“The ONLY discipline that lasts is SELF-discipline.” Bum Phillips
Most football competition happens at such a high intensity of speed that requires athletes to make good and accurate decisions fast.
All athletes make mistakes. However, how you handle these mistakes is what separate the good athletes from the great athletes and it will determine the outcome of your performance.
Creating a mental recovery plan will help you to recover from a mistake when it occurs. If you implement the right mental skill strategy, you will recover from mistakes right away.
Develop a Mental Recovery Plan
Athletes are often caught off guard when mistakes occur. Without a mental recovery plan, they struggle to manage the situation.
During competition changes are high, you will make a mistake. You do not know when, where or how or if it will be a big mistake or a small one, but it will happen.
When you make a mental recovery plan about how you will bounce back from mistakes, you have a go-to approach to implement at the moment.
When you have a mental recovery strategy, you do not have to think; you just have to do.
When there is no mental recovery strategy in place, you will think about how to recover from the mistake when it happens, and this will cause anxiety. Once your anxiety levels start to raise the likelihood of you making more mistakes in the game will increase.
Football is about being in the moment. When you have a mental recovery plan, you are better equipt to refocus quickly and stay in the moment.
Set Priorities
As you develop your plan, there are things you can add to help you recover faster:
Implement the 3R’s strategy.
• Recover: Walk on the sideline to reset your stress levels.
• Refocus: Keep things in perspective.
• Retry: Do it differently this time.
It is essential to practice your mental recovery plan in practice every time you make a mistake; so when it is time to use it in competition during pressured times it is automatic. Just like the physical part of the game, it will become effective and more efficient. Then your mistakes will not be a destructive force that will hinder your performance.
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