Being able to cope with pressure in sport is what separates good athletes from great athletes.  It’s the difference between a top 50 player and a top 5 player.  Or a youngster playing in an elite academy and someone who remains in grassroots sport. 

You’ll likely find that the top 5 player or elite academy athlete:

• Deals better with criticism from coaches, teammates and parents.
• Moves on quickly after making mistakes.
• Seeks to impact games and express themselves.
• Enjoy competitive challenges.
• Demonstrates positive body language no matter what happens.
• Communicates more clearly with team-mates and coaches.
• Keeps a balanced perspective when they have a dip in form.
• Doesn’t worrying about what other people think.
• Enjoys and thrives in clutch situations.

How does a top athlete deal better with pressure?

One thing that they do that others don’t is that they are able to park results and outcomes.  They’re aware of what they want to achieve (TO WIN) however they are very adept at breaking down outcome goals and replacing them with small more manageable objectives (performance and process goals). 

For example, these are quotes taken from David Mackenzie’s website Golf State of Mind where he talks about Rory McIlroy’s goal setting process.

“I used to write down that I want to win five times, I want to win a major, I want to win The Race to Dubai, I want to win the FedEx Cup…but I can’t control it.  There’s so many other variables in there. I’d rather set goals that are objective and measurable, that I’m in control of.” – Rory McIlroy 

Rory said this week about starting a new golf season, “I can control if my stats are better than last year. I want my proximity to the hole inside 150 yards to be a certain number, I want my strokes gained putting to be a certain number. I want to hit over 60% of fairways.”

The second statement links closely with performance goals which are quantifiable using statistics to back up progress.

Focusing on the process

If you are familiar with sports psychology you’ll have heard the work PROCESS mentioned and possibly process goals.  Process goals are connected to the key ingredients that underpin your best performances and can help you learn skills so that you do perform better under pressure. 

Examples include:

1. The batter in cricket

I’ve worked with a number of international cricketers over the years and this highlights an example of how we improved his composure under pressure.

Step 1: He wrote down his current batting routine on paper.

Step 2: We revisited his batting routine highlighting 2 critical factors that he needed to own.  a) His state – ensuring he was mentally ready for the delivery.  b) His use of his eyes, and his focus tracking the ball from the moment the bowler was ready to take his run up.

Step 3: After matches we went through a video of his innings scrutinising his batting routine forming the following chart where we rated on a scale of 1-5 how mentally ready and focused he was.  Below is an example of a chart showcasing one over, however we did do this for the 22 balls that he faced.