It's all in the mind, handle it better, champ

You can feel your heart pounding in your head. A bout of nervousness hits. Your muscles go taut and your throat dry. You try to exhale and loosen up. Try and focus on the task at hand and not its consequences. But the mind wanders. Ultimately, these feelings impact the performance adversely. [caption id=“attachment_38389” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“After winning the Wimbledon crown, the current World No.1 Novak Djokovic admitted that the mind plays a critical role in one’s performance. Ivan Milutinovic/Reuters”] [/caption] This cannot be an alien scenario to anyone of us. Prior to an interview, an exam, when asked to speak on a public platform or even during a simple game of dumb charades, these feelings are common. This is no different for a sportsperson. Before big matches, they experience these very same emotions. Except in addition to the expectations of self, family, coaches, mentors, etc. they have to factor in the global audiences, the media and the country’s pride at stake making the pressure of performance that much more severe. Naturally, those playing any sport at the highest level are gifted with both physical and technical attributes that allow them to excel beyond the average man. Furthermore, they are then trained and conditioned to optimise this gift. The issue then lies in the mind – that’s what sets a champion apart from the rest. After winning the Wimbledon crown, the current World No.1 Novak Djokovic admitted it. “It’s true, there has been some change in my head,” he said. “But look, I have been working on that for a while, already trying to figure out the way to win majors and to win against those two guys (Federer and Nadal)… They made me a better player, and right now, there’s that mental switch that I have. I believe in the court much more than I did before.” Despite all the research, very little is truly understood about the mind-body — or psychosomatic — connection. All we do know is that the mind can have a powerful influence over the body: As the mind goes, so goes the body. With the realisation that the mental aspect of sport was as important as the physical aspect, the field of sports psychology evolved. The first sport psychologist laboratory was founded in Berlin, Germany, by Carl Diem in 1920, but the study of sport psychology only became popular during the late 1960s. This relatively new discipline of sports psychology helps players deal with the anxiety experienced before and after the games so that they may perform at their optimum. Pre-match anxiety is understandable, but a sportsperson needs to deal with the post-match stress as well. This could be caused by failure, injury, letting the team down, animosity from the audience, harsh media reporting etc. There are various techniques like deep breathing, positive self-talk, visualisation and pre-performance routines that help the sportsperson to deal with the stress. Deep breathing has become part of the training schedule for many sportspersons. I recall Gopi Chand using this technique extensively in the run-up to and during the All-England Championship 2001 where he won all our hearts and the title. Positive self-talk boosts the morale of the sportsperson and gives their sub-conscious positive vibes. This translates into increased confidence. Visualisation is another way of keeping the mind focused on the positive — mental imagery of winning. One needs to sharpen one’s strengths by visualising them – envisage the perfect drop shot or feel the body glide on the court or close out the rally and match with a smash clipping the sideline. Some even visualise the trophy in their hands. This is because it’s proven that what you see in your head is easier to reproduce in reality. Every sportsperson has a pre-match routine. It helps organise and structure what you do before a match. Prior to performing, you control what food you eat, the fluids you drink, who you talk to, what you think about, what you pack into your kit bag, whether or not you listen to music, what you read, and so on. There are often very few things that you have control over in a competitive sport, but the things you can control, you must take advantage of. During the pre-match routine, you also have certain cues. Citing from Andre Agassi’s autobiography ‘Open’, he writes: “I step into the shower again, but this shower is different from the morning shower. The afternoon shower is always longer — twenty-two minutes, give or take — and it’s not for waking up or getting clean. The afternoon shower is for encouraging myself, coaching myself… Of all the games men and women play, tennis is the closest to solitary confinement, which inevitably leads to self-talk, and for me the self-talk starts here in the afternoon shower. This is when I begin to say things to myself, crazy things, over and over, until I believe them.” For Andre Agassi, the pre-match shower provides a cue. This differs for each sportsperson, but rest assured, each one does have a cue. This helps the sportsperson anchor himself in routine and familiarity and gives him/her comfort. In the competitive world of sport today, the sportspersons are exposed to strains, pressures and expectations that are almost unparalleled in any other profession. Thankfully, there is professional help available to them. While techniques to deal with the tough situations may differ from individual to individual, the fact remains that all champions are mentally trained to deal with the extreme demands and anxiety. As they say, all champions feel the pressure – it’s just that they handle it better than others.