Development of Athletes through Mindfulness
People often confuse mindfulness with yoga and
meditation but it is more than that. It is a mental state achieved by
focusing on the present moment and it is challenging for many unless they make
it part of their regular practice. To be able to focus in the current moment is
a skill that a busy life makes it more challenging. Just like understanding the
technical and tactical components of any sport also comes the ability to
eliminate distraction, learning to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations
and then being able to translate these skills to all other environments. This
is difficult for adults to do but if the coach provides you the right kind of
motivation for athletes’ training, you can achieve it.
Understand
and Respond to Triggers
One of the biggest lessons we can teach our young
athletes is normalizing the emotions they feel towards situations but the skill
comes to recognizing the emotions and managing them. Find out where the strong emotions
are coming from. It requires a lot of self-awareness and patience to view each
athlete in this manner. At the same time, young athletes are learning to
problem-solve through difficult situations with guidance. There are different athletes
training programs that ensure this.
Create your own Schedule
With the fast paced lives of our young athletes
and technology, boundaries are easily blurred on how to prioritize. Ensure
scheduling expectations are addressed right from the beginning for both
yourself and athletes. This includes appropriate communication. Is it
acceptable for your athletes to text you or maybe you prefer scheduling
face-to-face time to discuss conflict? By communicating effectively it sets the
tone for helping them get their needs met not only on the playing field but
also in their personal lives. There needs to be awareness that athletes are
often running around from one activity to the next. One way to help with focus
and set expectations is identifying performance mode and nonperformance mode.
When athletes step onto the playing field it means they are ready to be a
performer and when they step off for the day, they need to leave it
there. Different athlete training centers
have for this training programs.
By knowing how you respond to
external stimuli, you are able to gain control and stay focused during
challenging situations. An example could be putting players under higher
defensive pressure when he or she gets the ball. This will force an athlete to
make quicker plays without choking in game situations.


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