How to Prepare for a Competition if it was your Last?
What mindset would you have? Would you be focused on having fun, or would you heap unmanageable pressure upon yourself to be perfect?
Most likely, your mindset would be to make the most of the competition. You would focus on doing your best, chatting with your teammates, and enjoying yourself.
Since you would want to go out on a high note, you would try to be the best version of yourself in practice. You would feel minimal pressure and “go for it” during each routine. Overall, the experience would be fun.
Thinking back to your beginning days in competitive gymnastics, you probably notice a similar fun, free, exciting attitude towards training and competition.
Unfortunately, some gymnasts have a very different experiences in the middle of their careers.
Pressure takes over for fun. Instead of competing for yourself, you try to please others.
Learning new skills was exciting back then, but now you demand perfection from yourself.
Training is no longer fun, and you dread going to practice.
When you were young, you looked forward to meets and trying new routines. Now, you fear failure and consider quitting altogether.
What exactly changed from your early days in gymnastics? The equipment is the same. The events are the same. Many of your current teammates have been your friends for a long time.
The Difference Lies in your Mindset for Competition!
Your mentality can either make meets exciting or miserable. Your mentality affects your progress. In fact, your mentality is the primary determinant of how well you perform in practice and meets.
Changing your mentality can dramatically alter your experience in the sport.
When you change your mentality, you can reignite your passion for gymnastics, improve your performance, lessen the pressure, and have fun again. The good news is that your mentality is a personal choice entirely in your control.
University of Florida gymnast Trinity Thomas was the 2022 NCAA all-around champion. During the 2023 Regional Championships, Thomas sustained an injury on the floor exercise, jeopardizing defending her title at the NCAA Championships.
University of Florida head coach Jenny Rowland commented on Thomas’ situation and the importance of a gymnast’s mentality.
ROWLAND: “Nothing’s easy. Everything’s challenging, and [it’s] really just reminding her to stay present. It’s easy to say, ‘Enjoy the moment,’ but truly, you know, soak it in. Tomorrow is not given. And we don’t need to worry about that.”
In your gymnastics career, every day is a challenge. Practices will be hard. Injuries are common. You won’t always perform your best routines.
However, if you have the right mentality, are up for the challenge, and are prepared for adversity, you will have a positive, productive, and enjoyable experience.
Contemplating your past experiences and current experience can help you shape a new mentality.
Ask yourself, “If I knew my career would be over in a month, what would I like to experience?”
How will I approach training sessions?” “What mindset will I adopt for competitions?”
Related Articles:
- Having Fun in Competitive Gymnastics
- How to Overcome Mental Challenges in Gymnastics
- How to Reignite Your Enthusiasm for Gymnastics
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify
Improve Your Consistency With Sports Psychology for Gymnasts
Sports psychology for gymnastics helps serious gymnasts like you to uncover the beliefs and attitudes that keep you from performing to your potential. You’ll learn mental game strategies to overcome performance plateaus, lack of consistency, and perform at your peak more often.
You can get expert mental coaching with us from anywhere. Meet with Dr. Cohn via Skype, phone, FaceTime, or GoTo Meeting. With today’s video technology, we are able to connect with athletes and coaches all over the globe.
Please contact us today to learn how mental coaching for gymnastics works and to request pricing on all mental training programs for gymnasts. Complete for web form to contact us via email or call us toll-free.
Input your name, email, and role below:
Or Call us today at 888-742-7225