Your best performance starts in your head and ends with having FUN
What really makes an athlete successful? Is it strength, speed, talent, or something deeper? While physical training is essential, the greatest challenge often happens inside an athlete’s mind. In sports, confidence, focus, and the ability to overcome pressure can make the difference between giving up and pushing through. Many coaches and athletes even say that success is 90 percent mental and only 10 percent physical.
As the school year begins, sports teams are ramping up, and athletes are getting ready for practices, games, and competitions. While most athletes understand the importance of physical preparation—such as attending practice, maintaining a healthy diet, and getting enough sleep—the mental side of sports is often overlooked until problems emerge. Athletes can struggle for many reasons: fear of making mistakes, returning after an injury, performance pressure, or conflicts with coaches or teammates. Sometimes, the cause of a drop in performance is unclear, leaving athletes feeling stuck. Prioritizing the mental game is just as essential as preparing physically.
Take baseball, for example: a player might start the season hitting well, only to suddenly enter a slump. At first, this seems normal—just part of the game—but sometimes the slump lasts longer than expected. The player may start to worry whether they'll ever break out of it, practicing harder but seeing no improvement. At this point, it's helpful to examine the mental side. What does the player’s self-talk sound like? Has a coach or teammate made an offhand comment, or is the player replaying a bad game in their mind?
Just as sleep, nutrition, and hydration are essential, athletes also need to practice positive self-talk and visualize success. Younger athletes, in particular, often underestimate the power of their inner dialogue. One simple way to build confidence is to repeat a personal mantra before a game, such as: "I’m a good baseball player. I practice well. I can hit the ball hard."
Sometimes, the reason a player is in a slump goes deeper than mindset or visualization. In these cases, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) can make a significant difference in sports performance by helping athletes process and move past negative or stressful experiences more efficiently. EMDR can also reduce performance anxiety, build confidence, and help manage pressure.
(EMDR is a therapeutic technique that helps athletes process stressful thoughts or experiences by focusing on them while engaging in guided eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation.)
One last thing, dear athletes: remember that one performance doesn’t define you. Believe in yourself, trust the work you’ve put in, and most importantly - have FUN!