Picture this: You realized that you needed help with your mental game and decided to consult a Sport Psychologist. You scouted for the right one and had several sessions with them. You have invested quite a bit of time and money for this and now need to know if these sessions are actually paying off.
If you are an athlete who is working with a Sport Psychologist, but has not asked themselves this question, it is high time that you do. In this blogpost, we will be doing a little bit of probing into this topic, since it is fundamental to your mental performance. But before we do that, let’s actually take a look at the importance of evaluating your Sport Psychology sessions and strategies.
Importance of Evaluating Sport Psychology Strategies
If you did not already know this, your Sport Psychologist is already continuously evaluating and assessing the value of your interventions. This is along the same lines as a supermarket manager continuously evaluating the effectiveness of marketing strategies to improve sales.
While this is pretty common, I have observed that it is quite rare for the athlete to show much interest in the efficacy of their Sport Psychology game plan. However, taking some time to think about whether these strategies are actually helping you, or not, is quite vital. Some reasons why this is so important for you as an athlete are:
- To sort mental strategies that work, from those which do not work
- To add only the best mental skills to your mental tool box
- To continuously assess and strive for better mental health and mental performance
- To prevent burnouts
- To personalize your mental game plan
- To adapt to newer goals and playing levels
- To improve your self-awareness
- To make the best use of your time and energy
How to Tell if Your Sport Psychology Sessions Are Paying Off?
Now that you understand why it is essential to regularly evaluate whether your Sport Psychology strategies are actually working, we will take a look at a few ways through which you can actually assess their usefulness. Below, you will find a number of means to do so.
- Keeping track of your numbers
- Checking if goals have been achieved
- Observing your cognitive skills
- Closely watching your stress levels
- Recording your frequency of usage of mental routines
- Asking feedback from your coaches/parents
- Evaluating your ability to adapt
Keeping Track of Your Numbers
One way to keep an eye on the effectiveness of your Sport Psychology strategies is to simply track your numbers. Regularly checking your performance metrics, such as scores and times, can show you if and how current training routines are working.
For example, for a cricketer, improved scoring in matches probably mean that the athlete is playing optimally, with intent. At the same time, for a golfer or archer, a higher number of accurate or successful shots mean that the athlete is highly focused, which indicates satisfactory mental performance.
While looking at your numbers, make sure that you’re examining ‘consistency.’ If your performances are consistent, no matter the situation or the pressure, it can mean that you are possibly going the right way with your mental training.
Checking if Goals Have Been Achieved
As a professional athlete, you are almost always working toward some goal or the other. Your goals can be career-wise, related to physical fitness or even in terms of mental health/performance. Goal-setting has often been the common denominator in what sets apart elite athletes from mediocre ones. Basketball legend, Kobe Bryant quoted the importance of setting goals right from a young age many times during interviews.
If you feel that you are well on your way to achieving your goals effectively, or have already achieved them after the application of Sport Psychology principles, this can indicate that these strategies are actually working.
Observing Your Cognitive Skills
Sport Psychologists are not just interested in the emotional part of your performance, but also the cognitive part. These mental health professionals work extensively with their clients to improve attention, decision-making, problem-solving and many more such skills.
All sports require a variety of cognitive skills, and thus athletes are used to using 100% of their brain on the court. However, with the help of a Sport Psychologist, athletes learn how to use their existing cognitive skills in a better manner. They also learn about and practice new cognitive skills they might not have been aware of before.
If your Sport Psychology routine is well-researched and applied, you will notice that you are able to make better decisions in your game, and are highly focused right from the start. Additionally, you will also find that you bring more creativity in your problem-solving, and are confident in this process.
Closely Watching Your Stress Levels
Stress is definitely no stranger to you as an athlete. However, stress many times leads to decreased performance and fumbles in your game. Sport Psychology sessions often cover various strategies through which you can reduce your stress levels.
For example, your SP may teach you relaxation exercises and mindfulness activities through which you can bring your stress levels down. If you have noticed that you don’t get too stressed when compared to your previous form, this might be a sign that your Sport Psychology sessions are working.
Another important point to note is the way you define stress. Sometimes, excitement or anticipation can be misinterpreted as stress. Therefore, having a Sport Psychologist who can help you understand the difference between these feelings and emotions becomes all the more important. Email me at mindyourwicket@gmail.com if you want to know more about this.
Recording your frequency of usage of mental routines
Sportspersons use a variety of mental routines and exercises such as, visualization, relaxation techniques and self-talk. These are often designed and customized with the help of a Sport Psychologist with the aim of improving mental performance, or as part of a pre-competition routine. If you are already using such routines and want to understand their effectiveness, simply record when and how you use these techniques.
Simply put, the more effective the routine, the more often you will be using it. If the strategies and techniques that you have been taught are not working, you will simply stop using them. But, you need to be accountable to the fact that you have given each of these strategies a shot for fair judgement.
To keep track of your usage, you can simply use a journal if you are an old-soul like me. There are numerous real-life examples of athletes who credit journaling for their success. For instance, American gymnast Suni Lee journals regularly, not just to vent, but to also visualize her routine. However, you can also use an appropriate app or a wearable for the purpose of tracking the usage of your routines.
Asking feedback from your coaches/parents
Aside from yourself, the people who analyze your performance closely are your parents and your coach/trainers. And thus, if you are looking for some external insight in your mental performance, you can simply seek feedback from them. You can also explain that you are trying something new mentally, and want their help.
More than often, your coaches and parents will notice changes, both positive & negative, sooner than you do. And through their feedback and suggestions, you will be able to scrutinize if your Sport Psychology sessions are actually paying off, or not.
Evaluating your ability to adapt
A crucial skillset that all athletes need to be equipped with is adaptability. When an athlete has a flexible and adaptable mindset, they show better tolerance and resilience. This is vital for a long and successful career on the field. Perhaps the most indispensable lesson a Sport Psychologist can impart to their client is how to be adaptable in every type of situation.
Granted, this skill can be a little tricky to keep track of. To do so, you can simply introspect at the end of the day or a performance and see how well you responded to sudden, unexpected changes. You can also track how open you are to learning new things on and off the field. If you have strong adaptability skills, you will also find that failures or setbacks do not bother you much.
Points to remember
- Remember to communicate openly with your Sport Psychologist about the goals for your mental performance, and the game-plans for the same
- Try genuinely giving the various Sport Psychology strategies and techniques a shot. Only then will you be able to fully understand their impact and effect on your performance.
- Don’t feel upset if you find that the current strategies do not work for you. Not every strategy is supposed to work for everyone, since all of us are different. Discuss with your Sport Psychologist to find a better solution instead.
- Sometimes your sessions might not work, simply because the fit between you and your Sport Psychologist is not the best. You can always look out for someone else to work with. If you are looking for someone to work with right now, email me at mindyourwicket@gmail.com to discuss.
Conclusion
To keep performing your best mentally, you need to continually improve. And this means regularly evaluating and re-evaluating your mental routine. This does not necessarily only have to be done by your Sport Psychologist, but can and should be done by you as well.
By assessing your internal and external mental states, you can make the best of your Sport Psychology sessions. In doing this, you will see an uptick in your mental acuity in both training & performance.
If you like this post or have any questions, please leave a comment below.
References
https://www.sportingbounce.com/blog/evaluating-sport-psychology-mental-skills-interventions
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9808031/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1469029203000050
https://www.apadivisions.org/division-5/publications/score/2023/01/athlete-performance
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21520704.2016.1167150
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