Performance Challenges

Confidence & Self-Belief

Confidence can be one of the most important—and sometimes most fragile—parts of athletic performance. An athlete can have the ability, fitness, technical skill and experience to perform at a high level, yet still find themselves questioning whether they can actually do it when it matters.

I have seen this many times in my work with athletes. Sometimes the athlete knows, logically, that they are capable. Their coach knows it. Their parents know it. Their results in training demonstrate it. Yet when they step into competition, that certainty can disappear.

That is where confidence becomes different from simply knowing you are good enough.

I often describe confidence as the ability to trust what you have already trained yourself to do. When an athlete has repeated a skill thousands of times in training, they don't want to be consciously analysing every movement when they compete. They want to trust their preparation and allow the skill to happen naturally.

I have worked with athletes whose confidence has been affected by a setback, an injury, a disappointing performance or simply a period when something that once felt automatic suddenly became difficult. The physical ability may still be there, but their belief in themselves has taken a knock.

There is another aspect of confidence that I think is particularly important: what the athlete is rehearsing mentally.

The mind doesn't necessarily distinguish between repeatedly imagining something going wrong and repeatedly imagining something going right. If an athlete continually visualises a mistake, a failed movement or everything they are worried might happen, they are rehearsing that experience.

This is where I use sports performance hypnosis, positive imagery and mental rehearsal. Rather than simply telling an athlete to "be confident," we create detailed mental experiences of successful performance—seeing the skill, feeling the movement and experiencing the confidence associated with doing it correctly.

For me, confidence isn't about convincing an athlete that they are unbeatable. It is about developing a realistic and resilient belief in their own ability—so that when pressure arrives, they can trust themselves and perform the skills they have already worked so hard to develop.

From My Work With an Athlete

I received an email from a young female trampolinist who had recently won the National Championships. Despite that success, she had suddenly found herself unable to put parts of her routine together during training.

That immediately interested me because her ability hadn't disappeared. She had just won the National Championships. Yet something had changed in the way she was approaching the skills.

During our consultation, it became clear that she was repeatedly visualising what she had been doing wrong. She wasn't intentionally practising failure, but every time she thought about the skill, she was mentally replaying the mistakes and problems she had experienced.

In effect, she was rehearsing the wrong performance.

The solution was surprisingly straightforward. Rather than continuing to mentally rehearse the mistakes, we changed the imagery completely. I had her begin rehearsing the skills exactly as she wanted to perform them—successfully, confidently and naturally.

After one session using positive imagery and mental rehearsal, she was back to performing the routine correctly.

It was a good example of something I see regularly with athletes: sometimes confidence isn't about learning a new skill; it's about getting the mind back to rehearsing the skill the athlete already knows how to perform.

An Example of Mental Rehearsal

Now see yourself standing on the trampoline, feeling balanced, centred and completely prepared.

See yourself performing your full back.

Feel the take-off, the rotation and the movement through the air. See yourself completing the skill exactly as you know you can—confidently, naturally and perfectly.

Now see yourself performing the one-and-three-quarter front somersault.

Feel the movement. See every part of the skill clearly, from the take-off through to the landing.

And again, see yourself completing it perfectly.

Now repeat each skill in your mind several times, allowing each successful performance to become more familiar and natural.

Then slow one repetition down.

See every part of the movement in slow motion. Feel the control, the balance and the confidence.

Your body has already learned these skills through all the hours of training you have put in.

You don't have to force the movement. You simply allow your body to do what it already knows how to do.

And as you finish, take a moment to remember everything trampolining has brought into your life—the challenges, the achievements and the enjoyment.

Look ahead to the exciting challenges still to come, knowing that you can trust your preparation, trust your ability and enjoy the process of performing.

Why I Use Mental Rehearsal

This is an example of how I use positive imagery and mental rehearsal to strengthen confidence and self-belief in athletes.

The imagery is deliberately specific to the athlete and their sport. In this case, the gymnast isn't simply being told to "think positively." She is mentally rehearsing the exact skills she wants to perform, experiencing them successfully and repeatedly reinforcing the feeling of trusting her ability.

The same principle can be adapted to many sports. A golfer can mentally rehearse a confident swing, a baseball pitcher can rehearse delivering the pitch with composure, a field hockey player can rehearse receiving and striking the ball under pressure, or a figure skater can rehearse a technically demanding element with confidence.

