1. MENTAL PLANS: DEVELOPING MENTAL TOUGHNESS THRU SYSTEMATIC PLANNING
Damon Burton
University of Idaho

2. What is mental toughness?

3. DEFINING MENTAL TOUGHNESS
playing your best in any situation, even when you encounter problems, hassles, adversity or failure.

4. When is mental toughness
at a premium?

5. SITUATIONS DEMANDING MENTAL TOUGHNESS
playing on the road in front of a hostile crowd,
fighting illness or injuries,
suffering through a slump or losing streak,
confronting adverse playing conditions,
against difficult opponents,
during really important competitions, and
when the situation is critical or the game is on the line.

6. What are the benefits of Mental Plans?

7. BENEFITS OF MENTAL PLANS
create a Flow mindset
enhance performance quality
increase performance consistency
promote mental toughness to deal with adversity

8. CREATING & MAINTAINING THE IDEAL MINDSET
In-the-Zone
confident,
focus intently on key process cues,
keep thoughts positive and limited,
maintain poise and control arousal, and
execute automatically and “let it happen”
Choking
diffident, stressed and anxious,
distracted or focused on outcome and product,
let thoughts get negative and intrusive,
lose poise and get overaroused, and
try to control performance and “make it happen”

9. THE FLOW MINDSET unshakably confident,
totally focused on key performance cues,
optimally aroused or “psyched up,”
motivated to push your limits,
poised with a positive mental attitude, and
performing automatically.

10. How do we create the Flow Mindset in practice and competition necessary to promote mental toughness?

11. CREATING MENTAL TOUGHNESS
develop mental plans to deal with any situation
work your plans to perform your best under any circumstances

12. MENTAL PLANS
systematic mental strategies to help athletes perform their best by attaining, maintaining and regaining a Flow Mindset.

13. TYPES OF MENTAL PLANS Mental Preparation Plans
Mental Performance Plans
Mental Recovery Plans

14. Mental Preparation Plans Mental Performance Plans
attain Flow mindset
Optimal Performance
Mental Recovery Plans
regain Flow mindset
Mental Performance Plans
maintain Flow mindset

15. PRIMARY MENTAL PLAN STRATEGY
one plan for both practice and competition
make practice more like competition
make competition more like practice

16. MENTAL PLAN OBJECTIVES
attain a Flow Mindset (FM),
maintain that FM during practice and competition, and
regain your FM if you lose composure.

17. Mental Preparation Plans
What are . . .
Mental Preparation Plans
and how do they work?

18. PURPOSE OF MENTAL PREPARATION PLANS
to promote optimal performance by utilizing a structured personal mental warmup routine that creates a Flow Mindset

19. MENTAL PREP PLANS

20. MENTAL PREP PLANS

21. Mental Performance Plans and how do they work?
What are . . .
Mental Performance Plans and how do they work?

22. PURPOSE OF MENTAL PERFORMANCE PLANS
to promote optimal performance by helping athletes maintain their Flow Mindset throughout practice and competition and achieve their goals.

23. PERFORMANCE PLAN ALTERNATIVES
standard plans
backup plans

24. STANDARD MENTAL PERFORMANCE PLANS
goals you want to accomplish if everything goes perfectly, and
action plans for focusing on and achieving goals

25. BACKUP MENTAL PERFORMANCE PLANS
plan for dealing with obstacles and roadblocks to stay in a FM and remain focused on achieving your goals, and
plan for performing well by overcoming problems or things that go wrong.

26. 3 TYPES OF MENTAL PERFORMANCE PLANS
races or routines
preperformance or between-performance routines,
interactive sports

27. STANDARD RACE PLAN FOR 1500 METER RUNNER
chunk 1500-meter race into 3-7 meaningful parts (e.g., start, first 400 meters, middle part of race, & last 400 meters)
develop goals and action plans for achieving them during each race segment, and
identify cue words that trigger correct focus during each race segment (e.g., race start-- “explode & push,” “let it flow!”)

28. 400 METERS RACE PLAN

29. PURPOSE OF PREPERFORMANCE ROUTINES
Preperformance routines (PPR)s create consistent, high-level performance on repetitive, self-paced tasks such as free throw shooting, serving in tennis or volleyball, kicking in football, or all shots in golf, archery and shooting.
PPRs promote FM, particularly focus, confidence, and trust so performance becomes better and more consistent.
Consistent preperformance routines are effective because they allow athletes to trust their bodies and execute with greater automaticity.

