Mental Game

Question
This is my first year playing high school football. I'm a starting receiver. A couple weeks ago I was doing fine at catching balls because I was relaxed. Now that the backup receivers are starting to catch on to me, I have been inconsistent at practice and dropping all of my balls during the game. I think its because I'm nervous about losing my starting spot. How do I calm down?

Answer
Hello Raymond and thank you for asking this question.

Start paying attention to what you are saying to yourself in these situations.  Are you saying negative things like "I can't do it, I'm going to drop the ball, I always mess up?"  Instead, build the habit of remembering every great catch you've made.  Also get in the habit of saying positive things to yourself like "This ball is mine, I own it, It's coming right into my hands and it's going to stick like glue."  That's what the pros do.  This is training yourself for success.

Also, relaxation training will help get rid of excess tension and improve your confidence.  A method that will work for you is to take about five minutes where you can sit quietly, close your eyes, take a deep breath and tense your shoulders, than relax them and let that relaxation flow down your body.  Do that three more times.  Remember to breathe!  Then, focus on great catches you've made.  Do that until your time is up.  Then, when you are ready to play, you can take a breath, imagine tensing your shoulders and relaxing them, remember those great catches, and all of that relaxation and those positive feelings are going to come right back and you'll feel more relaxed and confident.  This helps program your mind so you get in the "of course I'll catch it" frame of mind.  This is something that you need to practice a lot, but it works!  

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

David

David Kenward, The Mental Coach
Sacramento, California
http://www.thementalcoach.com