A Child’s Approach To Peak Athletic Performance
“I’ll race you to the next tree,”
“Whoever gets ten points’ first is the winner”
“Coach said I get to start in the game today. I can’t wait.”
Sound familiar?
Most likely these are phrases (or similar phrases) you said or heard when you were an active child.
Now let’s look at what might be said now as an adult:
“I’ve never played so poorly in my entire life. I can’t believe how nervous I was and how I collapsed under the pressure. “
This actual quote came from an athlete who had been playing and competing in their sport for many years. It came after a poor performance in a major, international competition where they felt they were prepared but failed to execute.
In these competitive scenarios, there seems to be contrasting emotional experiences.
In one, there is an overriding pressure or expectation to perform and in the other the athlete exhibits a joy and excitement about their athletic performance.
Which emotional reaction or perspective of competition do you think help produce peak athletic performance?
There is something positive to be learned from children and competition; have fun and treat your sport like the game it is and this attitude will translate over to great performances. Unfortunately even youth sports have become too serious, but we’ll put that aside for now.
I’d like to look at how to bring a child’s approach back into your training and your approach your competition. You’ll see how this mental strength mindset can enhance your enjoyment of your sport while also improving your sports performance.
Think for a minute abut your own childhood athletic experiences. What words come to mind when recalling competition? Ask any group of adults to reflect back and you’ll hear words like “fun,” “easy,” “playing,” “naive,” “relaxed.” And now ask, how do you perceive sports competition (as an adult)?
An entire set of different words right?
Most likely along the lines of “complicated”, “stressful,” “not so much fun” and “anxious,” If you look at sport competition from this perception this is exactly what it will become.
Many competitive athletes tell me, when revisiting their youth and sports their perception was one of “it was so easy back then.” By easy, it seems that athletes are referring to the ability to simply just compete. To get in the game, do what they have been practicing and not worrying about the outcome. Sure, they all wanted to win, but the fact that they were having fun stood out more for them.
Somewhere along the way a shift occurs where athletes worry about the outcome, worry about the environment (“This is the US Open” or “This is my first nationals”) and they then force their performances. And this type of thinking will take any fun out of competition.
While there’s not a single answer how to keep competition light and fun, I’d like to suggest a few thoughts about assisting you in bring a child’s like approach back to your athletic competition:
Alter Your Perspective
An athlete once told me that to get into a competitive mindset he’d recall when he used to race with his childhood friends. Specifically, he would remember walking home from school when someone would yell “race you to the end of the block” and all the kids would take off. Everyone would just race, there was no worrying about who was going to win. Now, in his competitions as an elite athlete, he tries to bring back this unencumbered, simplified approach. He reminds himself to “just race to the end of the block.” It can be that simple.
What’s The Task, Really?
Kids out having fun do not get too caught up in the environment. It is about getting from point A to point B or hitting the ball over the fence. This is true whether it is competing with friends after school or competing on a local or regional team.
As adults, we sometimes let the environment complicate what needs to be done. Athletes often make the task more difficult by telling themselves it is the Olympics, or that a college recruiter is in the stands and that they have to be even better, faster, and more perfect.
Really is this true?
No, the task (your athletic performance) is the same regardless of the environment, who’d watching or what’s at stake. Remind yourself of this. Get back to the task stripped bare of the surrounding, getting from point A to B as fast as possible or hitting the ball over the net.
Let the Outcome Take Care of Itself
Of course, kids want to win. They want to be the first to the end of the block, they want to catch the ball and they want to score a goal. But, they seem caught up in the joy of competing and trying one’s hardest.
As adults, instead of directing our energies to the process, we are consumed with the outcome. We forget that the process of the performance is what controls the outcome.
Acknowledge that winning, placing, running a specific time are important. Then, let it go and focus instead on what you need to do to perform well. The joy and ease of competing is sure to manifest itself with such an approach.
It is not often you are instructed to act like a child, in fact in most cases we are told to grow up or act our age. However, in this one regard, you should be like a child. Leave all your baggage at the door.
Simplify things in your mind; go back to a child’s like approach to your sport. Create an attitude of fun so all you are doing is really jumping as far as you can or racing your buddy across the pool. Bring this attitude to your competition and watch yourself reach your peak athletic performance.
