RollerTendy Mental Skills Combo Kit
This skills booklet was developed to help you, the athlete, reach your performance potential through the process of learning and practicing mental skills training techniques. In this collection of exercises, you will learn hands-on mental training tools needed to develop mental toughness in both sport and life. By developing the mental tools for success, you will be able to respond well under pressure situations, sustain enjoyment in your sport, and experience the best that competition has to offer. By using this manual year-round, you will be committing to reaching your personal potential as well as contributing to your team’s journey.
This skills booklet was developed to help you, the athlete, reach your performance potential through the process of learning and practicing mental skills training techniques. In this collection of exercises, you will learn hands-on mental training tools needed to develop mental toughness in both sport and life. By developing the mental tools for success, you will be able to respond well under pressure situations, sustain enjoyment in your sport, and experience the best that competition has to offer. By using this manual year-round, you will be committing to reaching your personal potential as well as contributing to your team’s journey.
This skills booklet was developed to help you, the athlete, reach your performance potential through the process of learning and practicing mental skills training techniques. In this collection of exercises, you will learn hands-on mental training tools needed to develop mental toughness in both sport and life. By developing the mental tools for success, you will be able to respond well under pressure situations, sustain enjoyment in your sport, and experience the best that competition has to offer. By using this manual year-round, you will be committing to reaching your personal potential as well as contributing to your team’s journey.
As our understanding of human and athletic performance has progressed, scientists have begun to appreciate the importance of the athlete’s psychology. There are several psychological attributes that are believed to impact performance. These include things like self‐confidence, mental resilience, concentration, relaxation, belief systems, etc. Sports psychologists agree that many of these can be trained and/or developed over time. *1,2,3
Mental training involves the process of developing the mental skills needed to strengthen and condition your mind as you pursue your performance potential. Think of your mind and body as a quality performance engine. To gain high performance, you need to fuel it properly and have the correct tools to maintain the engine. An athlete who has prepared both physically and mentally has developed the mental mindset of expecting success.
While mental training is not a new concept, many athletes have not taken full advantage of their own inner strength. Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Annika Sorenstam, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan are just a few examples of top athletes who have spoken about the important role mental training has played in contributing to their success in sport.
Here are some common reasons why athletes use mental training *4
To handle the transition from being a high school athlete to a college student athlete.
To handle competitive pressure.
To feel less anxious before competition.
To reframe and enjoy competitions when they are especially challenging, such as beer-league goaltending where little back-checking or defensive support is provided.
To improve confidence in all games, practices, and life situations.
To learn to move past mistakes during competition. Especially as goalies, playing through being scored on is a constant of the position.
To gain awareness, understanding, and acceptance to remain present in the moment.
To learn from critical coaches’ feedback.
To perform consistently.
To learn how to set and attain challenging goals.
To stay motivated and focused year-long.
To perform with superior performance when it matters most.
Rewards of mental training
Mental toughness
Consistent performance
Reach challenging goals
Live up to full potential
Handle both success and failure gracefully
Emotional management
Enjoy the game
The worksheets that follow will require you to prepare your mind in the following settings
Practice
Games
Pre-season training
Off-season training
Postseason and playoff push
Tournament play
Recruiting and evaluation of specific events
For each mental skill, you will develop a selection of mental tools that you can use in any given situation. It is important to understand that during the moment of competitive pressure, it is too late to develop your mental skills. Once you sharpen one tool it will help build another mental tool. Therefore, it is important to learn how to develop and select the right tools for any situation.
Below is a list of common mental skills training tools needed to reach your performance potential *4
Goal-setting tools
Focusing tools
Confidence-building tools
Effective thinking tools
Mental imagery tools
Relaxation tools
Leadership tools
Mental routine tools
References
International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology 2013, 6, 184–208
Sport Management Review 2016, 19(4), 441–453
Pedagogy and Psychology of Sport 2020, 6(4), 64–83
Mental Skills Training for Sport 2010, vii-3