Playoff state competition performance: staying mentally tough under pressure

From the high school ranks to the professionals, it’s the time of year when the intensity of competition amps up and staying mentally tough under the highest pressure separates the good from the great. It’s during the playoffs and state competitions when the frequency of mental blocks and anxiety increases. As this happens, it can feel like a brain explosion where the mind races with thoughts of doubt but the mind finds no solution for change. A lack of confidence can soar. The athlete may feel like he or she has no control. 

What happens to the body under pressure?

When anxiety detonates in the mind, it sends signals to the muscles of the body. Typically muscles tighten up and a mechanical style of play occurs. The result is often hesitation, less agility, less accuracy, and a heavier more lumbered style of movement. Most athletes may not be aware of this physical phenomenon yet they experience a dynamic that no matter how hard they try; they can’t seem to execute as they did before. What used to be performed with ease, now seems difficult or impossible to achieve. If the physical problems continue for any length of time, thoughts can turn negative and self-talk increases in harmful attributions such as ‘What’s wrong with me?’; ‘Why can’t I get this done?’; ‘I’m such a screw up?; ‘I’m not good enough’; or ‘I’ll never get this right!’. Athletes may conclude they have a character flaw or some sort of personal weakness even though it is a common problem. In fact, one source indicates 70% of high level gymnasts report dealing with mental blocks or this inability to perform a skill once completed with simplicity (All Gymnasts, 2015).

Paralysis of analysis

As negative self-talk escalates. the brain works increasing harder to figure out how to overcome the physical challenges. The athlete wants to access the motor sequences to perform their desired skills. However, athletes lose a sense of perspective and become consumed or obsessed with solving their performance decline. This pattern of over-analyzing or over-thinking creates situations where athletes become indecisive and often times incapable of taking action. In essence, the brain complicates the scenario by thinking in too many possibilities, then renders the athlete ineffective.

Overcoming playing under pressure

The first goal in every high pressure situation is to focus the brain. Learning where they athlete actually has control is key. One control tool used by the Positive Coaching Alliance follows the acronym ‘ELM’ (effort, learning, and mistakes are okay). This is a shift in the definition of success. It moves an athlete towards process goals or what he or she has control over rather than the outcomes or scoreboard. Outcome based definitions of success involve elements the athlete has no control over such as officials, opponents, weather, coaches, family members, and score totals. Typically, when an athlete experiences anxiety and a lack of confidence, the focus is on the outcome goals rather than the process ones.