Expectations are the main killer of the athletes’ confidence, you expect to perform at the best thanks to the talent and training, nothing more wrong, it’s not enough. Probably Paulo Dybala seems to have fallen into this trap. He has all the qualities necessary to become one of the world’s best players, then the pressure of having to show on the pitch he’s ruin. It is a common mistake of many athletes of the highest level, they load on their shoulders this unnecessary pressure reducing the skill to compete at their best. Even the Brazil team before the soccer World Championships in Rio expected to win, instead the team collapsed under the inability to handle this pressure or Andy Murray has won far less when compared with his real competences but struggled a long time to learn how to take off from the shoulders his expectations and those of an entire nation that after so many years had finally found a champion in tennis.
The expectation to win, to score a goal or to lead the team are certainly important, nobody comes into game to lose or play badly. We have not to confuse these beliefs, they should be left in the locker room, with the actual behaviors that we must bring into play to achieve them. Expectations can be also extremely positive but the players have to know how to translate into competitive goals and behaviors. This determines the difference between who is reliable and who thrives on fantasies that himself and others (sponsor, coach, team, family, manager).
The current competitive stress management strategies have the purpose to teach athletes to identify which are the mental processes determining the success on the field of behaviors focused for achieving the goals. Unfortunately, the talent can be an obstacle to developing this mental and physical readiness status, because the athletes can believe that their skills will be enough. When this happens the fall is even harder, because there is a growing risk to doubt their abilities, entering in a negative spiral, that from match to match can lead to isolate themselves, to feel misunderstood and to expect that at some point the lucky star magically will return to shine. This vicious circle must be blocked and the athletes should get help from a professional to establish concrete and challenging goals to reach and identify the behaviors needed to achieve them. For Dybala this difficulty could thus become an important opportunity for personal development and growth, to achieve a conscious sport and human maturity.
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