Team Seychelles’ final preparation for the 11th IOIG   |22 August 2023

Focus is very important in sports competition 

How can you prepare yourself before a competition?

What is your expectation?

How do you deal with it?

The following tips will help you to focus more during competitions.

As an athlete you have to manage your expectation. What you think will or should happen in the competition.

Expectation: You totally expect to win. Maybe you are performing really well in your training. Maybe you know the adversary you will be competing against is not very strong, or maybe you have beaten them many times before.

You have the expectation that the match is in the bag, which is incredibly dangerous, because when you have this attitude going into a competition, you lower your guard and you see your adversary fighting with you and leveling on points.

When you walk into the competition with the expectation that you will dominate, and suddenly encounter some kind of setback, it is human nature that you start to panic and worry, start to have anxiety and you start thinking or saying you might lose.

If you have participated in many competitions previously you know exactly what I’m talking about. Suddenly you start doubting everything, you get stiff and stressed, hence your level of play drops, you start getting nervous, have feelings of anxiety, because you were expecting a positive result.

What do you control?                                                                                                                                                                             

When looking at the draw, you see yourself playing a number one team and might be thinking you’re going to get crushed today.

With that kind of thinking, you go out there with low intensity, no focus, and as a fulfilling prophecy in that moment you get crushed.

Have the expectation that you will do whatever is in your control to win. Bear in mind you don’t have complete control on the other team/athletes’ performance, you don`t control completely your opponents’ level of play or control other elements like the court, field, track, light, and weather.

Your focus

What you should control is your level of focus, intensity of competitiveness and performance. Then the results will come.

It is very important that you get yourself to the highest level of focus, not worrying about winning and losing, you should always be completely focused in the present moment and focus on the competition. It is not an easy task to do, but that is what champions do well.

Your mindset

Don`t let those thoughts run into your mind: What if I lose? What will my coach, my friends, the public, and media say? This will distract you and keep you from performing at your best level.

You need to completely do away with those things. That is how you can perform your best in a competition.

Have fun, enjoy your sport and push yourself to the limit.

Maurice Denys

Certified Mental Coach (CMC)

S.N.H.S. Dip. (Sports Psychology)