10 Mindset Red Flags in Track and Field
- Being too cautious or hesitant. Have you ever been afraid of getting tired in a race and started your pace too slow? Your trust that you have trained properly is non-existent. Your last 400 meters are off the charts because of your inability to pace yourself. This all came from a mental block in hesitating.
- Being better in practice than in an event or meet. Nerves run rampant pre-competition. You’ve expended so much energy prior to your competition that you have less in the tank for competitions versus practice.
- Running, jumping, or throwing to “not mess up” instead of being aggressive. For example, if you are running hurdles and your thoughts circle around “not falling”, you are out of attack mode.
- Poor Body language. You walk around with your head down. Your eyes have fear and worry in them. Even too serious of an expression on your face prior to competition is a red flag.
- Undermining your own potential. You frequently use the words “I can’t”. Your goals are easily attained with little or no planning. You don’t believe you are capable of being the best in your event.
- Low Confidence. Even you would say your confidence is fragile. One bad race, jump event, or, throwing event makes you question what you are really capable of doing. Ran a sub 5 minute mile last week and this week you are at 5:20? You think last week’s great performance was a fluke and you aren’t really that good.
- Very nervous before a meet or your event. On a scale of 1-10 you are a 13. You can’t eat, you feel tired already, and your mind is racing before your body is.
- Easily distracted while competing. Do you find that your eyes wander a lot around the track in the moments prior to your event or even during your event? Are you watching parents, teammates, or coaches on the sidelines?
- Struggles to bounce back after errors/mistakes. One bad practice or meet never stops there. It always turns into days or even week(s) long slumps that you have to shovel yourself out of.
- Too critical of yourself and obsessing about being perfect. You can’t enjoy any progress or celebrate small victories because you aren’t “there” yet. Perfectionism is often a red flag disguised as a virtue.
If your team or athletes struggle with these Red Flags it is important to address them immediately. Working harder doesn’t solve these problems. Maturing doesn’t solve these problems. You don’t get better at Math by studying English. You need to address these challenges head on.
Each of these can be improved with the right Mental Reps. As track and field competitors we make thousands of physical reps a week (running, jumping hurdles, hammer throws, etc.) Take the right Mental Reps each week as well and that’s when you break through plateaus and Jump Levels!