You’ve probably heard stories of promising athletes who go into a big game or tournament filled with high praise and end up choking when the pressure builds.
You can even find well-cultivated lists naming the shamed athletes or sporting teams such as the 50 worst sporting chokes.
You’ll find the likes of Michael Jordan, Sam Stosur, Greg Norman, and Mike Tyson on these lists.
So, it’s no secret that choking is a well-known issue in all sports and at all levels, whether it’s missing a critical putt, penalty shot, or clipping the final hurdle. All athletes experience the pressure of a big game and the ensuing anxiety that can cause choking.
So, why do some athletes choke, and others revel in the pressure of a big game?
To start with you need to understand where choking comes from:
✳️ Performance anxiety – feeling extremely anxious about an upcoming game or competition can cause psychological choking. The anxiety can become so intense it disrupts the ability to think clearly.
✳️ Over-analysing – the strong desire to uphold a particular image or status can lead to over-analysing past performances and being overcritical of skills and actions that are usually quite natural. Poor coping skills can also lead to over-analysing.
✳️ Fear of Failure – worrying about outcomes and results and what might happen if they ‘fail’ is a key ingredient in choking. They get stuck in the mind loop of ‘what ifs?’
✳️ Fail to meet goals – a big part of pursuing a sporting career is setting goals; however, oftentimes when these goals aren’t met there can be heightened emotions of anxiety that interfere with performance and an overprocessing of the situation.
This all sounds a bit doom and gloom; however, the good news is having the awareness of this allows you, the athlete, to implement mental toughness and mindset training.
This would include:
✅ Eliminating distractions by having a pre-game mindset routine
✅ Mental rehearsal
✅ Relaxation
✅ Breathing techniques
✅ Flow anchoring
✅ Mental Log keeping
✅ Positive self-talk
✅ Self-statements
Do you need help with your mental training regime?
This is what we do at Peak Performance HypnoCoaching. Group programs and 1:1 coaching are available.
Comments