Mental Factors Mental Toughness

Mental Toughness Mental toughness is the ability to fight, challenge and conquer yourself, before, during and after an event and to become better, especially during tough times.

Mental Toughness Within sport it is seen as, "The ability to consistently perform towards the upper range of your talent and skill regardless of competitive circumstances." Dr Jim Loehr.

Mental Toughness The word ‘consistently’ suggests that you will perform to the highest standard every performance regardless of; Your opponents ability Performance situations (player sent off) External factors (weather, crowd) Pressure

Stress Sometimes during performance athletes encounter stressful situations such as; Losing heavily Losing to a weaker opponent Making 3,4,5 mistakes in a row Pressure from the crowd, coach, parents A performer with good mental toughness is able to continue to work at their best despite these setbacks.

Mental Toughness The following video, despite being dramatic, is very clear about mental toughness and the positive impact it can have on you as a performer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZQH5UbEjqE

Mental Toughness The following video gives examples of athletes that have never given up and continued to work to their full capacity regardless of stress, pressure and adversity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujhIQBJpIag

Positive Impact on Performance Having good mental toughness will have a positive impact on your performance for example; Continuing to work hard when your team are losing Blocking out all pressure/groans from the crowd After making a mistake I work hard to rectify the mistake

Negative Impact on performance Having poor mental toughness will have a negative impact on your performance for example; When you make a mistake you will give up putting you/your team under pressure If a coach/teammate is moaning at you, you wont work hard to prove them wrong If your team are losing your head will go down and you will look uninterested in the game

Question Choose an activity What impact can mental toughness have on your performance? Use examples to help