Mental preparation

To succeed and perform their best, athletes need to use their minds as well as their bodies. Mental
techniques help to control emotions, manage stress and improve participation and performance.

Preparation factors
Psychological factors are the mental factors that help or prevent sportspeople from being in the right
'frame of mind' to perform well.

In sport, an athlete has to want to perform and to improve their performance. Their determination to
do this is called motivation. The intensity of it is called arousal.
The four Cs of mental preparation

An athlete explains the importance of mental preparation

Case study – Preparing mentally for a game at home

In the run up to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, Team Scotland focused on helping
Scottish athletes to manage the additional pressure of performing in front of a home crowd. The
team recognised that this could be a positive factor but that it could also raise athletes' levels
of anxiety. They used a combination of science to measure brain activity and practical, simple
tools to help athletes cope. It worked - Scotland won 53 medals during the Games, compared
to 26 in the 2010 Games, in Delhi, India.

Men's singles lawn bowls gold medal-winner Darren Burnett (centre) celebrates his win with the
men's fours gold medal-winning team, comprising (from left to right) David Peacock, Neil Speirs, Paul
Foster and Alex Marshall
Visualisation and mental rehearsal
Imagery is a mental or psychological technique in which the performer imagines or
visualises themselves being successful in their performance. Through imagery, the performer
may recreate a good past performance or may ‘make up’ a positive new experience, for
example before taking a penalty a footballer might picture the ball hitting the back of the net.

Mental rehearsal is where the performer pictures themselves executing a skill and practises
the skill in their mind, focusing on the specific stages and correct technique. A trampolinist
may mentally rehearse a backward somersault before performing the move.

What helps to create an image?

Although we talk about picturing an image, the best use of imagery uses all of the senses.
This makes the imagery more vivid. For example:
How the senses create images

Why does mental rehearsal help?

Imagery and mental rehearsal help performers to:

Question
How does imagery help performers to control arousal?
Motivation
Motivation is a combination of the performer's determination and enthusiasm to achieve their
goals and the outside factors which affect them. Motivation can take two forms - intrinsic and
extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation is the inner drive to succeed, engaging in the task or adhering to the
activity for fun, enjoyment and satisfaction. An example would include going to the gym to
keep healthy.

Extrinsic motivation comes from sources outside of the performer and usually involves
rewards, for example, prize money, trophies, certificates or recognition.

Roger Federer holding the Wimbledon trophy, in a competition that he has won a record-
breaking eight times