{"id":33389,"date":"2021-04-15T22:43:51","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T02:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=33389"},"modified":"2021-04-24T17:22:27","modified_gmt":"2021-04-24T21:22:27","slug":"mental-game-in-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mental-game-in-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Game in Sports: Focus and Visualize"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What&#8217;s the mental game in sports? Why is it important to be in control of your mental game?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mental game in sports is your state of mind that allows you to be self-aware and stay competitive. It&#8217;s important to train your mental self not to be judgmental. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more about the mental game in sports and how it can help you as an athlete and as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mental Game in Sports<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Even once we have learned a better way of approaching learning and playing tennis, there are all kinds of mind games that we play with ourselves and our opponents that preclude us from being as successful as possible. It\u2019s useful to learn what these games are so that we can understand better <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-make-changes-in-your-life\/\">how to make changes<\/a> to our game permanent and focus better on the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tennis players will often do something called \u201cgrooving\u201d strokes\u2014they will hit a ball in a certain way so many times that a habit or \u201cgroove\u201d is created. This can screw with a player\u2019s head, because even if she is starting to focus more on Self 2, old grooves can be hard to break out of because they become physical.&nbsp;Here are some ideas on how to perfect your mental game in sports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Picture the Result<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The solution to this is not to try to break out of old habits but to learn new ones. Swing without conscious control and then picture the result that you want. Hit with a picture of the result of the swing in mind and watch what happens. Don\u2019t try to change the <em>way <\/em>you are hitting, try to change the <em>outcome. <\/em>Don\u2019t try to hit your forehand with a tighter wrist, try to hit it deeper into the court.<em> <\/em>This can help create a new groove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Use Imagery<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>We need to use <strong>imagery <\/strong>to communicate with our bodies. Here are three strategies:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ask for results: Imagine the result that you want\u2014in tennis, hitting a forehand deep into the court with power.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Ask for form: Imagine a change in the way that your body should move\u2014for example, if you know you\u2019re rolling over too much on the ball, think about exactly how you want your stroke to look. Consider shutting your eyes as you practice this.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Ask for qualities: Pretend to be someone other than yourself\u2014in the case of tennis, be a professional, and try to play like her. Or, adopt a style of playing tennis entirely different from the one you\u2019re used to: If you\u2019re a defensive player waiting to make a mistake, try to hit lots of winners. If you\u2019re a more formal player, adopt a scrappier style. This will help you realize that you can rely on all of these qualities as a player.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Focus occurs not when you\u2019re trying too <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-it-so-hard-to-focus-2\/\">hard to focus<\/a> on something, but when you\u2019re legitimately interested in something.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Focus on the seams of the ball as it travels. Focusing on this one specific motion will both actually help the player see the ball better and will quiet the mind from thinking about anything else. Become absorbed in the pattern and the body will do everything else naturally.&nbsp;<\/li><li>While you\u2019re watching the ball, you also need to know where your racket is at all times. This introduces the concept of <em>feeling, <\/em>one of the most important in tennis. Spend a lot of time in practice feeling the exact path of your swing. This may produce undesirable immediate results, but taking the time to understand exactly how the motion of your swing affects the trajectory of the ball is essential. Remember nonjudgmental observation!<\/li><li>Another tactic is listening to the ball. When the ball is closer to the sweet spot, it will make a better sound. Remember that sound and remember when you are able to reproduce it and the body will work towards making this happen more.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Focus on Here and Now<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of this success comes from a player\u2019s ability to focus. We should be focusing our awareness on <strong>the<\/strong> <strong>here and the now.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The <em>here<\/em> is the ball, the wind, our muscles, our stroke.<\/li><li>The <em>now<\/em> is the point being played right in front of you.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Lots of players fall into the trap of thinking about past points they lost or future points they hope to win, which can spiral into thinking about winning or losing the match. Soon, they won\u2019t be playing the game in front of them at all, just a game with themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Know What Game You\u2019re Playing<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>All this focus and ability to quiet the mind, though, will be not that useful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/when-we-dont-understand\/\">if you don\u2019t understand<\/a> what game you are playing. People play tennis for lots of different reasons\u2014Gallwey divides them into different \u201cgames.&#8221; This can help you hone in on your mental game in sports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\u201cGood-o,\u201d which includes attempting to reach perfection on the court for yourself, attempting only to beat your opponent, or attempting to look perfect as you play.<\/li><li>\u201cFriends-o,\u201d which includes playing tennis either to increase your social status with a group of people or maintain it.<\/li><li>\u201cHealth-o-Fun-o,\u201d which includes playing either at a doctor\u2019s orders or because of a personal health kick, or playing only for the enjoyment of the game (the latter of which is ultimately quite rare).&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Most people play a combination of these games with themselves, and each game has its own set of obstacles, like wanting badly to beat your opponent or feeling the need to lose weight. We should figure out what game we are playing with ourselves so we can better understand the obstacles in front of us and how to overcome them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your mental game in sports is just as important as your physical game. Keep that in mind as you learn about how to play your best game. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What&#8217;s the mental game in sports? Why is it important to be in control of your mental game? The mental game in sports is your state of mind that allows you to be self-aware and stay competitive. It&#8217;s important to train your mental self not to be judgmental. Read more about the mental game in sports and how it can help you as an athlete and as a person.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":33408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,9,48],"tags":[263],"class_list":["post-33389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motivation","category-psychology","category-sports","tag-the-inner-game-of-tennis","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mental Game in Sports: Focus and Visualize - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Your mental game in sports is one of the most important aspects of your game. 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