How To Motivate Athletes Using Sports Psychology Principles

How To Motivate Athletes Using Sports Psychology Principles By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Elise_Jackson]Elise Jackson

Everyone should have a game plan for competition. When a player consistently gets nervous in front of a crowd or gets psyched out after making a mistake, a contingency plan routed in sports psychology can help them get back on track and forget the earlier problem. Learn how to motivate your athletes by walking them through this exercise.

Help Athletes Develop a Mental Game Plan

Each player should have a contingency plan that includes the following:

Pregame preparation

Plan for errors during the competition

Avoiding competitive stress

Pregame preparation should be a routine that the player chooses that helps them focus and calm themselves before the game. For some players, this includes listening to music or meditating. For some, it involves warm-up drills or visualization. Help your players identify what gets them prepared, focused, and confident, and work with them to create a routine that prepares them for the game.

Errors are going to occur during competition, but the players that have a plan for getting back on track are more likely to bounce back and succeed. Sit down with players to find out what motivates them after they make a mistake. With that knowledge, help them devise a strategy for dealing mentally with errors that happen during the game. Perhaps they should take a few seconds to say silent affirmations, such as "I am good, I am worthy, I can do this," or maybe they should visualize making their next play perfect. Whatever works for players is the right contingency plan.

Finally, help players avoid competitive stress by taking steps to eliminate the unknown. Explain what players should expect during every game. Work with them to channel their nerves into power. Nerves are a natural part of competition, but those players who learn to control those butterflies in the stomach are the ones who come out as winners. Teach players to take deep breaths, focus on one thing at a time, and believe in themselves. With that plan, competitive stress becomes an asset, not a liability.

Help Athletes Improve Concentration by Learning Attention Control Strategies

Concentration in the game is an essential part of staying motivated, competitive, and successful. Helping the team develop concentration is a great way to build unity and help everyone see that what they do affects their teammates.

Try these sports psychology strategies to help prepare your team for their next big game:

Visualize a move, sequence, or routine used commonly in the sport

During practice, yell things that players have to focus on while they continue doing their drills; periodically, change the thing to focus on

Have players build a scene together in their minds; one person starts with a play or a competition, and players have to build on to each other's mental picture until they have an entire play or competition

Test Your Sports Coaching IQ! Elise Jackson is a coaching educator with the American Coaching Academy. Test your coaching IQ with the ACA's free online coaching quiz: [http://www.americancoachingacademy.com/iq.html]Test your Knowledge at the American Coaching Academy Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elise_Jackson http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Motivate-Athletes-Using-Sports-Psychology-Principles&id=1132217

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