If you are having problems with your performance on the field, your problem might be how you mentally prepare for games. In order to reach peak performance you must have a strong football mental game.

Mental Preparation is a key ingredient in enhancing your performance in football.  If you want to excel in football you must develop your football mind. There is a saying “the game of sports is 90% mental and 10% physical. If this is true there is no way around developing your football mental game. Your brain is the strongest muscle in your body. It controls everything that you do. It controls how you feel when you wake up in the morning and it controls your knowledge base and the rest of your body. Without a good mental game you will not be able to reach peak performance.

Most football players can relate to this: someone is in front of you; they are big, looks really tough, and intimidating; as a result they “get in your head”. The moment you hear the noise and chatter from them, you doubt yourself. When you doubt yourself you lose your mental edge. When this happens you make mistakes.  When you allow them to tap into your strongest muscle – your brain, you loose at the football mental game. Developing your football mental game through sports psychology for football makes you mentally tough. Being mentally tough is what separate the good players from the great players.

How do you become mentally tough? It takes practice. Lots of practice. Staying positive and thinking powerful thoughts all the time is not easy. Doing it on a daily bases helps it to become a habit. You literally have to work on your football mental toughness every day if you want to be a great player.

Starting with affirmations is simple but a great place to start. Stand in front of a mirror and say “I am a great football player and no one can beat me”. You must also educate yourself in the game on all levels, practice by yourself to improve your football confidence and train with others who are better at your position than you.

It is also important to eliminate distractions. Football requires total concentration in order to  play your best. While you are playing the game, your mind must be free of all negative thoughts and distractions. You may have had a bad interaction with your wife or girlfriend or you may have received bad news that you have to take care of after the game; but for the time you are playing, you must concentrate on the game 100%; not your wife, girlfriend or even the bad news your received. This is a tall order, however during the time you are on the field you have to be totally commitment to the game, developing your football mind and mental toughness will help you eliminate distractions for those few hours.

Visualization is important to the success of football. Before you go out on the field, figure out what it takes to be successful in that particular game. Then close your eyes and visualize yourself doing everything you need to do to play the game with excellence. If you are a receiver, visualize yourself running the perfect pass route, getting open and catching the ball. If you are a quarterback, visualize yourself stepping up in the pocket, finding the receiver and delivering the perfect pass.

Chris Leak – the University of Florida quarterback, actually outplayed the national favorite and Heisman Trophy winner, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith. Leak completed almost 70% of his passes (25 out of 36) for 212 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.

Leak’s contributes his success in what he did off the field – mental preparation . He borrow a national championship ring from a player from the 1996 Florida team. He said that he wanted to see what it felt like to wear it. This intensified his visualization and focus, which in turned lead to peak performance.