With our college hosting the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference women’s volleyball and basketball championships this past and upcoming weekends, and most high school basketball teams heading into championships at this time also, I thought it would be fitting to talk about how one can mentally prepare for the big games or championships in their sport.
First let’s discuss what is different between a championship game versus a regular game. Typically, championships have greater stakes: competing to be named No. 1 in your league, province, even country perhaps. You also often receive some sort of a reward in the form of a trophy or medals if you are the top three teams.
With this comes added pressure to win the games, which for most sports you only have to win a few to win it all on championship weekend and if you lose, you are out of the running for the prize. This means you must win, win, win! Other factors that make the championships bigger than normal games include the larger crowd sizes, the opponents are the best teams around, and for most you won’t have a home-court advantage.
All the hype of championships can place added pressure on your mental game. The pressure to win may not only come from one’s own self, but also from coaches, teammates, parents, and school or other organizations that want to see you succeed. Our thoughts become surrounded with “I have to win!” or “what if I don’t…” You can feel the pressure just reading those statements. This can lead to an increase in arousal and anxiety heading into important games.
Holding high expectations of oneself or feeling that others are holding these expectations of you can hinder your performance as you worry about this instead of thinking about what you need to be. When we think of a game as critical it often results in the individual trying too hard or playing cautiously to avoid costly mistakes.
Going into a championship, it is important to have a strategy you can go to when you need to reduce your anxiety or arousal and refocus your thinking. There are plenty of different strategies out there to help someone relax and it is very important that you work on finding a strategy that works for you individually well before a championship game. While working with a mental performance coach is your best bet for success, something as simple as taking a few deep breaths can help calm your nerves before stepping onto the court, or whatever playing surface it may be.
One of the biggest mistakes I see in dealing with teams and individuals heading into championships is that they take the wrong goal into the game with them. When it comes to an important game, they shift their focus from what’s important for their performance to winning.
Winning is not a good goal to have for a game. In any given sporting event, you must have a winner and you must have a loser. In a typical championship tournament of say eight teams, only one will win. With that in mind, we are almost setting ourselves up for failure and disappointment if we come into a game with the goal of winning.
Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t strive to win games. What I mean here is that winning is a by-product of doing things right. As such, the focus should be on the process or tasks needed to be achieved in order to reach the outcome of a win. Focus on what you need to do and the rest will fall in place.
Preparing for a championship is not merely what you do the days, hours or minutes before the big game. If you are just starting to prepare after you’ve qualified, then you are definitely behind. Preparation should take place throughout the season. It includes the hard work you put into each and every practice throughout the season. All the time, development and repetitions of the skills required to be successful add up so that you are ready to take on your toughest opponent.
All the lessons learned, tough games, and hard workouts are important aspects to prepare you to compete for the top spot.
Once you get to a championship, draw upon your hard work, the time you put in throughout the season, and your past successes to prove that you deserve to be there and are prepared to compete. Remembering this can help you push past your worries and instead view it as just another game that you know you can win because you’ve done it so many times before.
Finally, it is important to remember to enjoy the moment. We may not have control over the outcome of a game, but we always have control over our attitudes. Championships should be a celebration of your success throughout the year. It is a privilege to compete in a championship. Think of all the people who would love to be where you are today. Think of all the hard work and countless hours it took for you to get the opportunity to compete in a championship game. You put in the time and effort all year and now all you have to do is keep up the good work and remember to enjoy it. Some of your best memories will come from a championship experience if you go in with the right attitude, even if you don’t end up being the winner.
Good luck to all teams heading into their championships and I hope these strategies help you prepare for the big games ahead.
Brittney Nyrose, Msc, is the mental skills coach for the Alberta Sport Development Centre – Southeast. She can be contacted at bnyrose.mpc@gmail.com.
