Overcoming Sports performance anxiety

How To Overcome Fear and Anxiety In Sports?

sports performance anxietyEvery athlete experiences fear and anxiety, especially before big games or matches. It is normal and healthy. If used in a positive way it can help you focus and be pumped up with energy.

But for some of your athletes I am sure it causes them to freeze up and miss opportunities. I worked with a pole vaulter who was so fearful she eventually was unable to run down the track!

How Do You Help Youth Athletes Overcome Fear and Anxiety In Sports?

The enemy of mental toughness is fear. Fear of failure.sports performance anxiety Anyone who has coached for more than about two weeks sees this in their athletes — correct? Fear is nothing more than your unconscious mind, which I was talking about before, releasing some chemicals in your body making you feel something. So we need to start breaking down and helping these kids understand what fear is.

They’ve got this fear, which makes them think their world is coming to an end. But if you were to explain to them, “Listen, John. You know what? You’re just experiencing some chemicals right now.” They are like, “What?”

sports performance anxietySo you explain that what happens is your body releases some chemicals that make you feel something. Have you ever felt like you’ve got butterflies in your stomach? Are there any butterflies there? No. What is it?

They are just some chemicals in your body that are latching on to the cells of your stomach lining and giving you the sensation that there are butterflies. Isn’t that interesting? The meaning you want to give them is it is just some chemicals doing their thing and it is nothing to worry about.

sports performance anxietyYou know if you feel pressured, it literally feels like a vice grip is over their head. So people get headaches and they feel tight. Those are just chemicals too. It doesn’t mean anything. So I am all about helping these kids demystify what fear is for starters. That’s is critical to helping them let go of fear.

They eventually will start seeing fear as just some thing my body does, that’s all. And if you want to question them about it, ask them, What do you think it means? Generally they answer, “Well it means I am scare – scared of disappointing my coach, my parents, my teammates. I am afraid of embarrassment.”

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