JOHN McMAHON: Mentally preparing for a big game

AS all GAA athletes know, a balanced diet, a good training regime and mental preparation are crucial for success in competitions.

Yet, the years of daily sports regimes, the hours spent honing your training programme and a considered nutritional intake, count for little if you’re not in the right frame of mind before a big game.

Many elite athletes talk about ‘getting in the zone’ before a big game, but what does this mean? A study of the techniques that elite athletes adopt may be distilled down into six key areas:

Routine

A pre-game routine can help you get in the right frame of mind. Less about rituals, more about preparation, find a way you can develop a pre-game routine. The familiarity and comfort in following a set routine may help calm your nerves.

Routines can vary depending on your personal needs. For some this might be imagery, for others listening to music. Some athletes like short naps as part of their routine – recognising the restorative benefits it can bring before an important game.

Words and phrases

The language we use can help position our thoughts accordingly. It’s important to use the words that trigger the right emotions and actions required for optimum performance.

In your daily sport routine, develop your inner dialogue, think about words and phrases that are important to you, positive self-talk.

Small goals, big ambitions

As any sports coach will tell you, it’s all about baby steps. We can achieve great things with the right building blocks in place. It’s great to be a ‘big picture thinker’, but breaking targets down into achievable bite-size stages, is often considered the best way to reach your goals.

During mental preparation, work with your coach to set small goals leading to your end goal. Tick of all those small targets in the lead up to a big game to maximise your performance.

Imagery

Positive thinking is part of the mental preparation that athletes learn to hone over the years – and imagery is key to this.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not simply about imagining yourself lifting a trophy, or scoring a goal – it’s about imagining the essential steps you need to take to achieve success, in the greatest possible detail.

By going through the motions in your head, we are in many ways rehearsing and practicing our future actions. In doing so, you can set yourself up for success.

Overcome negativity

It’s only natural for negative thoughts to creep in – ‘can I do this’, ‘am I good enough’, ‘the competitors are better than me’ are all familiar thoughts that GAA athletes may battle.

These are to be expected, and in sports psychology we teach athletes not to ‘block’ them out, but to acknowledge these emotions in a helpful way. One way of doing this might be using our past experiences as an indicator for future success – this can include reminding ourselves of our past achievements.

Work to your own standard

As a final thought, everyone has their own way of preparing and training for big sporting games. Your mental preparation might be completely different to your competitors. This is OK too. What works for someone else might not be right for you. It all comes back to maintaining focus on yourself and having belief in your own abilities.