When we train, we work on various aspects: physical preparation, technical and tactical training primarily.
All sports teams typically work on these aspects.
Depending on the category in which you compete and your age, these aspects will be worked on with greater or lesser depth.
But there is a fourth aspect that is usually worked on less (or not worked on directly): the mental aspect, more specifically, emotional management.
What do we mean by emotional management?
The mental aspect is the key element that differentiates the best from the good athletes.
Here’s an interesting example of emotional management:
In the ATP tennis circuit, a series of tests were conducted to see what distinguished the top 100 players. In other words, they were trying to discover why some players were always among the top spots in the rankings and others were not.
They analyzed the age at which the players started playing tennis and when they began competing. They discovered that all of them had started training very young and had been competing in categories corresponding to their age since then.
Regarding training frequency, they also found that, since they were young, they dedicated many hours to both technical and tactical training.
The physical aspect had also been taken care of in all of them.
That is, there were almost no differences in the technical, tactical, and physical preparation they had done.
So what was it that distinguished the best, the top 3 tennis players in the world, from the rest of the players?
The difference, the study concluded, was in the mental aspect and their emotional management. How they managed the game and their emotions.
In other words, sports mental training or how they mentally prepared to compete every day, in every practice, in every match.
Now let's go back to basketball, let's go back to you.
In basketball training
Do you prepare mentally?
How do you do it?
Do you prepare mentally on your own? Do you do it before training? And before matches?
If you do, what exactly do you do? Do you always do the same thing?
Don't worry if you don't know how to answer these questions.
In future articles, we will be developing strategies that can help you improve in this important aspect and how to improve emotional management.
Jordi Salat
Head of Emotional Management Area, Sports Program ITW Sport
Sports Coach and PNL Trainer
