How To Trust Yourself At A Competition - March 2024
With competitions on the horizon, it's crucial to discuss a key element that can make or break your performance: trust. Now let's dive into some strategies to develop and maintain trust during competitions.
State, Regional, and National competitions are approaching rapidly. As we approach meets with higher stakes, there's a tendency for gymnasts to strive for perfection, fearing mistakes, which unfortunately often leads to underperformance and more errors. I want to emphasize the importance of trust in your competitions.
Trust involves simplifying your performance and relying on your extensive practice. It's about recognizing that your body is capable of executing routines with precision. Consider the concept of muscle memory – the ability to perform a skill without conscious thought, much like jumping into a pool after a winter hiatus. Your body inherently knows how to swim, just as it knows how to flawlessly execute routines, especially at this stage of the season. Trust wavers when we overthink and excessively try to avoid mistakes.
Here are some strategies to maintain trust in your skills. Firstly, remember that once it's competition time, your practice is concluded, and you're performing with the skills you possess on that particular day. Secondly, refrain from overanalyzing every skill during competitions, as it can be counterproductive. Lastly, keep things straightforward by establishing a few performance goals or process goals for each event. This approach will help you stay focused, confident, and in sync with the skills you've mastered throughout the season.
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