5 Ways to Mentally Prepare For Tryouts

1. Write down your top 5 strengths
This gives you instant confidence boost and reminds you of what you are great at.  If you focus on your strengths, you will play more free and your body will feel more loose and natural.

2. Write down 3 reasons you deserve to make the team
This will remind you of all of the hard work you have put in and how far you have come in the past year.  This too will give you a boost of confidence heading into tryouts.

3. Visualize yourself performing well on tryout day
When you visualize your tryout going the way you want, you begin to think with optimism and confidence.  The more you visualize, the stronger your mind will be on tryout day.

4. Breathe!
Fear is excitement without the breath. When you breathe, it is the first step to turning your fear (or nervousness) into excitement and clarity.  Try to breathe in and out through your belly (not your chest) and it will help your body relax even more.
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5. Stay focused on the task at hand, not on your surroundings
It’s easy to get caught up in your surroundings (the coaches watching and evaluating you, the feeling of “all eyes on me” being out there all alone performing in front of everyone).  If you can focus instead on executing the one simple task at hand, it will help you avoid noticing the tryout environment.  Whether one coach or five or more coaches are watching you, you still have to perform all of the small tasks at hand.  Keep your focus simple to keep your mind clear.

 If want to learn other useful tools to apply to your life on a daily basis to enhance your awareness, confidence and commitment, contact Brett Manning today to set up a local or remote mental training session.

“Greatness is not given…It is earned through a purposefully executed daily grind.”