Do you ever wonder how athletes stay calm under immense pressure? How about when athletes seem to "rise to the occasion" and make clutch plays when the game is on the line?
Peak performances happen in many varieties, but usually it has a lot to do with players focusing on controlling what they can control.
And training an athlete's mental toughness means developing communication strategies and models that are memorable and can be translated easily to the pool.
Mental skills training is an intentional approach to training the mind to perform that helps athletes develop a deeper level of self-awareness and self-control. They learn the mental skills that help them prepare to repeat their peak performance levels.
A key area to address is the management of energy and emotions.
Each sport features specific physical skills, techniques, and tactics unique to successful execution. But water polo probably requires the most unique physical skills of any sport due to the uncertainty that the water brings in terms of balance and the motion of the lower body.
But a lot of mental skills are similar across sports with one common factor: these mental skills are actually everyday-life skills. Think about how resilience, perseverance, ambition, and motivation translate to the classroom and the workplace. And everyone uses energy and emotion. So in order for water polo players to attain success, they must develop ways to establish self-control that puts them in the driver's seat.
Controlling the controllables teaches athletes to shift their focus away from aspects of the game that zap their energy and spin their emotions downward. It teaches them how to invest their energy supply into the areas where they will see the largest return on their investments. In every game and practice they won't always have 100% of their max, but they can decide to give 100% of the energy they do have toward the aspects that yield the best results.
So what can you control 100% of the time that will increase your impact in the pool?
Attitude–Athletes who have an attitude of optimism and generally see positive progress tend to improve steadily. They also seem to enjoy their sport with the rate of burnout decreasing.
Effort– Water polo players who do more than what's expected on a continual basis will more often find mastery. This controllable is about maximum effort and sacrificing the "me" in favor of the "we."
Energy– Your energy tank can be controlled by the amount and type of fuel you fill it with (i.e., nutrition, hydration, sleep, etc.), and you can employ other controllables (i.e. the right attitude and effort) to use the energy you have in the best way. (Tip: We often underestimate how much energy we have, and mood plays a role! How was your energy when you had your best game? Were you relaxed, in the middle, or hyper before and during?)
Enjoyment– As the stress of expectations and competition rises, this controllable usually is forgotten. The majority of athletes start and stick with their sport because it's fun. Think of this as your "why." You can always control your motivation for playing and competing. It's important to remind yourself of that when the going gets tough.
Confidence– One of the myths about confidence is that you either have it or you don't. But the truth is that you are not born with confidence. It's a skill developed through a controlled, conscious effort to acknowledge micro-successes in your play and also by affirming your abilities through positive self-talk. For example: What do you say to yourself for a "pep talk"?
Have a look at these controllables. Challenge yourself to manage your emotions when a referee makes a questionable call or when the coach yells about your mistake. Are you making excuses about why something happened the way it did based on aspects out of your control?
Exercise: Before the next important game and/or tournament, make a list of all the thoughts that bring you anxiety or nerves. Write them down as a team or on your own. Once you have the list, cross out all the thoughts you don't have 100% control over and circle the ones you do. Use the circled items to remind yourself of where to focus during the game or tournament if you start focusing on uncontrollables you crossed off.
