Maintaining an Emotional Balance for Athletes
It is not easy to control your emotions and maintain composure during a competition, although it’s extremely necessary if you are to continue developing your game…
There are many things that can knock you off your game:
- A bad routine for a gymnast
- A slump for a baseball player
- A string of missed shots for a basketball player
- Losing your serve for a tennis player
- A double bogey for a golfer
- A soccer goalie letting in a bad goal
“Even keel” refers to maintaining an emotional balance.
An even keel is when you don’t get too high when you are doing well and not getting too low when you hit rough patches during the competitive season.
Miami Heat point guard, Tyler Johnson, has dedicated much of his time in the NBA to learning to keep an even keel through the ups and downs of an 82 game season.
Johnson was overlooked by every team in the 2014 NBA draft…
As an undrafted rookie, Johnson played for the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Summer League. A few months later, Johnson was waived by the Heat and was chosen to play in the Development League.
In 2015, Johnson signed a 10-day contract but was not retained by the Heat after the contract expired. Two weeks later, Johnson signed a two-year deal with the Heat and has ramped up his efforts ever since to raise his game to the next level.
Johnson has fought through two injuries (a broken jaw and shoulder injury) but, in 2016, Johnson signed a four-year 50 million dollar contract with the Heat.
Johnson knew if he was to take his game to the next level, he would need the ability to maintain an even-keel… And he has!
Each of his three seasons, Johnson has seen his minutes per game increase and he has responded by bettering his points per game each year with a career high average of 13.7 in his third year.
JOHNSON: “I think that’s probably the biggest thing I’ve been needing — the mental aspect of the game. I think physically I have the tools to be a really good player in this league. It’s just mentally staying with it. It’s such a long season. There’s going to be so many ups and downs, but all the great players talk about having that even-keel, not getting too high or too low on themselves. It’s something I’ve been working on.”
Just like Johnson has made the commitment to work on his mental game, you can too.
By taking the first step towards staying composed and emotionally balanced, you can be more productive and consistent throughout the season.
Tips to Keep an Even Keel During Competition:
Your outlook matters more than your in-look. If you are able to keep a positive perspective, you are in better position to play at your peak.
Athletes get in trouble when they turn inward and get tangled up in their intense emotions.
1. Recognize your triggers for negative emotions.
What sets you off? Do you get upset or down after mistakes, bad calls, or rude opponents?
2. Learn to change your reaction to these triggers.
For example, a bad call by an official is just a fact in which you don’t have be upset about. Change your reaction to change your emotion…
Instead of dwelling on “that’s unfair and will hurt my chances of winning,” you might change to: “That’s just one call over a long game. The refs decision is out of my control. Accept it an move on.”
3. To keep momentum on your side, keep your over excitement in check and keep playing the same game that got you into that position.
You should be the master of your emotions rather than your emotions dictating how you perform.
Start by learning how to overcome mistakes with “The Composed Athlete.”
Learn Mental Game Strategies to Improve Composure in Sports!
Learn Mental Game Strategies to Improve Composure in Sports!If you’re an athlete who wants to learn how to stop performance anxiety quickly, be poised, calm and in control during those “critical moments”, learn more about The Composed Athlete!
Powerful strategies for learning a composed mindset can be developed, but you must first strip away the mental ball and chains that prevent you from having instant composure when you need it.
How much better would you perform if you have total confidence and composure to perform your best in crunch-time?
The Composed Athlete CD and workbook program consists of 2 audio CD’s that include 14 days of composure boosting exercises and a simple to follow workbook that guides you through each of the 14 days, helps you apply the strategies, and customizes the exercises to your personal crunch-time challenges and coping with pressure.
Learn more about one of our most popular CD programs in The Confident Athlete Series…
The Composed Athlete: A 14-DAy Plan For Maximum Composure
Maximize your composure today!
What are mental game customers saying about our confidence boosting program?
“Your response to the throwing problem in front of the coach covers so many situations in life…that is the beauty of playing sports…the life learning experiences. Keep up the good work…you are the best mental coach.”
~Bill Brennan, sports parent
“A big thanks to you Dr. Cohn! I just can’t get over how much of a wonderful resource you are Patrick for the mental game of motocross! Never in the history of sports have I had such an upper hand with your mental strategies!
~Nicky Labrecque, Motocross racer
“Thank you so much for taking the time to work with our team while we were down in Florida. The tips you gave about relaxation and releasing tension before we bat or do anything was very beneficial to me. I find that I even use it during my classes at school.
~Ann Miller, Softball player
“After your session with Tyler, he is hitting Awesome! He got his first out-of-the-park home run and is scoring lots of doubles. He has a totally new attitude thanks to you!”
–Debbie Hartman, Tyler’s Mother
Boost Your Self-Confidence And Focus With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
Master mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn can help you overcome your mental game issues with personal coaching.
You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
What are our mental coaching students saying?
“Both of the last 2 weekends, Nicolas had high-pressure basketball tournaments where he really showed improvement and maturity! He reacted very calmly to missed shots and mistakes and was very poised in the very close finals game. We have never seen him so composed and locked-in on the issue at hand! He has also realized that and tells us that he feels more calm and confident than before.”
~Alex Mylonas, Nicolas’ father
“I learned to play with a confidence that it does not matter if I make it or miss the shot… So what if I miss, it’s only a game.”
~Paul Rask, basketball player
“Dr. Cohn, we had a great season. We finished second in the State Tournament. We scored 163 points, which is 11 more than we scored the year we won the state tournament. We had three individual state champs. We really improved our mental preparation in the post season. The kids bought in and really worked at it. We will definitely need you again next year. Hopefully, you can help us reach our goals next year.”
~Coach Jim Bird, Head Coach Osceola High School
“My son Jake has struggled with composure for as long as I can remember. He is doing the Composed Athlete program and is about half way through. He had the biggest, most stressful wrestling tournament of his season this past weekend. I have never seen him demonstrate such composure and sportsmanship -ever. I was so happy I was fighting back tears. It’s been a long and frustrating road. I am so thankful for your program.”
~Laura Grogan