Pre-season homework - mindset training

You have prepared your club and staff for the upcoming season and now it’s time to get your athletes slowly back into the training cycle.

This week we will discuss five topics you can cover with your athletes that will help them hit the ground running when they are back to full training.

Today we will cover mindset training and how it can help your athlete get better results.

Mindset training

Mindset training is a complicated topic which encompasses a wide range of topics that can have a significant impact on your athletes performance. It’s one of those things that is often overlooked in favor of physical training because it has a more tangible manifestation.

However, giving your athletes a few small tasks around mindset training can set them up for success in training and competition.

Positive self-talk

This is one of the easier ways your athletes can move the needle for better. Many athletes have some kind of vision board or similar things where they write their goals, aspirations, and what they think about themselves. Just writing them out and reading them every day can have a positive impact on a person. An even better approach is to have current negatives written out and have your athletes actively looking to overwrite them with positives. Instead of “I am slow” they can write “I am getting faster”. Change of perspective can be a powerful tool and it can turn doubt into self confidence.

Another good thing to try out is to journal after training sessions. Maybe today your athlete had a hard day meeting expectations but the next time when the same workout is executed as expected it can be huge boost to their mood.

Visualization

Have your athletes spend a few minutes per day visualizing key parts of their performance. It can be today’s interval sessions. Have them visualize their feet hitting the ground, the sweat on their body, shortness of breath, the pain in their muscles.

Have them go though different scenarios and imaging how they would feel, what they would do and how they would overcome temporary discomfort.

Once they have to perform, a lot of those situations will come up and they will have a plan ready to combat those negative feelings and emotions.

Stress management

In order to get better, coaches introduce stress to their athlete’s bodies. It’s the only way someone can progress ang get better.

Sometimes, this can be too much. It doesn’t even have to be a particular part of the workout. A teammate can throw a bad pass, some equipment may break, the athlete can fall down and get hurt.

In all of these cases it’s important to try and get back into the zone as quickly as possible. On of the easiest techniques is the square breathing exercise.

Your athlete should simply inhale deep for 4 seconds, hold their breath for another 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds and hold their breath for 4 seconds. They can do this 2 to 3 times and they will be able to relax in just one minute and get going again.

Stress hormones usually stay in our system for 90 seconds after which we are physiologically fine again. The rest is just about your athlete’s head and if they can clear it and move on or have another shot of stress hormones added to their system.

One thing that can be beneficial to your athletes is to end each session with a few minutes of guided meditation. You tell them to lay down on the floor and just follow your instructions.

Have them imagine on object flying over them and move that object from one part of their body to another. Have them imagine grabbing that object without moving their limbs. You will see small unconscious twitches of their fingers.

This can help them calm down after a workout session or competition.

Having a sharp mind is as equally important as having a strong body.

It’s your job to make sure your athletes are always on top on both fronts.