The importance of mental skills

The ability to perform under pressure is often seen as something that is inborn: you either have it or you do not. This means that individuals who are good in these areas are often perceived as having natural ability to carry out the relevant tasks arising from features of their personalities. This approach emphasises the importance of inherited skills and conceptualises sports performance as something of an art form. However, limitations of this approach are that it does not explain how people improve in their ability to perform, and it hardly encourages dedication to the training process in those deemed not to have the magical personal ingredients. What do you do if you don’t appear to have the ‘right’ personality for sports success? In any case, research has failed to demonstrate that one personality type is better than others when it comes to performance, so our personalities can only be, at most, provide part of the answer. Others take a more impersonal approach, emphasising the scientific aspects of performing. Time is spent analysing physiology, the mechanics involved in the discipline and the competitor’s characteristics. This approach conceptualises competing more as a science. It also has limitations, particularly that it can seem soulless and detached towards the people involved in the dynamics of the sport. It has little to say about how despite being physically and technically inferior some athletes perform well above their perceived level of ability. From my perspective, sport is usefully approached as neither art, nor science. There certainly can, and should, be elements of both artful judgement and systematic analysis in sports preparation. However, from a performance perspective, there is much to commend understanding competing and preparing to compete as a skill. As such, they can be improved, taught and transferred. Adopting a skill acquisition approach means that whether you are an expert or a beginner, you can still improve and develop. Research has shown that whether you are learning mental or physical skills, there are some important factors to consider when designing a skill acquisition programme. The main two determinants of skill acquisition appear to be repetition and specificity. Both are required; one without the other does not work. We need to practice our skills, repeating them over and over until we have ‘over-learned’ them – until they become natural. But we also need structure or specificity: we need to have a clear understanding about what, exactly, the skill comprises. The challenge is to define and develop frameworks for sports skills that are simple but comprehensive and lead to practical outcomes in the real world. In his forword to the book “Mind Games’ Sir Clive Woodward writes: “The mental side of sport is massive. It isn’t necessarily the best team with the most talented players that wins games, but the team that can think correctly under pressure.” The ability to control where we place our attention underpins our performance. Practising mental conditioning on a regular basis enables you to control where you place your attention. Directing attention towards the process rather than outcomes enables an athlete to focus on the processes that lead to a desired outcome. We will be covering an underpinning philosophy that determines success and the tools that will prepare the athlete to cope with pressure and how to use these to enhance performance.