Mental Strategies for Game Day - YYC Psychology

How do you mentally prepare for game day? Usually when an athlete thinks of game day prep – it is more about physical preparation. They think about things like practice, ensuring they eat well, have a good sleep the night before, or getting their jersey/equipment ready. A big part of game preparation, is your mental preparation. I have compiled a few mental skills below:

1.     Set your personal action-oriented goal

2.     Visualize preforming the goal

3.     Focus on your qualities and skillsets

4.     Breathe

5.     Positive self-talk

Set your personal action-oriented goal. Think about one thing you want to work on in your game. Be specific. Have your goal be action based so that it is objective and something within your control. As an example, you may have a goal of being intentional with your first touch. This is something that you can work on repeatedly and consistently throughout your game. This goal causes you to be more mindful and detail oriented to your game play. Often players are focused on vague goals such as “having a good game.” Being specific gives you more feedback, information, and focus throughout your game.

Visualize performing the goal.  Before the game, and even during the game, picture yourself carrying out your goal. What does it look like? How does it feel in body?  Rehearsing it in mind trains your body to respond and recognize rehearsal cues. Visualizing is your own practice time in your mind.  

Focus on your qualities and skillsets. Draw your attention to your qualities and skillsets as a player. What do you feel you bring to your team and your game? Focusing your attention on yourself (rather than your opponent) allows you to focus your mind on things you can control in your game play – you! Reflecting on your own qualities and skillsets aids you in establishing an internal sense of self. These are the building blocks of your self-confidence and self-esteem.

Breathe. It is ok if you feel nervous or have pregame jitters! This shows your passion for your sport. Focus on breathing. Inhale for 3 seconds, and exhale for 4 seconds. When your exhale is longer than your inhale, you naturally engage your parasympathetic nervous system. This is a fancy way of saying your calming system. When your sympathetic nervous system is engaged, you can be in a stress (fight/flight/freeze) response.

Positive Self-talk. Practice a few positive self-statements before your game. This will help you during your game. We tend to be critical and hard on ourselves. If you can practice with intention, inviting positive self-talk in, it will help you reset-refocus in pressure/game situations. You may want to write down 3 positive self-talk statements to rehearse. An example is, “I am brave to try new skills.”

Like new skills you learn on the field, mental skills require practice as well. Choose one of the suggestions above and start practicing!

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