The Mental Side of Sport: Why Are We Still Undertraining It?
If you play sport, coach a team, or have a child involved in sport, I want you to think about something for a moment.
How much time do we spend training the physical side of performance compared to the mental side?
We spend hours practising our skills, working on fitness, improving technique and preparing for competition. We invest in coaching, equipment, facilities and training sessions to give ourselves the best possible chance of performing well.
But what about the mind?
What happens when the nerves kick in before a big game? When confidence takes a knock after making a mistake? When you're struggling to concentrate, overthinking things or worrying about what other people think?
These things can have a huge impact on performance, yet how often do we actually practise dealing with them?
We train the body, but what about the brain?
Think about a footballer who looks brilliant in training but struggles to show their ability on matchday because they're worried about making mistakes.
Or a young athlete who starts doubting themselves after being left out of the team.
Or someone who puts so much pressure on themselves to perform that they forget to enjoy the sport they originally fell in love with.
It's not necessarily a lack of ability, effort or desire.
Sometimes, the challenge is what's happening between their ears.
The mental side of sport influences how we respond to pressure, manage setbacks, maintain focus, build confidence and deal with the inevitable ups and downs that come with competing.
And just like physical skills, these are things we can practise and develop.
So why is it undertrained?
I think there are a few reasons.
Firstly, the physical side is easier to see. We can measure how fast someone runs, how many repetitions they complete or how accurately they pass a ball.
The mental side isn't always as obvious. You can't necessarily see someone's confidence, self-talk or thought processes from the sidelines.
Secondly, there's still a tendency to think that mental toughness is something you either have or you don't. You're either confident or you're not. You're either able to handle pressure or you crumble under it.
But that's not how I see it.
Confidence can be developed. Focus can be practised. We can learn to respond differently to mistakes, manage our nerves and recognise when our thoughts are helping us or holding us back.
And thirdly, I think we sometimes wait until there's a problem before we start thinking about the mental side.
What if we gave it the same attention as our physical preparation from the beginning?
What if we helped young athletes develop these skills before they hit a difficult patch, rather than waiting until confidence has taken a real knock?
It's about more than winning
One thing I'm passionate about is making mental skills accessible to everyone, not just professional athletes.
You don't have to be playing at an elite level to experience pressure, self-doubt, frustration or fear of failure.
These challenges can affect grassroots footballers, academy players, amateur athletes, darts players and people involved in all sorts of sports.
And the skills we develop through sport don't just disappear when we leave the pitch, court or playing area.
Learning to handle setbacks, manage emotions, stay focused and respond constructively to mistakes can benefit us in everyday life, too.
For me, it's about seeing the person behind the athlete.
Because sport should be about more than results, selection and performance. It should also be about enjoyment, development, confidence and helping people become the best version of themselves.
Let's start giving the mental side the attention it deserves
I'm not suggesting that mental skills are a magic fix or that working on your mindset guarantees better results.
Sport will always involve uncertainty, mistakes, disappointment and days when things don't go your way.
But we can learn how to respond to those moments.
At Control Centre Performance, that's what I'm passionate about: helping people who happen to be athletes develop practical mental skills to support their performance in sport and life.
Because we wouldn't expect an athlete to improve their physical performance without training.
So why should we expect them to manage the mental demands of sport without training those skills, too?
Train the brain. Improve your game.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do you think the mental side of sport gets enough attention, particularly in grassroots and youth sport? Or is it something we still need to do much more about?