One of the secrets of successful performance is in continuity or perseverance (as mentioned in the last blog). This is especially evident in situational sports such as team sports but also in individual sports like tennis, table tennis, fencing. In fact, the need to be persevering is present in every human activity and many popular sayings such as: “Don’t do tomorrow what you can do today” are an exhortation to act in this way in daily life.
It is my perception that often successful athletes, compared to their opponents, show greater perseverance/continuity in the game. I am not referring to technical-tactical aspects but to the attitude shown in the field, mostly constant without sudden mood swings. In my opinion, they prevail by virtue of this attitude that enhances their performance. On the contrary, all too often the opponents show excessive emotional reactions in moments of difficulty and visible from the behavioral point of view that damage them.
How to improve? As I see it, athletes should first of all be aware of the value of perseverance on the field while they often give exclusively technical-tactical explanations for their unsatisfactory performance.
“Remember that it doesn’t matter how much you train, but how much your mind is present when you train” (Kobe Bryant). One could start with this statement to assess what these black-out moments are and when they occur in training and in games. Then you should come to prevent them using breathing and concentration techniques adapted to the situations of the sport.
