Sport in a ‘bubble’: How to build mental toughness

There is not a professional sportsperson alive that would disagree how special it is to play in front of a crowd that is rooting for you.

Home games are always the best because you have more fans attending your game and more fans cheering for you and your team’s success.

Football has the biggest home advantage with a 57% greater chance of winning. NFL has a 7-10 percentage point difference and the NBA can have as much as a 14-point score difference to that of their rivals.

If you know basketball, the score is often within a few points difference, so it provides a massive psychological difference in the approach to the game.

If you have been following the English Premier League, you would surely be amazed as to how crazy those scores have been.

There is no consistency or pattern, and this could be because players are used to a certain type of environment they play in, perhaps draw motivation from screaming, cheering and singing fans and now they can’t. The best way to describe how fans play an important role can be taken from an analogy from Dan Weigand, former editor of the Journal of Applied Psychology.

He said it’s like a stand-up comedian performing in front of a camera instead of a live audience.

Comedians, much like professional footballers, feed off their environment which enhances their performance.

If empty stadiums and playing in a ‘bio-bubble’ is a reality, then how can athletes adapt to the new norm.

Here are 5 top skills for mental toughness: 

Practice daily good EQ

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a skill that can be learnt. It is harder for some, but not impossible to master. EQ development starts with you and not the other person. The five main areas are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.

Take a week and write down in a journal how you react to people, refrain from judging too soon, just acknowledge and write it down.

There are no more fans, so take note when you have done something well; are you seeking approval from your coach, looking up at the fans that aren’t there, are you celebrating differently? Are you looking outwards for validation?

Lastly, take note of how you cope under stress and pressure. Do you blame others, do you scream and shout or do you stay calm and relaxed while processing? Self-evaluation is a powerful tool which allows you to ask the right questions  – can I be better?

Use visual imagery 

Go back to your dreams of what it would feel like to be a star. The motivation you had to be on top started with an image in your head. You have made it and are playing among the best players in the world, re-focus on your goals and build on your imagery of the next big thing in your sporting life.

If your goal is to score more goals or make more assists, check Youtube for some of the best passes and goals in the world based on technical ability and then take a mental snap shot in your mind of how you want to score or how you want to pass with deadly precision. Build that story in your mind and whenever you are out on the field, don’t focus on the outcome, focus on how you can make that brilliant goal or pass even better. This is how the Ronaldos and Messis continue to stay on top. They keep pushing for better.

Practice daily non-complacency 

Trees get stronger in the wind than without. Trees keep moving and pivoting, entrenching strong roots to withstand strong and violent storms. As a player, even if you are the best sportsperson in the world, you need to keep moving forward and find a way to not get too comfortable.

Often players find a happy space where they do just enough to impress and prefer to be left alone. The problem is there are thousands of players underneath you who are working 10-times harder than you to take your position. It is only a matter of time and they will catch you and place you on the bench.

Become more adaptable

You are a superstar now and you are set in your way, you respond in the way you do and that is how it goes. In this day and age, the world has been turned upside down and adapting in all areas of life is a number-one priority. Instead of fighting the system and being negative to all the new changes, simply take it as it comes and focus on how you are going to play your heart out in the next match or how you are going to get the most value out of your training.

Focus on things within your control rather than wasting time and energy on things out of your control that you can do nothing about.

Focus and concentration

If you are living for the moment, you will fail, and your career will be cut short. If you can afford it, surround yourself with personal experts, a mental coach, a sport scientist, a nutritionist and a specialist in your position, preferably a mentor or successful ex-professional. Have your team work on what is best for you.

The team at the club is focused on what is best for the collective and the team’s performance. They will have the necessary skills and knowledge and if they lack something, they have the network to find it. Why burden yourself with the finer things, let the experts work on you behind the scenes to take you to the next level, both physically, career wise, mentally and financially. They will provide you with a roadmap to current and future success.

Sean van Staden

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