The 8-Step Mental Master’s Pre-Game Checklist for Elite Athletes
All athletes warm up for competitions.
They stretch. They practice throwing. They run through drills.
However, elite athletes recognize a number of athletes fail to recognize that there must be a mental “warm-up” to match the physical. The top performers mentally prepare, and then spend a couple of minutes prior to competition to clear their heads, establish their roles, and focus on the steps required to achieve success.
At Mental Masters Athlete, we instruct our student athletes to use a basic 8-step checklist that is designed to assist them in entering competition calmly, confidently and prepared to perform at their best.
1. Breathing and Resetting
Prior to doing anything else, take a moment to reset.
Slowing down your breathing and settling your mind will allow you to stay calm and focus on the present moment.
The excitement of competition can create adrenaline; this can improve performance — as long as the athlete has control over that adrenaline.
Allowing an athlete to simply breathe through their nervousness will enable them to transition from being chaotic to clear-headed.
2. Identify Yourself (Identity Reminder)
Remind yourself of who you are as an athlete.
Consider the qualities that identify you:
Your work ethic
Your resilience
Your discipline
Your leadership
Reminding yourself of your core identity, instead of allowing the situation to define you, will give you confidence.
When athletes remember the effort they have put in, they become more confident.
3. Evaluate Where You Are Mentally (Check Your State)
Next, evaluate your current emotional/mental state.
Ask yourself:
Am I calm? Or am I rushed?
Am I confident? Or am I distracted?
Am I focused? Or am I all over the place?
Elite athletes know how to recognize where they are emotionally/mindfully — and, if something doesn’t feel right, they can make slight adjustments in breathing, refocusing, or adjusting their concentration.
Recognizing is the beginning of controlling your emotions.
4. Define Your Role (Lock in Your Role)
Each athlete has a defined role on their team.
Some lead through voice. Some bring energy. Some deliver in the most important times through specific execution of specific technical skill(s).
Remind yourself of the role you will fulfill for your team today before the game starts.
This will help eliminate confusion and keep you focused on delivering to your team in the manner in which you are best suited to contribute.
5. Visualize Success (Visualization Warm-Up)
Elite athletes frequently rehearse success before competition occurs.
Visualize yourself executing key skills in competition:
Execute your techniques
Stay focused during pressure situations
Visualizing yourself executing successfully will help prepare your brain to perform, and enhance your confidence.
By the time the game starts, you will have already visualized yourself succeeding.
6. Focus On Process (Process Goals)
Rather than solely focusing on outcome-based goals, elite athletes concentrate on process-based goals.
Process-based goals are activities completely within your control, such as:
Hustle hard on each play
Communicate effectively with teammates
Stay disciplined in your technique
Perform with energy
Concentrating on the process will maintain your presence and avoid the overwhelming burden of worrying about outcomes.
7. Have a Plan To Reset (Be Reset Ready)
No athlete is perfect.
Missed shots, mistakes, or unexpected events occur in every game.
Elite athletes prepare for these realities beforehand by asking themselves:
How will I reset myself after something happens incorrectly?
Having a plan for quickly resetting will provide the athlete with the ability to adapt to adversity more easily. Resilience is often what sets apart average athletes from elite athletes.
8. Gratitude (Gratitude!)
Before stepping onto the competitive field, take a moment to express gratitude.
Express gratitude for:
The opportunity to participate in competition
Your teammates and coaches
The amount of effort you have invested to arrive at this point
Gratitude will alter your mental approach from one based on fear of failure to one based on purpose.
More often than not, when athletes realize they are able to compete, it brings out the best version of themselves.
Train Your Brain As You Would Train Your Body
Athletes train both their bodies and their minds to prepare for performance.
While physical training is an aspect of performance, elite athletes also develop their focus, confidence and mental toughness.
The pre-game mental checklist provided by Mental Masters Athlete is a straightforward method athletes can use to mentally prepare before every competition.
As long as the body and mind are aligned, athletes will be prepared to compete at their best.
Take this to go? Download Our Pre-Game Mental Checklist
Print out the checklist and post it in your locker, dugout, or wherever you can see it before a game.