4 Strategies To Perform Under PRESSURE In Sports - Craig Sigl
Channel: Mental Toughness Trainer
Date: 2011-10-17

http://www.mentaltoughnesstrainer.com

Perform Under Pressure 

I'm Craig Sigl, the Mental Toughness Trainer for Youth Athletes and I specialize in helping youth athletes Master the Pressure.

In this video I am going to share with you, 4 simple strategies youth athletes can use to master their pressure.  So the next time they are heading into a highly stressful, pressure-packed situation, they are mentally ready and prepared for it!

0:27 1. They need to practice being in pressure in their imagination, so when they experience it in real life -- THEY ARE READY.  

Before going to sleep at night or while daydreaming throughout the day, they should imagine being in a high pressure situation and coming through with flying colors.  Pre-living in as much detail as possible how they want to be thinking at that critical moment of truth.  

Practice using positive self talk like: "I can do this"  "I am a clutch player" "I want the ball."  Imagine being intense, but not tense!  Calm, yet passionate.  

1:09 
2. They need to decide to focus on the physical aspects of the game that make them successful. 

They do this by filling their mind with the mechanics and execution of the sport and the pleasure they feel playing the game.  

This is the reason why they play, right!  NOT to think or worry about winning or losing.  

Our minds are like a computer can be occupied with what it learned during drills and training, giving it something to do.  This distracts it away from the thoughts that create pressure. Keeping the mind busy, stops it from going negative on you. 

2:00 
3. Master the FEAR by being in the present moment.

Think about it, FEAR in sports does not exist in the present moment. It gets developed by thinking about past mistakes or worrying about possible future failures.  

Any time an athlete feels fear, they need to get into the present by directing their attention to the 5 senses..feeling the floor under their feet, hearing the noises in the room, seeing their teammates playing the game....  This can be very powerful, if practiced regularly.  It can be done anytime and anywhere, especially at crunch time in competition.  If used consistently,  the pressure starts to fade away.

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4. The final strategy is to understand that "It's an AND world."

What does that mean? It means that the athlete accepts what they are feeling and doesn't fight it.  

So how do you do this?  You say to yourself something like: "Wow, huh, look at that, I'm feeling pressure, that's interesting. Well guess what... I can feel this pressure AND come through with a stellar performance.  I can feel this fear AND still do what I need to, to win."  

All of us have experienced times in our lives, where we have felt scared AND did it anyway!  Well saying the word "AND" allows your mind to just go with it instead of fighting it.  

Believe me even the greatest athletes in the world feel pressure AND they still go out and win while feeling it.  You can too. 

So I hope you can now see how important it is to learn, develop and practice your mental skills.  Now these strategies will work, but to really see big changes in your athlete's performance, it is critical they get this knowledge from their heads into their bodies.  

To make this happen, I created a special "Master the Pressure" guided visualization for your athletes. Let them listen before their next big game or event and watch their performance skyrocket! 

Go to http://www.teenmentaltoughness.com to get the guided visualization and get them started.  They can listen to it on their computer, cell phone or iPod, when ever and wherever it works for them! 

For you parents, I put together "The 10 Commandments To Be A Great Sports Parent" eBook that gives you answers on how to talk to your kids after a loss and other great tips.  You and your athlete will also get a whole lot more mental toughness tips like this, so go to http://www.teenmentaltoughness.com and let's get started.

I'm Craig Sigl, the Mental Toughness Trainer for Youth Athletes. Welcome to the Winner's Circle!