One of the major downfalls in any sport is that the athlete does not practice with a purpose. Practicing with a purpose is one of the major mental skills that is used by top class athletes around the world. No matter what level you play a sport at there is always room for improvement. Nobody is good enough to ignore improvement.
Great players will continue to practice their strengths but they will also acknowledge their weaknesses. Players sometimes wish to continue to play and hide their weaknesses but sooner or later those weaknesses will be exposed by their opponent. For example, no matter how good you are at basketball, if you can only dribble the ball with your left hand you won't be able to compete at the top level. Other players will take notice eventually and be able to anticipate your next move. For those who can only dribble with one hand need to deliberately practice dribbling with the opposite hand. This is actually what I call practising with a purpose. Don't ignore your weaknesses, instead, work hard at them.
One of the downsides for an athlete is complacency. Even in victory athletes can be complacent. Indeed, victory must be celebrated but it will not eliminate weaknesses. In victory, Michael Jordan, one of the worlds greatest ever athletes, would always return to practice and work hard on his weaknesses. He was a true winner and in spite of all the odds, he would always put up is hand for the game winning shot whether he made the basket or not. Jordan once said that, "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeeded." He never did things half heartedly in practice, because he knew that if he did he would get half hearted results. He always turned his weaknesses into strengths, he was an athlete who never rested on his success and always went the extra mile.
Most athletes and players know that how you practice is how you perform, but still fail to practice with a purpose. Players must be honest with themselves at all times. If a players level of confidence, motivation and focus is poor at training there is a good chance that they will be poor on match day also. Even for a player to say, I am going to work hard and better at training tonight is not specific enough. The player or athlete must make the purpose of training be measurable, specific and intentional.
If you are a free kick taker on a Gaelic team and decide that you are going to practice fifty free kicks after training, you must decide that you are going to make a percentage of the shots. The percentage is up to you but let's say 80%. This is specific and measurable because you know you must make forty of the fifty free kicks. If you stay behind after training and take fifty free kicks without measuring them, going through the motions, then it's a complete waste of time and effort. If you only make 60% of what you kick then the next practice you have something to improve on, something measurable and achievable to work with.
It is always important to re-evaluate your game and your practice sessions. Rather than just turning up for training, set specific goals for that particular session. This way you are not waiting to improve by chance, instead you are improving purposely. There is always an area of your game that can be worked on and this can be the difference in winning and losing and gaining an edge on your opponent. If you can practice with a specific purpose in mind then that practice is going to be focused, intentional and obviously you will become better. As a result it will reduce anxiety because you know you are prepared.
"Practice as if you are the worst; perform as if you are the best."
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