Athlete Program
We use a unique Athlete Program tailor-designed to deliver the Best Mental Training for Elite Teams and Individual Players. This method is the foundation for all our athlete mental training services.
Athletes are trained extensively in the skills and techniques of the game. But when it comes to performing under pressure, the athletes who succeed are those who have mastered control of their mind and have won the game in their mind before step into the ring. Mental training is essential to gain a champion mindset. Just like you cannot train your routine one day before your tournament, similarly mental skills cannot be learnt at the last minute. Mental training must go hand in hand with your daily physical and technical training to achieve the best results.
The 4-Step Process
Step 1: Self-Awareness Assessment
How well do you know how mentally strong you are? How long is your mental stamina? How easily can you block out your fears? How many minutes does it take before your concentration breaks?
In this step find our your strengths and weaknesses. Address your fears, find your faults and areas of improvement. Note down and appreciate your strengths and your magic tools that fly you through the game.
Step 2: Goal Setting
Now That you have identified your areas of improvement, it is time to set targets. When setting goals, they must follow the SMART rules.
“S-M-A-R-T Goals are those which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timebound. Don’t just set goals, set SMART goals.”
George Doran
Step 3: Mental Training
This is where the hardwork actually begins. With the help of your mental trainer you will work on areas of improvement by enhancing your concentration power, building your confidence, blocking out negative thoughts, and learning to handle your own pressure.
Positive Self-Talk Training is the process of including positive affirmative statement during your workout. Changing the “I am too tired” to “I am going to go one more round.”
Changing the “I can’t” to “I can” the “I am not that good” to “I am the best”. If you believe it, you live it. Changing the words we constantly say to ourself changes our focuses and helps build a positive framework.
If you tell yourself you’re not good enough, you will continue to underperform despite being at the top of your game. Visualisation Training is the process of imagining your routine or performance in your mind mentally before actually going our there and performing it in the real game.
Mental Rehearsal involves imaginging yourself in your competitive environment, visualizing the movements, shots, and outcomes of your game.
While visualizing your every move, it is important that you hear the crowd cheering, the whistle blowing, feel the sweat down your back, feel the ground beneath your feet and feel the texture and weight of the trophy in your hands, just like you are in the real game.
Research shows that when we imagine playing the game in our mind, the same parts of the brain get activated and strengthened as when we are actually playing the game. You are essentially recreating reality before you live it.
“The game is won first in the mind, and then perfromed for the world.”
Anonymous
“If you can see it in your mind,
You’re going to hold it in your hand.”
Bob Proctor
Anxiety management, relaxation training, and cognitive-behavioural therapy are other tools to build your mental skillset.
With the help of your mental trainer you will learn how to build your concentration using mindfulness and reduce your anxiety using conscious breathing and cognitive restructuring.
Step 4: Evaluating the Champion Mindset
Once you have engaged in weeks of mental training, you would have developed a champion mindset.
This means being so mentally strong that you are able to perform under any pressure, stressful situation, change of environment, threatening opponent, or pressure from expectations.
This last step involves evaluating your growth as a mental champion and monitoring your progress. Assessing whether the SMART goals were achieved, tweaking them, setting new goals, and encouraging your progress are done at this stage. Mental training is an ongoing process. It does not stop after one tournament, just like your physical and technical training does not stop after one tournament. If you want to have the Champion Mindset you have to practice mental training.
Once you master your mind, you are the master of your game.