes and families in igniting their future—today.