EIGHT KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL MENTAL PERFORMANCE

Palm Beach Post – Oct 21, 2004 – David Fox- Youth Sports Extra: Coach’s Corner –

John F. Murray, clinical and sports performance psychologist: This week’s tip: Eight keys to successful mental performance

Quote: “Treat these mental skills the same as physical skills. They cannot be ignored.”

“After games, ask your self how you did in the following areas:

“1. How confident were you? Did you believe in your abilities? Did you have expectations of high performance and success?

“2. How focused were you in your performance? Were you distracted by a past play or fear of not winning or not looking good?

“3. Did you have a purpose or goal? Did you know what you trying to accomplish? How close did you come to that goal? Was the goal specific?

“4. Did you keep your energy level in check? Did you feel nice about the challenge? Or did you let anger or other emotions get the best of you?

“5. Were you resilient? Did you bounce back from adversity? Did you hang in there? How did you bounce back when things got tough?

“6. Passion. How much fun did you have?

“7. How hard did you work today? Were you disciplined? Have you practiced hard all week?

“8. Imagery. Did you imagine what you were going to accomplish before you did it? Did you imagine yourself playing well that day?

“If you rate yourself on these skills and find out where you’re lacking, focus on those skills next game.”