The objective is to help the athlete move away from repeatedly rehearsing what they don't want to happen and instead build a stronger mental representation of what they do want to happen.

Performance Anxiety & Competition Nerves

Performance Anxiety & Competition Nerves

It is completely normal for an athlete to feel nervous before competition. In fact, some level of arousal can be useful. The problem arises when those feelings become so strong that they interfere with the athlete's ability to perform.

I have worked with athletes who perform extremely well in training but find themselves becoming a different athlete when competition arrives. Their thoughts become louder, their body feels different, and suddenly they are thinking about things they normally do without conscious thought.

They may worry about making a mistake, disappointing their coach, letting their teammates down or failing to perform at the level they know they are capable of. Sometimes the anxiety starts hours or even days before te event.

One of the things I try to help athletes understand is that nervousness itself isn't necessarily the enemy. It is what the athlete does with those feelings that matters.

Through hypnosis, imagery and mental rehearsal, I can help an athlete become more comfortable with the sensations associated with competition. We can rehearse entering the competitive environment calmly, feeling the normal excitement and pressure, and remaining focused on what needs to happen rather than on what might go wrong.

The objective isn't to eliminate every nervous feeling. I don't believe that is necessary. It is about helping the athlete develop the confidence to perform with those feelings rather than allowing them to take control.

Competition nerves are part of sport. They don't have to determine how you perform.

From My Work With an Athlete

I am working with a Division 1 baseball pitcher extremely dedicated, strong  and always positive and excited about playing. Performs really well during practice and has increased his velocity to a highly competitive level. I worked with him in a number of ways, but primarily to deal with the adrenal rush when called out from the Bullpen to pitch. This is a short example  of the wording of a hypnosis session

“As you hear your name called from the bullpen, notice that surge of adrenaline—and simply recognise it as your body getting ready to perform. Let that energy sharpen your focus, while your breathing settles and your mind becomes quiet. You don't need to control the adrenaline; you simply channel it into a powerful, confident first pitch.

Close your eyes. Take a deep, slow breath in. Hold it for a moment. Exhale and let your shoulders drop.

Feel the familiar buzz of excitement in your chest. Notice it, accept it, and let it fuel your strength. That energy is just power waiting to be used.

Picture yourself standing on the pitcher's mound. The dirt is firm beneath your cleats. You feel the seams of the ball in your hand.

See the catcher’s mitt waiting right over the plate. It is a bright, clear target.

Hear the crowd fade into a distant hum. Your mind is quiet, sharp, and steady.

Feel your arm move with smooth, automatic rhythm. You do not force the throw. You just trust your training and let the ball flow.

With every breath, your confidence grows stronger. The nerves are there, but you are in total control.

When you open your eyes, you feel calm, ready, and completely focused on the next pitch”

Why I Use Mental Rehearsal

I use mental rehearsal because athletes can practise how they want to respond to pressure before they experience it in competition. In the case of the baseball pitcher, we rehearsed the exact moment when he would be called from the bullpen—the surge of adrenaline, walking onto the mound, taking the ball and preparing for the first pitch.

The objective wasn't to eliminate the adrenaline. It was to help him recognise it as a normal physical response to competition and learn to channel that energy into focus and performance.

By repeatedly rehearsing the situation in his mind, the experience becomes more familiar. When the moment arrives, he doesn't have to wonder how he will respond. He has already mentally practised it: breathe, focus, trust his preparation and deliver the pitch.

That is one of the reasons I use mental rehearsal with athletes. We aren't simply imagining success—we are rehearsing the mental and physical response we want when the pressure is real.

I use mental rehearsal because athletes can practise how they want to respond to pressure before they experience it in competition. In the case of the baseball pitcher, we rehearsed the exact moment when he would be called from the bullpen—the surge of adrenaline, walking onto the mound, taking the ball and preparing for the first pitch.

The objective wasn't to eliminate the adrenaline. It was to help him recognise it as a normal physical response to competition and learn to channel that energy into focus and performance.

By repeatedly rehearsing the situation in his mind, the experience becomes more familiar. When the moment arrives, he doesn't have to wonder how he will respond. He has already mentally practised it: breathe, focus, trust his preparation and deliver the pitch.

That is one of the reasons I use mental rehearsal with athletes. We aren't simply imagining success—we are rehearsing the mental and physical response we want when the pressure is real.