Ask The Doc

Dear Dr. Burt: Last month, I was in a big basketball game and did not perform to the best of my ability. My team lost, and even though my coach said it was not all my fault, I still I am to blame, at least partly. We were the visiting team. The gym was very crowded, from floor to ceiling, and it seemed that every person there was cheering for the home team. It was very loud and hot in the gym. I was so nervous and stressed out, that I missed some key shots, and committed fouls when I should not have. How can I learn to stay focused and avoid getting stressed out during big games, especially when the fans are not on our side? Try centering. Centering during sports is critical to staying focused and avoiding distractions. Centering helps an athlete stay in the moment and release past and future thoughts, worries, and plans. Sports psychologists recommend centering techniques to reduce anxiety and stress. These techniques allow athletes to pay attention to their body and breathing, redirecting their focus from the negative, or anxiety-causing, event to the present task. Centering Techniques The first aspect of centering involves focusing on the rate of breathing, and maintaining a slow, steady pace. Breathe in through your nose, and feel the air fill your lungs. Exhale through your mouth. It may help to repeat a key word or mantra that helps you refocus on what you want to do. For example, you could just say these words to yourself over and over: "relax," or "steady." Practice To be able to automatically center when you need it, during the stress of competition or training, you must practice often. Use your training session to try various centering techniques and find the best one for you. Refocus and get "centered" at every break, rest period or when there is a pause in the action. This process can keep you in the present, and help you drop any baggage you carry about performance anxiety, expectations, or 'what-ifs'. Developing an automatic relaxation response will change how you feel about what you are doing. As a result, you will have less stress, enjoy performing, and be more successful. Many athletes routinely use visualization techniques as part of training. There are stories and examples of how such techniques provide not only a competitive edge, but a renewed mental awareness and sense of well-being. Using Imagery and Self-Hypnosis Visualization has also been called guided imagery, mental rehearsal, meditation, and a variety of other things. No matter the term, the basic techniques and concepts are the same. Generally speaking, visualization is the process of creating a mental image of what you want to happen or feel. An athlete can use this technique to 'intend' an outcome of a race or training session, or simply to rest in a relaxed feeling of calm and well-being. By imagining a scene, complete with images of a previous best performance or a future desired outcome, the athlete is instructed to simply 'step into' that feeling. While imagining these scenarios, the athlete should try to imagine the details and the way it feels to perform in the desired way. These scenarios can include any of the senses. They can be visual (images and pictures), kinesthetic (how the body feels), or auditory (the roar of the crowd). Using the mind, an athlete can call up these images over and over, enhancing skills through repetition or rehearsal, similar to physical practice. With mental rehearsal, minds and bodies become trained to actually perform the skill imagined. Research is finding that both physical and psychological reactions to certain situations can be improved with visualization. Such repeated imagery can build both experience and confidence in an athlete's ability to perform certain skills under pressure, or in a variety of possible situations. The most effective visualization techniques result in a very vivid sport experience in which the athlete has complete control over a successful performance and a belief in this new 'self.' Guided imagery, visualization, mental rehearsal or other such techniques can maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your training. In a world where sports performance and success are measured in seconds, most athletes will use every possible training technique at hand. Visualization might be one way to gain that very slim margin.