What is performance anxiety in sports?
Sports performance anxiety is when athletes feel nervous about their performance in competitions or practice. It can come from pressure to succeed, fear of failure, expectations from coaches or fans, and self-imposed demands. Learning to manage this anxiety is key to improving performance.
Signs of Sports Performance Anxiety
Performance anxiety is typically experienced through physical symptoms (like sweating or a racing heart), mental blocks (such as difficulty concentrating), or emotional responses (like frustration or self-doubt), all of which can negatively impact an athlete’s performance. Managing this anxiety involves strategies such as visualization, relaxation techniques, and focusing on the process (controllable factors) rather than just the outcome (uncontrollable factors).
1. Physical Symptoms
- Rapid heartbeat or chest tightness.
- Excessive sweating, even in cool conditions.
- Muscle tension or trembling.
- Upset stomach, nausea, or “butterflies.”
- Shortness of breath.
2. Emotional Symptoms
- Overwhelming fear of failure or embarrassment.
- Feeling irritable, frustrated, or on edge.
- Difficulty staying positive or motivated.
- Loss of enjoyment in the sport.
3. Cognitive Symptoms
- Racing thoughts or difficulty focusing.
- Overthinking every movement or decision.
- Persistent negative self-talk.
- Fearful anticipation of mistakes.
4. Behavioural Symptoms
- Avoidance of competition or practice.
- Procrastinating on tasks related to preparation.
- Uncharacteristic underperformance during key moments.
- Increased reliance on superstitions or rituals for confidence.
Causes of Sport Performance Anxiety
The Impact of Uncontrollable Factors
A great majority of athletes experience some form of performance anxiety throughout their careers because, in many ways, we are conditioned to focus on a lot of uncontrollable factors in any given performance, game, or competition. These common uncontrollable factors are the outcome (including individual results), other people’s expectations of us, coaches, refs, spectators, the environment, etc. If you talk to any athlete about to enter into a competition, I can guarantee you almost all of them will say their goal is to win— I’m not sharing anything new with you here, of course they want to win. But here’s why a goal of winning, if it’s our sole focus, can be detrimental to our performance and even cause performance anxiety.
The Pitfalls of a Win-Only Mindset
Let’s say I’m an athlete preparing to compete. I’ve done my warmup, my body is ready, and I’m waiting for the game to start. Performance anxiety can arise at several moments:
- Moment 1: I know as soon as that first whistle goes, I need to get off to a good start, a better start than my opponents because I need to win. I think to myself—play your best but don’t make any stupid mistakes because as far as I’m concerned, any mistakes that I make are a threat to my ability to win the game, which is scary.
- Moment 2: I look into the stands and see how many people are watching, this city loves this team, all these people paid to come and watch, what if we play poorly? How disappointed will all of these people be? What if I let them down?
- Moment 3: I notice that I’m feeling nervous. If I’m nervous, that must mean I’m not ready. If I’m not ready, I’m going to make mistakes. I’m not going to play well.
Personal Experiences of Performance Anxiety
All of these moments are experiences that I, and countless other athletes, have been through. My focus is clearly on everything that’s out of my control: the opponent, what mistake I might make in the future, the spectators and their enjoyment of the game. All of these factors set off alarm bells in my brain warning me that this situation is out of my control, and therefore dangerous—I should be worried.
How to overcome performance anxiety in sports
Experts recommend several strategies to tackle performance anxiety in sports:
- Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques: Use practices like deep breathing, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation to stay calm and focused.
- Positive Visualization: Imagine successful performance scenarios to boost confidence and ease anxiety.
- Cognitive Behavioral Strategies: Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations to strengthen mental resilience.
- Routine Development: Create pre-performance routines to foster a sense of control and reduce uncertainty.
- Professional Support: Work with sports psychologists or counsellors to address ongoing anxiety challenges.
We’ve made these proven methods into a simple 3-step process. It will help you manage performance anxiety and perform at your best.
Here’s THREE steps that you can follow:
- Mentally prepare yourself ahead of your competition: Engage in a mental warmup that allows you to access your resourceful state and gets you into the proper mindset before competition. This could include intentional breathing exercises, visualization, and words of affirmation.
- Identify your role in achieving success in the competition: These are key performance indicators (KPIs) that you always have the ability to have an impact on. What skills do you want to use? What emotions do you want to feel? What actions/behaviours can you engage in throughout the competition?
- Check in on your KPIs throughout the competition: Find times in your competition that allow you to take a moment and ask yourself: How am I doing right now? How do I feel about it? What am I doing well? What needs improvement?
By turning your focus away from all of the uncontrollable factors to those that are within your control, you help put your brain into a safe space, where it understands that you have the ability to impact the outcome via your process. Once your brain is focused on the process, it knows exactly what you need to do next.
Additional Resources
Having trouble maintaining consistency and unlocking your full potential? Join our Brain Training for Athletes course to master the mental game and reach peak performance. Explore the Brain Training for Athletes course today. Click here.
If you need help getting into a flow state, schedule a free consultation with me today!
Book a Free ConsultationLauren Williams | High-Performance Coach
