4 Tips for a Great Athlete Competition Mindset, for Parents

Jun 9

Preparing your athlete for competition day the right way will have a huge influence over how they perform.

Tip 1: Stress Free Preparation

You absolutely need to plan for a Stress Free morning/getting ready time, the day of competition. Negativity and stress can carry on into the rest of the day and can throw off your athletes mindset in preparing for competition.

Be prepared the night before, have everything you need ready to go well in advance. Have costumes, hair and make up supplies and food for the day ready to go. Even prepare your things a week in advance and leave in a safe bag or box, so you know if there is anything missing in advance.
Allow plenty of time to get ready and travel to competition, the last thing you need is added stress by running late.
Think in advance of what your pressure points might be for the time you get ready. Is make up stressful, does your child cry over getting their hair done, do your kids take a while to eat their breakfast. Try and think of these things and come up with ways you can make these situations slightly better in advance, or at least be mentally prepared for them.
If you feel any frustration, try your very best to avoid conflict. I know this is almost unavoidable if an incident occurs, but we need to aim for a stress free morning the best we can.
Most importantly, make sure you allow time to take care of you, have your coffee and breakfast! Don’t turn up without having had your morning coffee or that will be a really bad day! (If you’re a coffee enthusiast anyway)

Tip 2: How you talk about their team

It is really important that you keep spirits high and don’t stress about their team for them. Keep your child positive about their team and encourage positive affirmations.

Here are some positive affirmations you can have your athlete go over:

Am I good enough? Yes I am.
We will hit 0!
I will fight for my stunt
Our team is the greatest
I have the skills needed to perform well
I was put on this team for a reason
I like the challenge of competition

Tip 3: How you talk about the competition and who the team is versing

Who your child’s team is versing makes no difference to them, if they try their best. As long as they have gone out on the competition floor and given their all, there is nothing more you can do. Our focus is solely on them doing their best whether in a division of 1 team or 50 teams.

Therefore, discussing how many the team is versing or who, will only make them more nervous and stressed. We absolutely don’t want them going in feeling too confident that they feel it will be easy - because hitting a routine isn’t easy, but that is the coaches job to find the perfect middle between confident and over confident.

Tip 4: Ensure your athlete is well fuelled

Ensure your athlete has eaten properly before their meet time. They will likely not eat for the following 3 hours and going into their competition they need to have eaten to have enough energy to give their all on the competition floor.

Pre-event meal
The pre-event meal is an important part of the athlete’s pre-exercise preparation.
A high-carbohydrate meal 3 to 4 hours before exercise is thought to have a positive effect on performance. A small snack one to 2 hours before exercise may also benefit performance.
It is important to ensure good hydration prior to an event. Consuming approximately 500 ml of fluid in the 2 to 4 hours prior to an event may be a good general strategy to take.

Some people may experience a negative response to eating close to exercise. A meal high in fat, protein or fibre is likely to increase the risk of digestive discomfort. It is recommended that meals just before exercise should be high in carbohydrates as they do not cause gastrointestinal upset.

Examples of appropriate pre-exercise meals and snacks include cereal and low-fat milk, toast/muffins/crumpets, fruit salad and yoghurt, pasta with tomato-based sauce, a low-fat breakfast or muesli bar, or low-fat creamed rice. Liquid meal supplements may also be appropriate, particularly for athletes who suffer from pre-event nerves.
For athletes involved in events lasting less than 60 minutes in duration, a mouth rinse with a carbohydrate beverage may be sufficient to help improve performance. Benefits of this strategy appear to relate to effects on the brain and central nervous system.
Better Health, VIC GOV.

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