PART 2: The 9 Mental Skills of Successful Athletes Applied to a COVID-19 World
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During this COVID-19 crisis, Play Like a Champion is urging our community of coaches to stay in touch with their athletes. This contact is so important to the youth we serve. It reminds them that they matter, that we care for them and that this "pause" in play can be an opportunity for athletes to continue to self-improve. During the month of April, we are featuring a three-part series on how athletes can develop the mental skills needed to get through this trial and to improve their game when sports resume on the field. We encourage coaches to pass this note on to your athletes, to keep them engaged and to check-in with them on their progress toward meeting these mental goals.
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The
first note
in this three-part series introduced athletes to Dr. Jack Lesyk’s Performance Pyramid and the 9 mental skills of successful athletes. Lesyk, a former sports psychologist for the Cleveland Cavaliers, reminds us that what makes a
champion
athlete is recognizing the important role sports play in our whole life and our commitment to being the best we can be within the scope of our limitations (our personal best). You can use your time while quarantined to sharpen these nine mental skills and to better position yourself when you are able to return to competition. The
first note covered
Level 1 - Basic Skills:
1) Attitude 2) Motivation 3) Goals 4) People Skills.
Today's note delves into
Level 2 - Prepatory Skills
which are
typically used immediately before performance to prepare for the competition or a specific aspect of it such as sinking a putt, making a free throw or getting off to a quick start at the beginning of a race.
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LEVEL II – Preparatory Skills
5) Self-Talk
: Successful athletes maintain self-confidence during difficult times with realistic, positive self-talk. They talk to themselves the way they would talk to their own best friend or teammate. They use self-talk to help regulate their thoughts, feelings and behavior before or during competition. They also utilize positive self-talk to bounce back from defeat, bad calls from officials or uncontrollable events (such as the cancellation of a season due to self-quarantine).
6) Mental Imagery
: Successful athletes prepare themselves for competition by imagining themselves performing well under the pressure of competing. They create and use detailed, specific and realistic images. They use those images during competition to prepare for action and to recover from errors, poor performance and barriers to performance that fall outside their control (such as a world-wide virus pandemic).
Self-Talk Usage
Dr. Larry M. Leith of the University of Toronto and author of
The Psychology of Achieving Sports Excellence
(2008, Sports Book Publishers) identifies five common applications of positive self-talk:
- Developing skills and elevating personal performance
- Controlling your overall effort
- Maintaining attentional focus
- Creating or changing your mood, and
- Changing bad habits
Distorted Thinking
Leith also identifies 10 common distorted thinking patterns that can keep an athlete trapped in negative thinking.
Click on this link
to see the list. Overcoming distorted thinking begins with noticing its existence, then using positive self-talk to change the pattern to one that is more useful.
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Cue Words & Mantras
Cue words and mantras are words and short phrases that “short-circuit” negative self-talk and help us get our thinking back on a positive track. Check out this video for more information.
Mental Imagery
Mental imagery involves more than just making pictures of success in your mind.
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Positive Mental Imagery, according to Leith, can best be understood as “seeing a moving picture in your mind’s eye.” Some refer to this as visualization, but even that term falls short because the most effective mental imagery includes feeling and hearing as well as seeing success. Mental Rehearsal is part of the mental imagery skill set that involves imagining a particular sport skill or skill segment and practicing that skill or skill set in your mind’s eye. For example, a quarterback can mentally practice taking the snap from center, falling back into the pocket, making a read of his receivers and imagining throwing successfully to an open receiver. To be successful, Leith notes that mental rehearsal should incorporate the following features:
- Rehearse the entire sport skill or segment (including body movements) from start to finish to reduce the likelihood of error points occurring.
- Rehearsal must include seeing the skill being performed successfully.
- At least one rehearsal should approximate the actual rate of physically performing the skill.
- Imagine the actual “feel” of the performance skill as if it were happening now (use of equipment used in performing the skill can add a sense of realism).
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ATHLETE ASSIGNMENTS
This week, athletes you have three mental skills assignments to sharpen your Level 2 Mental Skills:
1) Re
view the distorted thinking patterns
contained in the
handout
on 10 common distorted thinking patterns and honestly identify those categories and related self-statements that may be hindering your success as an athlete. Play close attention to any that are related to the current situation that involves sheltering-in-place due to the coronavirus pandemic. What are those self-statements? What category do they fall under? How can you use positive self-talk to change them?
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2)
Settle on your Cue Word or
Personal Mantra
that you can use to “short-circuit” negative self-talk when it starts to occur or calm your anxiety in competition. Once you have settled on your word/mantra, practice using it whenever you notice yourself falling into negative self-talk or feeling anxious. Watch this golf example, "Read it. Roll it. Hole it." and notice how effective the resulting performance is.
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3) Mentally Rehearse Some Specific Skills
that you haven’t been able to practice effectively due to sheltering-in-place. Take time daily to mentally rehearse these skills. Don’t rush through this. Pour your heart and soul into this activity.
If you put in the effort to complete these three assignments to the best of your ability, you will further develop your Level II, Preparatory Mental Skills and will continue working to become your personal best self and athlete when you can return to the field of play.
Next week, our third and final note in this three-part series will focus on the top of the pyramid: Level 3 Performance Skills – Dealing with Anxiety, Dealing with Emotions and Concentration.
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Join us for Virtual Youth and High School Sport Summits
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Join Play Like a Champion for the next in our series of
Virtual Partner Summits
on the impact of COVID-19 on youth and high school sports. Discussion will center on the challenges leaders are facing, useful resources during the crisis, and what the future holds for sport. Register to join partners across the country in kinship to engage in these important conversations.
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Play Like a Champion
has a number of other resources for partners as we work together to overcome the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
S
i
gn-up for our free Friday Morning Rally
to get the latest information on the impact of COVID-19 in youth sports, and follow us on
Facebook
,
Twitter
and
Instagram
to get the latest information & share resources with others in our community.
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Coaches, encourage your athletes to include meditation in their daily routine and make a conscious choice to engage in this practice yourself. Just as exercise improves the body's functions, meditation is a form of exercise to enhance the brain's utility.
The benefits of mindfulness include:
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- A sense of peace and overall well-being,
- Reduced stress levels,
- Improved memory,
- Better alertness,
- Enhanced productivity.
Click on the video above
to learn more and actually participate in a mindfulness session with
Play Like a Champion
Trainer and Coach Orlandus Thomas.
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Play Like a Champion Today Educational Series
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