Welcome to The Inner Edge: Mental Skills for Sports and Life
“I’ve won most matches, probably all of my grand slams, because of what’s upstairs, not anything else.”
-Serena Williams
We are all familiar with the cliché, “90% of performance is mental.” Yet as our athletes are growing up in their sport, attention to the mental game is often an afterthought. Mental skills training may not be considered until there is a problem or until all other avenues have been exhausted. A better plan is to introduce effective mental skills early in the process before ineffective habits or ways of thinking are reinforced.
Good mental preparation is not reserved for the elite. By helping our athletes develop their mental game early they are learning skills for life in sport and beyond. It is amazing to watch an athlete transfer their mental game skills to the classroom. Learning how to bounce back after mistakes, refocus or deal with nerves are just a few of the skills that reach beyond your favorite sports venue.
Athletes
I aspire to do three things with the athletes I work with.
- Increase their self-awareness and help them discover how their mind is getting in their way and hindering their performance.
- Teach the mental skills necessary to overcome these obstacles.
- Provide a mental game plan, an action plan for these skills to be practiced.
The work/fun begins as we develop strategies to deal with the obstacles hindering performance. We build a toolbox of mental skills. A collection of strategies to implement during practice and competition.
Coaches/Teams
I welcome the opportunity to help coaches understand and integrate sport psychology techniques into their coaching. Whether the coach is working with athletes individually or with a team, I can help them identify mental skill techniques they can weave into their coaching to bring out the best in their athletes and teams. When coaches learn skills and then share them with their athletes, the message and skills multiply. Coaches have a great opportunity to start to develop their athletes’ mental game.
Ask yourself the following questions to see how mental skills training could help you:
- Do you have effective ways to deal with frustration or mistakes?
- How confident are you in your skills and what actions can you take to build confidence?
- Would you say you can bounce back quickly after a mistake or disappointment or do you dwell on it?
- Do you perform better in practice or competition?
- Do you view competition as a threat or challenge?
- How do you deal with pre-performance jitters?
- Do you have a pre-performance routine you employ consistently?
- Do you know what is important for you to focus on in your role as an athlete?
- Do you worry about what others think of you?
- Do you struggle with having to perform perfectly?
- Can you trust your training and perform freely?
- When performing, can you be in the moment and focus on the process?
- Can you identify the things you can control and the things you can’t?
- Do you routinely set goals? If so, do you have an action plan? How often do you review and evaluate them?
- Do you have an efficient practice routine?
- How do you deal with distractions?
- Do you know how to use self talk effectively?
- • Do you focus on process or outcome goals?
- Are you constantly comparing yourself to others?
- Do you worry about what others think of you?
If you struggle with any of the above, you are not alone. Developing your mental game is just another part of your training. Did you know the best of the best work with mental skills trainers? They know being mental game may give them an inner edge and increase their enjoyment and motivation. It is never too late or too early to learn to develop your mental game.
If you would like to learn how to develop your mental game, please reach out for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. Let’s get it done!