Mental Game

Tiger was telling me about how he didn't feel quite ready mentally like he knew it was there just it hadn't struck him.

For all the juniors and rest of Australians (mostly Juniors) who are going to represent. I wish everyone the best of luck and good health no injuries etc...

Reminded me again of that glowing gem waterpolo handbook:


Effective Preparation for Competition
Effective preparion for competition is a matter of luck for many athletes. Maybe this, maybe that and lets hope that ti works.

For Elite Athletes however, control and consistency are the hallmarks of their preparation.

Would Keiren Perkins live in hope that allw ould come together at the appropriate moment on finals day for him to win Olympic Gold?

**Successful atheltes have well developed competition preparation SKILLS

**Skill is not something you are born with you are born with ABILITY

**Ability is transformed into skill with PRACTICE

Some atheltes are fortunate enough to have so much ability that they need only limited practice to acquire effective skills. For most athletes however, including professionals, considerable practice is neccessary before they acquire these consisten preparation skills.

Effective mental peaking is an acquired skill - acquired with preparation and evaluation.

1/ ATTITUDE
A successful athlet views competition as a challenge and a chance to reap rewards from the hard word and dedication. Their focus is not only on the outcome but the process of the contest. Winners have a balanced attitude between the competition and the realistic goals which they have set.

2/ CONSISTENT ROUTINE
Athletes need an established routine which they can utilisde automatically to have them peaking at the right time. This routine can sometimes take years to refine.

3/ READINESS - NERVES
Obviously it is important for athletes to have the adrenalin pumping, to have high energy for competition. The skill in preparation is controlling the gradual increase in arousal so they can peak at the right time.

If they peak too early they burn precious energy - if they are under aroused then they may find it too hard to compete at the right intensity. Preparation skill should include short term techniques to either pump up or calm down.

4/ SELF CONFIDENCE
A confident athlete is composed, relaxed with a high degree of certainty. They strive to reduce uncertainties or doubts as well as being completely realistic about their chances.

They should be willing to let go of worries, doubts about wether they have trained long and hard enough. They should be focused on the fact that the competition is now - the moment of truth.

5/ CONCENTRATION
Concentration literally means to focus all attention onto those factors that are most appropriate to performance.

However, the duration of concentration is limited so that it is neccessary for athletes to pace themselves before competition. Relax both physically and mentally and have the focus of attention gradually narrow as teh competition comes closer.

The most common forms of disruption to concentration are external ones, such as friends in the crowd, or internal ones such as negative thoughts. The most effective method of blocking out these disruptions is by focussing on something that will assist performance an by deep breathing or using a buzz word.

Summary:

** Effective competition skills are developed over time with planning and practice.

** Athletes should continually fine tune their organisation and concentration routine.

**They need to become skilled at fixing their attention at each appropriate moment.

**They need to develop the instinct to pace their physical and emotional build up.

**They need to be willing to accept their current standard and trust themselves.

Finally they need to achieve that fine balance of:

**Striving for a good outcome
and
**Focusing on the process.

STAY WITH THE PROCESSES UNDER PRESSURE AND TRUST THAT THE OUTCOME WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF