Mind set

Question
When i am in practice i can turn my level of play up when i get mad.  Mainly when the team is struggling and i get frustrated.  When gametime comes around i play well but not as well as i can.  My question is how do i get my mind in the angry set that allows me to elavate my game.

Answer
Good morning, Scott and thank you for asking this question.

You've partially answered your own question.  If what works for you is getting in a high state of energy (which to you is getting mad), then you can teach yourself to do that when you want.

Visualization will help you do this.  Get relaxed, close your eyes, and take five slow deep breaths.  Then, picture or imagine a time when your team was struggling and you got frustrated, and how you then turned up your level of play.  Really focus on that, everything you saw, heard, felt and experienced.  Make it a multimedia experience in your imagination.  Now, or maybe after a couple of times practicing, you will FEEL that level of energy that works for you.  Focus on that feeling and give it a sound or a color.  This is marking it for future use.  Practice this 20 times.  Then start practicing this during a game.  When you want to feel that energy, bring back that color or sound and bring that energy up.  This is how our brains are wired - this is one of the tools I use to help my clients succeed - it works!

Be sure to monitor your energy level - you don't want too little and you don't want too much.  This is why you practice to get the right amount for you.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

David

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