By Greg Bach
When the University of Notre Dame football team takes the field on Saturday afternoons many players have black-inked words or phrases scribbled on their gloves, wristbands, tape, and shoes.
“Sharpie markers have become a staple in our locker room,” says Dr. Amber Selking, the renowned mental performance consultant for the Fighting Irish and author of Winning the Mental Game.
Players use the markers to compose power statements that Selking recommends for helping them stay focused, calm, and confident in the heat of the action.
“We have them write these simple phrases on their wrist bands or their gloves,” Selking says. “These are just reminders that ‘I am strong,’ ‘I am powerful,’ and ‘I am focused’ so when they are competing they can look down and actually see the right thoughts.”
And she encourages athletes in all sports, and at all age levels, to utilize them to help retain laser focus and full confidence – of course with mom and dad’s approval first before writing on that new pair of athletic shoes or expensive new baseball or softball glove!
“The earlier we can learn these things about managing our minds and our emotions is really important,” she says.
To help your young athletes maintain focus and concentration use these tips:
Motivational Mantras
Courtney Frerichs, winner of the silver medal in the lung-searing steeplechase at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, chooses a mantra and recites it to herself while competing to help keep her thoughts from straying into negative or unproductive territory. At the World Championships a few years ago, she leaned on the word ‘fearless.’ “I really try to practice the mindset that I want to have in races beforehand,” Frerichs says. “Oftentimes during a season I’ll have different mantras or power statements that I am telling myself to really get me in the zone and help me to focus on positive energy versus acknowledging how nervous I am. At the World Championships in London I was telling myself ‘be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.’ That’s what was going through my head and that really kind of centered me and helped me to know what my goal was.”
Fun Phrases
When you notice your young athlete is grappling with a lot of pre-game nerves, or is weighed down by the big moment, encourage them to go through the fast and fun 5-4-3-2-1 exercise, says Dr. Jamey Houle, a sports psychologist at The Ohio State University. “It’s where you have the athlete name five things you see; four things you hear; three things you can touch; two things you can smell; and one thing you can taste,” he explains. “What happens when you do that is it just gets you out of the part of your brain that is worried or fearful and re-engages the part of you that is like ‘I know how to hit a fastball, I can do this.’ Or whatever it is. That’s the part of the brain that we need to engage.”
Explore different techniques with your son or daughter and have them use them during practices or workouts to determine what methods are most useful, so when their games, matches and meets arrive, they’ll be ready to perform at their best. P
GREG BACH, is Senior Director of Communications and Content at the National Alliance for Youth Sports, which has been America’s leading advocate for positive and safe sports for kids since 1981. For more information visit www.nays.org.