Choking in sports is most often caused by a specific concentration mistake!
If you go into an important competition or try-out and focus on the “uncontrollables” (anything that you can’t directly control) either before or during your performance, you’ll get nervous, physically tighten up and become flooded with negative thinking & self-doubts. These mental and physical changes will always make you vulnerable to falling apart under pressure!
Uncontrollables = Anything in the future (i.e. winning, losing scoring, etc.); anything in the past, (i.e. mistakes, failures); everything about your opponent (i.e. size, skills, reputation, etc.); the ref’ing; your coach and playing time; weather and playing conditions; your teammates; how you feel that day; how important the game is, etc.
For peak performance under pressure, learn to keep your concentration on what you can control – You can always learn to control what you are doing in the moment and how you react to all of the uncontrollables. Whenever you find yourself focusing on anything that you have no direct control over, recognize it and immediately bring your concentration back to what you can control!
