I usually asks athletes if they think that mental strength or mental performance is important in their sport or event. All of them say emphatically that it is very important. Then I give them a brief story of a sport coach saying that 50% of the game is mental and the other 50% is mental. Then some of them seemed confused but then they laugh and take the risk of saying that they agree.
Next, I ask them how many times and for how long they train each week? Usually, they say, it is not less than four to five times and it takes at least 8 hours/week of training. Good, I respond. I go on to ask them how many times and for how long they do mental training a week? I notice nothing more than silence followed by face expressions of shame and confusion.
So, if many coaches (probably all coaches), acknowledge that mental performance is important in a game, what is it that athletes still don’t get trained on sports performance. Here is some of what research suggests the reason why not:
- We don’t have enough time
- I don’t have the knowledge and feel comfortable with teaching it
- It can’t be taught!
Once I watched a national team player explaining that mental training is something like taking care of your lawn, as it must be constant, and well cared for it, so it can continue beautiful and healthy no matter what is the season. I thought it was quite an interesting observation and depending of the need or desire for each team or athlete, it can be a little as three times a week and for about 15 minutes. What can you do in 15 minutes of training? Visualization, breathing exercise, concentration practice, meditation, etc. Each one can be repeated 2-3 times a week, some before and after practice, before game, during training, and more. Depending of your mental training planning, it may contain only two skills at time and it may keep you more prepared and improving your skills and performance consistency. If we could reflect and think about our lawn, it most likely have turned greener and staying beautiful. 🙂