THE MENTAL ATHLETE

Athletes tend to focus their training on the physical aspects of their sports. That might include training methods for them to become bigger, faster or stronger then their opponent and other methods might include the athlete working on their individual skills.  Athletic coaches focus their teachings on teaching athletes the technical skills, the skills needed to play a sport and the tactical skills, the strategies that are implemented in the game.

When the athlete trains physically, MENTAL skills need to be implemented if the athletes wants to be able to play at their potential.  Being a mental athlete, is a holistic approach to athletic training because you can not separate the mind from the body. It is the mind that leads the body. A good way to think about it is, the BODY plays the sport BUT the MIND determines the performance.  Athletes who have a lack of confidence, or who have fear and/or anxiety, then their physical performance is going to be sabotaged.   Mental athletes train their minds so they can be confidence and perform with a calm mind in order to have a positive performance.

Athletes that commit to working and improving their mental skills, is committing to themselves that they want to learn all the necessary skills in order to give them that competitive advantage.  The nature of sport and competition is to challenge the athlete, both physically and mentally. Successful athletes have the physical skills to perform but they also manage the mental side because they know there will be tough times, adversity is going to hit, but how you come out of that adverse time will shape you as an athlete. Developing MENTAL TOUGHNESS will enable athletes to overcome adverse situations to stay on top of their game.