Improve Mental Toughness & Sport Success by Controlling Anger

Improve Mental Toughness & Sport Success by Controlling Anger

by Dr. Chris Stankovich

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 -

When athletes allow anger and frustration to manifest into full-blown outbursts while playing their sport, they almost always end up playing far below their potential (The Parents Playbook).  While it is obvious that athletic performance suffers when athletes completely “lose it” (the ones who break equipment, start fights, etc.), did you know that even the smaller, more controlled anger disruptions can still negatively impact athletic potential and success?  Controlling emotions is a big part of mental toughness development, and can be the difference between success and failure if not dealt with in a healthy way.  Sport psychologists know this, and so should you.
So just how does uncontrolled anger directly impact athletic performance?  The answer is in two, inter-related ways:

• Cognitively – When an athlete becomes angry about the last missed or bad play, focus is usually the first thing to go.  In other words, rather than doing what he should be doing (focusing on the next play), he will likely instead continue to dwell on the previous bad play.  Naturally, this only compounds the problem, as it becomes that much more likely that with poor focus will come more bad plays – and more uncontrolled anger!
• Behaviorally – When we become upset and angry, our bodies respond in a number of physiological ways (i.e. increased heart rate, more rapid breathing, and constricted muscles).   When these body changes occur, the athlete is usually left to deal with a higher arousal level that will need to be controlled and tempered in order for perfect mind-body synchrony to once again develop.  In sports where precise muscle movements are paramount (like golf, pitching a baseball, or shooting free throws), the increased tension athletes feel when over-aroused can dramatically throw off the synchrony needed between the message the brain sends to the body and the ways in which the body carries out the brain’s instructions.

Many athletes deal with anger, frustration, and poor coping when it comes to sport stress (Mind of Steel).  Unfortunately, most athletes (and coaches) do not properly identify and accurately frame the problem, and end up doing what they think will help – simply practicing more. Of course, extra practice will never hurt an athlete, but it is an example of working harder rather than smarter if we are talking about controlling emotions, improving mind-body synchrony, and developing better mental toughness.
To further illustrate this point lets use the following example — if an athlete struggles in games with frustration on the basketball court, prompting her to simply “practice more” in typical practice-situations will likely not solve the problem (the most obvious reason is because it’s not a real-game situation).  Instead, the athlete will benefit far more by learning simple coping skills that can help during games, like learning how to moderate breathing, using imagery, or having a cue word to revert to when times are tough.  Learning how to respond to failure and frustration is the key, and can only be fully developed by learning skills designed to help combat negative emotions experienced in games.
Negative emotions, especially anger, can rob an athlete from reaching his or her full athletic potential.  Learning how to channel negative emotions into competitive, healthy emotions is key – and the good news is every athlete can improve in this area!

A Wrestler's Mentality

by: Unknown
Many people think I’m crazy…crazy about the sport of wrestling, but those of us that know better know it’s more than being a sports fanatic. Someone said once that “wrestling is not a sport, it’s a philosophy – a way of life”.
In the sport of wrestling you and your adversary are matched by weight but not necessarily as “equals”.  Both know why they are there facing each other, both have the same goal.  The goal is to put the opponent to their back for the pin, “the ultimate win !” At the very least you want to score more points for yourself so that it is your hand that is raised in the end, to be victorious in this meeting of skills. Sometimes the match is easily won, sometimes too close to call; but one fact remains, only one will win. Each wrestler desires to have the edge. The “edge” is what I call the “wrestler’s mentality ! “
Having the “edge” is much more than physical prowess, training or the body and stamina. To be a great wrestler, it is the mind and spirit that needs to be developed and trained. To be victorious the wrestler must push past pain, deny the body and tap into the spirit. He must be willing to give more than he thinks is possible and when he he’s given 100% to give even more! The wrestler must disregard the “clock”, score, every possible gauge he has that defeat may be possible, erase all self doubts and continue to the end. When the referee taps him, only then does he return to his physicalness and cease in his efforts.
Sometimes it can take several moments before he realizes the match has concluded. The mind of the wrestler must be so in tune with his opponents’ than he can become one with him and anticipate his every move; and in the same split second determine his own strategy and direct the opponents body where he wants it!
There can be no room in his thoughts for fear or doubt. To win there can be no mistakes and there is often little time for correction when one is made.
However, there is always the one who who does not win. I did not say the loser, for to go out on the mat alone to face an opponent already constitutes a winner. To return to the mat, again and again, wiser, stronger and keener is his ongoing quest: no matter how big the defeat, how beaten, or ragged, to persist! The wrestler returns again for another match, sharpening his skills, drilling for mastery and then taking what comes with courage!
This training, this discipline and will are the components of the challenges of life. When he leaves the circle, he is tired, spent, glorified or downtrodden. He smiles, or he cries, because he’s done his best and returns again and again.

