One reason for falling short of your goals and potential in athletics is negative self-labels or beliefs. Fear is at the root of negative thinking. Fear of failure, blunders, criticism, and losing playing time, among other things.

The thoughts you choose to entertain shape your reality. Now, a few stray negative thoughts will not automatically result in a poor performance. When you feed those negative thoughts by focusing on them all the time, especially when you’re not doing your best, you’ll have poor performance.

Negative thoughts run rampant in your mind the more you focus on them, which leads to blunders, errors, drops, falls, and losses.

Fear of shame or making blunders may be a concern for some young athletes. Some athletes make comparisons to other athletes, which isn’t necessarily good for children’s self-esteem. Some young hockey players are concerned about making a good impression on their coach or parents. Some athletes are held back by their lack of self-assurance and doubts. Other athletes may attempt to execute flawlessly, tying themselves up in knots in the process.

The following ways are some of the effective methods for the athletes to overcome this mental problem :

1.Letting go of the fear:

Most of the fear that players have in sports is not about being in danger or damaging themselves physically, though some games, such as hockey, can result in bodily injury. The fear I’m referring to is a psychological threat based on an athlete’s perception of the importance of a performance or game, as well as what others think about it. The first stage is to uncover the ideas, attitudes, and expectations that lead to over-exactness in competition and fear of failure in your athletes. You want your athletes to maintain the positive qualities of their mental game, such as their motivation and dedication to sports.

Maintaining ideas or attitudes that encourage dread, caution, or over-seriousness when performing, on the other hand, does not allow children to perform at their best. Kids play tentatively because of thoughts like “I have to be perfect if I want to make the team today” or “I have to examine my faults and rectify them right away so I don’t repeat the same mistake.”

2.Playing freely instead of holding back:

I teach my pupils about two mindsets that lead to sports success during mental toughness training. The first is the mindset of training or practise. Great athletes understand the importance of training. They want to improve and grow better. They are highly motivated and have a strong work ethic, which allows them to put in long hours of practice in order to master their skills. In sports, having a trusting or performing attitude is equally crucial. The capacity to let skills “happen” spontaneously by depending on practice rather than intentionally directing motions is referred to as trust. The capacity to rely on practise, perform easily, and let talents flow without overthinking is referred to as the performance attitude.

The bottom line is that if your athletes compete with a practising mentality, they will be limited in their capacity to perform at their best due to excessive analysis, striving for perfection, and a lack of trust.

3.Focus On Self Not Others – Make No Comparisons:

Your athletes must first realise that the majority of intimidation in athletics is self-inflicted. Other athletes may employ direct intimidation or play mind games with your athletes at times, but they can choose to ignore them and look the other way. Your athletes, on the other hand, can’t “look the other way” when they’re being frightened by their own thoughts about the level of competition, the rink conditions, or the site. Athletes who lack confidence frequently seek out others to boost their self-esteem. Similarly, these athletes intimidate themselves by paying too much attention to other hockey players or placing them on a pedestal.

The majority of self-inflicted intimidation stems from your players devoting too much energy to other rivals by drawing comparisons, obsessing over their competitors’ reputations, or feeling like they don’t belong at the present level of play.

4.Play for yourself, not others :

In my interactions with the athletes I train, social approbation is a significant factor. Many sportsmen place much too much emphasis on social approbation to increase their own self-esteem. Some athletes believe that if people admire their athletic accomplishments, it will make them a better person. Many sportsmen believe that if they can obtain acknowledgement, acceptance, or respect from others through sports, they will be better people.

5.Don’t try to be perfect :

Trying to make everything flawless is the polar opposite of a functioning mindset. It all starts with the notion that your athletes don’t have to be perfect to give their best effort. They are human, and people are incapable of perfection. Your athletes will make mistakes, and both you and they must accept this. Brad Gilbert, a prominent tennis coach, refers to the functional mindset as “winning ugly,” and has written a book about it.

6.Be confident :

Self-confidence, in my opinion, refers to how confident athletes are in their ability to complete a physical skill or task. That’s right–an athlete’s confidence in his ability to perform a play is measured in percentages. An assessment of past performances, training, and preparation is used to determine confidence. Your athletes’ confidence rises in direct proportion to their competency or technical mastery.

Confidence, in my opinion, is a panacea for everything that ails an athlete’s mental game. When athletes have strong self-confidence, it’s difficult for them to become apprehensive, tense, or concerned about their performance because they already know they’ll do well. They are unconcerned about the competition because they are confident. They are relaxed and concentrate on the correct performance signals because they are confident.

7.Focus on the process, not the result :

Understanding what isn’t relevant is a crucial step in assisting your athletes in improving their focus by recognising their distractions. Many of the athletes I work with have a tendency to overburden their brains with information – more than they can process at any given time. The body receives conflicting signals from information overload or erroneous information. The body will not execute with the anticipated output or rhythm if it is in this indecisive state.

Your athletes will be in a better position to fully immerse themselves in their performance once they have defined performance cues and can clearly recognise non-relevant cues or distractions – a crucial feature of being in the zone or gaining zone focus. Thinking about missing a prior shot or what the coach could do if you lose the puck are examples of unimportant cues or distractions.

Conclusion:

It takes time to learn a new talent. Whether your athletes are gaining physical or mental abilities, repetition and application are required to integrate them into daily practices and performance. Assisting your athletes in committing to strengthening their mental toughness over time (even when they are playing well) can result in a consistent mental game and performance in every setting, including tryouts.