Mental Conditioning In Indian Sports Education
A highly talented athlete, on whom rests the hopes of lakhs of people, has been preparing physically for many months
As soon as he starts his game, he begins to feel anxious, he is sweating excessively and thinking about all the expectations that lie on his shoulders. Thus, he fails to achieve his goal.
An athlete requires a holistic development encompassing the physical and mental aspects. While the role of the physical aspect is essential, the role of mental conditioning or mental training is often undervalued. A winning mindset, characterized by confidence, patience, concentration, resilience, and motivation can impact an athlete’s performance. Let us deep dive into the importance of a winning mindset
· Confidence: confidence shapes an athlete’s approach to their training, and performance. A confident athlete believes in their abilities to excel.
· Patience: patience is a key attribute to develop since success is not achieved overnight. By developing patience, an athlete can calmly face challenges and stay committed to their goals.
· Concentration: the ability to concentrate on the present while blocking the distractions helps an athlete to get into the zone during the match.
· Resilience: athletes face setbacks and disappointments and mental training helps them to bounce back from adversity.
· Motivation: motivation is the internal force that helps an athlete to push during tough times so they can reach their true potential.
In today’s sporting world, the thin line between winning and losing is becoming progressively thinner, therefore, many athletes are using psychological skills training (PST) to cultivate a winning mindset and enhance their performance.
Psychological skills training involves 3 phases
1. Education- the athlete is introduced to the concept of mental conditioning. In this phase, the athlete learns about the importance of PST.
2. Acquisition- the athlete is introduced to specific PST techniques such as imagery, goal-setting, self-talk, and relaxation.
3. Practice- the athlete implements the techniques learned in the acquisition phase. This is the longest phase of the three phases.
One of the myths in sports psychology is that mental training is only for elite athletes, but that is far from the truth. According to Nupur Kaul, head faculty, sports psychology at ISST, mental training is a boon for everyone, regardless of their athletic abilities. Thus, when mental training is incorporated into school and college programs, everyone will be able to benefit from the techniques. The early introduction to mental training techniques such as goal-setting, mindfulness, self-talk, focusing on the controllables, and visualisation will lay a solid foundation to overcome obstacles in the future.
Dr. Vipul Lunawat, Director of the Institute of Sports Science and Technology believes that adding mental training to an athlete’s program at an early age helps him/her to scale up the performance in a better way and helps to tackle defeat or loss in sports.
Mental training is the key to transform a weak performance into a brilliant one and world class athletes have understood that developing their mental skills is as important as developing their physical skills. It is a skill that not only benefits athletes in sports but also translates to other areas of life.
