Signs That You Are Stuck in a Practice Mindset

Most athletes understand that the goal of practice and training is to perform better in competition.   They develop confidence from practice and training, but when they step onto to the court or playing field, confidence dissipates or dwindles. When you think about it, it does not seem rational that an athlete can gain a high level of confidence from practice and then not have the same level of confidence in competition.

Some athletes simply get trapped in the practice mindset. They cannot let go of training and forgot the REAL purpose of training and practice. You have to keep in mind that the purpose of training is to develop confidence so you can perform their best when it counts - in competition. World-class athletes have a balanced routine between training and competition. They are dedicated to training and improving their skills AND have the utmost confidence in their ability when they compete. You must learn to balance both the practice mindset and the performance mindset. One without the other will prevent you from achieving your full potential in sports.

If you have the practice mindset down pat, but fall short in competition, then we need to discuss how to best transfer your practice or training to competition so you can play up to your true abilities. A “gamer” is an athlete that can get the most out of his or her ability and get the job done in crunch time. This should be your goal.

The practice mentality is characterized by high dedication, unwavering motivation, commitment to your goals in sport, analytical behavior, a cognitive mindset, improve technique, strive for perfection, and focus on improvement. On the other hand, the performance mentality is about a complete confidence in what you trained, an automatic or reactive mindset, the ability to win ugly or just get the job done without regard to how you get it done, and the mindset to rely on instincts or what you have practiced.

You now understand that balance of the practice and performance mindsets are necessary to achieve your athletic potential. It’s fine to strive for perfection and focus on future improvement, but when these characteristics are taken to an extreme, they can harm your performance in competition.

Here are a few common signs athletes you may be stuck in a practice mindset:

- You perform consistently well in practice, but fail to exhibit the same levels of performance in competition.

- You enjoy your practice routines or training more than you enjoy the thrill of a close competition.

- When you compete, your physical performance is hindered by over training or you have nagging overuse injuries.

- When competing, you are too obsessed with perfect mechanics or worry too much about performing with the correct technique.

- You have a hard time playing in the present moment especially when not performing up to your own standards. You work too much on fixing what may be wrong so you can play better the next event rather than trying to get the most out of your game today.

- You become very analytical about mistakes and dwell on errors. You spend too much energy trying to fix your technique that you lose sight of the real objective.

- You simply can’t trust what you have practiced or trained. You tighten up and over control your movements, swing, or serve in competition.

- In crunch time or during importance competitions, you are unable to perform with freedom and confidence. You tighten up and worry too much about mistakes.

- You try too hard to be perfect with your game and lose composure when your performance does not go exactly as planned.

If you can identify with one or more of the above scenarios, please contact Petr Julianov   so you can free yourself from the practice mindset and perform with greater confidence and consistency in competition