Help for Families Looking for Athletic Scholarship Opportunitiesby Dr. Chris Stankovich

Help for Families Looking for Athletic Scholarship Opportunities

by Dr. Chris Stankovich

Friday, September 2nd, 2011 - 4:46 pm - 

Now that school is underway and fall sports have begun, many families are once again invested in trying to help their son or daughter gain the attention of college coaches so that future athletic scholarship opportunities may come their way.  While only about 7% of all high school student athletes will ever play at the college level (this number includes walk-ons and partial scholarships), there are still a lucky few that will earn scholarship money through athletic accomplishments.  The following are a few quick tips to think about as your family looks into athletic scholarships:

• Play your best. Obviously the fastest way to earning a college athletic scholarship is to excel in your sport.  This is especially true for premier Division I college athletic programs, so if you aren’t exceptionally talented it may behoove you to look at DII, DIII, or NAIA options .
• Test early. For many kids these days it makes sense to take the ACT and/or SAT as early as the start of the JR. year of high school (especially if the child has taken a heavy college –prep course load to that point).  The advantage in taking these tests early (assuming the child is prepared) is that it will be one less thing hanging over his or her head, and if the score is a strong score he or she can include it in college applications and discussions with college coaches.
• Promote yourself! Most parents don’t realize that college coaches only have limited windows when they can speak directly to recruits – however, families can communicate and send information whenever they like.  Be sure to turn every stone and make it a point to promote all your athletic abilities in different ways, including traditional correspondence, Youtube video uploads, and any other social media that can help!
• Multitask and try new things.  While it may not be easy to do, it is important for kids to balance their lives as much as possible and sign up for clubs, activities, and volunteer efforts.  Student athletes who show responsibility, leadership, and discipline usually get extra-long looks when compared to their peers, so be sure to help your child round out his or her schedule.
• Keep options open. While it would be great to receive that full-ride DI scholarship, the reality is that very few student athletes are able to do this.  Therefore, it is important to keep all options open – which might include small DIII private schools who offer really great opportunities as well!

Why Does Your Kid Play Great in Practice, but Not in Games? Overcoming Sports Anxiety by Dr. Chris Stankovich

Why Does Your Kid Play Great in Practice, but Not in Games? Overcoming Sports Anxiety

by Dr. Chris Stankovich

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011 - 2:57 pm -

Why is it that so many kids play their sport really well in practice, but fall short of playing to the best of their ability in games?  Probably not a day goes by where I don’t get this question from a parent or coach, suggesting that most people involved with sports have seen this happen.  Why do kids show mental toughness, focus, and confidence in practice, then show none of those qualities in games? (Sport Success 360)
So what makes a real game situation any different from practice?  In most cases kids play on the same field with the same dimensions using the same ball and equipment – so what gives??  While there are many different factors that contribute to the inability to perform sport skills in real games, all of these factors eventually trace back to one, single, omnipresent variable in sport competition:  PRESSURE!
How Anxiety Impacts Performance
Parents often become very frustrated when they see their child excel in practice and then completely choke in games (side note – this reaction accounts for a lot of parental outbursts at games).  They are often bewildered at the change they witness in their kid’s athletic ability, sometimes becoming quite emphatic when telling me how they “cant believe it’s the same kid out there.”  When I mention to them that anxiety is the big difference maker, they usually agree with me, yet still downplay and minimize just how debilitating anxiety can be when it comes to athletic (and life) success.
Any time we practice something, be it sports, music, public speaking, or anything else, we usually do it in a low-pressure environment where there is not much, if anything, to lose.  Who cares if you drop a pass in practice, or stumble over your words while giving a practice speech in front of a mirror – no harm, no foul, right?  But what happens when we do something for real?  Now all of a sudden we may have something to gain (i.e. in sports possibly a win for our team), or something to lose (i.e. we might feel stupid in front of a group of people if we flub up a speech).  In either case, whether we have something to gain or lose (or both), this is precisely the time when pressure enters the picture and almost always changes the way we perceive, handle our emotions, and behave.  Sport psychologists know how debilitating sports anxiety can be, and so should you.
A Simple Test
Take the following example – if you were to place a gymnastics balance beam in your living room and try to walk across it, odds are you would successfully walk from end-to-end (even if you did wobble some).  But what would happen if you elevated the balance beam 10 feet – would that change anything?  It’s the same balance beam, only now it’s 10 feet higher and presents a new risk of falling down and hurting yourself.  As you might imagine, far fewer people can successfully complete this challenge even though nothing in the task itself has changed.
The previous example is one that added a real danger to the equation (falling off a balance beam from 10 feet), but did you know that even in situations where there is no real physical danger athletes still routinely “choke” when doing the same things in games that they successfully do in practice?  Take a baseball example – thousands of young pitchers each year regularly throw strikes in practice, but once they get in a game seemingly forget about how to get the ball over the plate, and as a result pitch far below their ability.  In this situation the pitcher doesn’t fail because he is in fear of being physically hurt, but instead he has allowed irrational fear to cloud his thinking and negatively impact his performance.  Irrational fear is the type of fear that doesn’t hurt us physically, but instead operates on our ego and self-pride.  When athletes begin to wonder and worry about what others will think if they fail, it is irrational fear operating.
Overcome Anxiety – Play Better Sports!
So to sum all this up, it is very common for kids to play with confidence in practice but with anxiety in real games.  Athletes who are able to overcome their fears usually play at higher levels, while athletes who succumb to pressure usually get tabbed as “athletes with great potential.”
The important thing to note is that playing in games the same as playing in practice can only occur through mental toughness development – in other words, it doesn’t usually just happen without dedicated effort.  So while it may seem to parents that it’s easy to just “play the same in games as you do in practice,” it is anything but this easy to do for many young athletes!  The answer is to invest efforts into helping young athletes develop mental toughness skills to help them overcome irrational fear, anxiety, and issues with confidence — not only will these skills help with sports, but they work quite well in life, too.
Don’t let sports anxiety slow down your young athlete — Master mental toughness and confidence development by checking out Mind of Steel!