30. PREPERFORMANCE ROUTINE COMPONENTS
relax your body and remove unwanted tension,
adjust your arousal to its optimal level,
utilize a “confidence cue,”
create a positive, stress-free and productive mental attitude using a “thought cue,”
use multisensory imagery to experience successful performance, and
execute automatically using “feeling cues.”

31. TOM AMBERRY FREE THROW PRESHOT ROUTINE
Step 1 – relax your arms and legs by taking several deep knee bends while clinching fists and shaking them out and set feet square to the free throw line.
Step 2 – bounce the ball 3 times using the inflation hole as a focus cue while bouncing the ball deliberately.
Step 3 – put your thumb in the channel with your index finger pointing at the inflation hole while boosting confidence by imagining the perfect shot.

32. TOM AMBERRY FREE THROW PRESHOT ROUTINE
Step 4 – elbow in the shot pocket while imagining perfect touch and feel throughout the shot.
Step 5 – use an initiation cue such as cocking your wrist to automatically initiate the shot by bending your knees while keeping your eyes on the target.
Step 6 – repeat cue word “nothing but net.”
Step 7 – execute automatically, following thru completely with “your hand in the cookie jar.”

33. BETWEEN-PERFORMANCE ROUTINES
For sports where there are regular breaks in the action (e.g., tennis, volleyball, football, shooting, archery, field events in track, etc).
Goal is to employ a 3-step process to ensure that the down time between plays, points or trials is used productively deal with previous performance and effectively prepare for upcoming performance.

34. 3 STEPS FOR BETWEEN-PERFORMANCE ROUTINES
Step 1: React – develop a composed reaction to previous good or bad performance to remain emotionally stable.
Step 2: Relax and Reflect – learn from previous performance without dwelling on mistakes.
Step 3: Refocus and Ready – cue a preperformance routine to refocus on the task at hand and get ready to perform automatically.

35. NEBRASKA FOOTBALL BETWEEN PLAY ROUTINE
Goal -- maximize responsibility & self control.
Step 1: Ready – signal caller uses “ready” to focus players attention totally on the call and the next play. For example, offensive players review their assignment and the snap count.
Step 2: Respond – automatic execution reinforced daily in drills and scrimmages.
Step 3: Refocus – review the completed play, learn from it, put it behind them and focus attention on the next play.

36. STANDARD INTERACTIVE SPORT PERFORMANCE PLAN
beginning of each quarter or half,
end of each quarter or half,
against the press, or
after a run of points

37. BACKUP INTERACTIVE SPORT PERFORMANCE PLAN
when officials make a bad call,
when opposing fans become rowdy,
following a turnover or major mistake,
when the coach yells at you, or
when opponents get a run of 3 or more baskets.

38. BASKETBALL PERFORMANCE PLAN

39. Mental Recovery Plans and how do they work?
What are . . .
Mental Recovery Plans and how do they work?

40. PURPOSE OF MENTAL RECOVERY PLANS
to help athletes regain their Flow Mindset during practice and competition when they totally lose their composure.

41. WHEN YOU MAY NEED MENTAL RECOVERY PLANS
prevent hassles,
nonideal conditions,
onesided and/or poor officiating,
physical or illegal play,
poor early performance or critical mistake, and
subpar overall performance,

42. MENTAL RECOVERY STRATEGIES
initiation cue (e.g., clap your hands),
relax physically,
identify new goals,
counter negative thoughts and develop a constructive perspective,
image new objectives, and
trust body’s ability to execute automatically.

43. BASKETBALL MENTAL RECOVERY PLAN

44. IMPLEMENTING MENTAL PLANS
1. Write out each plan in as much detail as possible.
2. Use imagery to rehearse each plan.
3. Try out plan in practice and refine.
4. Employ plans in low-stress competition.

45. IMPLEMENTING MENTAL PLANS
5. Evaluate plans’ effectiveness to develop, maintain, and regain Flow Mindset before & during competition.
6. Refine and extend plans based on evaluation.
7. Continue using, evaluating and refining plans until satisfied.

46. EVALUATING MENTAL PLANS
Did you stay focused on your process and performance goals?
Did you develop and maintain a Flow Mindset?
“State in which you perform best rather than feel best or most comfortable”

47. ULTIMATE IMPACT OF FLOW MINDSET
put mind on
automatic pilot
DON’T THINK! -- JUST REACT!