Getting Hurt

Question
Dave I really need you help ever since my 8th grade year when I got hurt I haven't been able to to hit anybody as hard as I can with out being afraid that I might get hurt again what should I do to get over this fear of getting hurt again???

Answer
Hello Andrew and thank you for asking this question.

Getting hurt is one of the most frustrating things that can happen in sports.  You get hurt, you heal up and you analytically know that the chance of getting hurt again is pretty small.  BUT, what can happen is a part of you holds on to that experience, and the fear that it could happen again.  This doesn't mean fear is bad.  Fear stops us from doing stupid things that can really hurt us.  But sometimes it really digs in even when it's OK to let it go.  What you need to do is teach your mind to trade fear for confidence.  Mental training works great for this.

Here's a mental training tool that can help you learn to trade that fear for confidence. Get relaxed, close your eyes, and take five slow deep breaths.  Then, picture or imagine a time when you felt really confident. It could be doing anything, as long as you felt confident doing it.  Really focus on that, everything you saw, heard, felt and experienced.  Now let a word represent that feeling of confidence from that experience, it can be any word.  Let that word - your KEY word - become attached really strongly to that feeling of confidence.  Practice this for a week.  When it's working well, and you feel that confidence when you hear, say or think about your key word, than it's time to trade fear for confidence.  

Visualize going on the playing field, use your key word, and pull in that confidence.  Practice this for a week.  Now, visualize going on the playing field, and imagine a situation where you have a fear of getting hurt. At that point, use your KEY and what will happen is you'll get a surge of confidence.  One of the secrets of how our brain works is that we can only feel ONE emotion at a time.  When you feel confidence, it pushes fear away.  What you'll discover is that when you go on the field and get worried about being hurt, say your key word silently to yourself, your confidence flows into you and you feel great.  I've helped many players overcome fears of being hurt by using this tool - it works!

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

David

David Kenward, The Mental Coach
Sacramento, California
http://www.thementalcoach.com