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It's coming up to championship time for club teams in the GAA. This is an exciting time of the season for players. However, it can be a time when players may struggle. I’m going to look at 4 things to keep in mind during this championship time and how you can help yourself if these challenges are relevant to you.
1. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it
Often, when it comes to championship time, we can completely change our preparation routines. This can be especially unhelpful if we have a routine that has been working for us all season as we can suddenly begin to feel anxious due to the change. Your routine for the day before the game and pregame routine is something that you should look to refine throughout the season rather than making big changes in the lead up to key games. If you have something that works for you, stick with it.
2. Break it down
Come championship time we can get wrapped with thoughts of winning your championship. While it is helpful to aspire to these lofty goals, sometimes these feelings can become overwhelming and induce feelings of pressure. Moreover focusing on these desired outcomes can take our focus away from the processes required to achieve the outcomes we want. Break it down into the next game and think about the processes required to achieve an ideal performance in the next game.
3. Gather evidence
During the championship time, we can begin to doubt our abilities and question whether we can overcome the potential challenges. Sometimes we can let these doubts niggle away at us and if unchecked these can affect our performance. If we start to experience any of these doubts it can be worthwhile to write down all the preparation that you have done, times you have overcome difficulties, successful performances you’ve had throughout the season. All these can help us overcome these doubts we may have.
4. Reframing Pressure
Championship time generally comes with pressure. However pressure is really just a perception. If we perceive something to have lots of importance we inadvertently increase the pressure on ourselves. Yes, we want to play well and win but continuously thinking about how important the game is probably won’t help that. In fact it can help to reframe the game. At the end of the day, championship game is just a game of football, hurling or camogie. You have played hundreds of games before and refined the skills, why should this one be any different? Reframing championship games in this way can be a helpful way to manage any anxiety you may have.
Hopefully these four concepts can help you excel for your club in the championship this year. If you are interested in working with us at SPT on your mindset ahead of the club championship, reach out here!
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