Most people come here asking or giving advice on physical training. Is there anyone here that can give me some advice on preparing myself mentally for contact sport?
I don’t mean to sound like I am some kind of nervous wreck - I’m not. However, in the past year I have had a very unhappy football season. I’m not an arrogant person but I am quietly confident of my abilities. I believe I have more talent, speed, strength, fitness, agility and work ethic than any other player - I have trained for this. However, I often set my standards very high, although this works to my advantage when I’m training, during games it has been quite detrimental. I would tackles that I should’ve made and other mistakes. All skills that I have done and practiced a million times. I would get very frustrated and kick myself in the guts for making a simple mistake like that, and the rest of the game I would become quite negative and not play to my full ability or take any risks.
I tend to get very attached to things, and when I miss an expected tackle or something like that, and hear the groan from the crowd and the disgusted comments by my teammates, it takes a toll on my playing ability. I know in my head that I need to stay positive, that I should be playing the game for pure enjoyment, but my heart takes it too seriously and as a result I haven’t been able to play to my full potential. I have read all the books on mental preparation, but none of them really help.
Is there anyone that can give me some advice and help me play to my full potential?