Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / Learn How Sports Anxiety Impacts Athletes – and What to do to Help

Learn How Sports Anxiety Impacts Athletes – and What to do to Help

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | Jan 04, 2016

No Comments

EP-150329225.jpg&updated=201503252214&MaxW=800&maxH=800&updated=201503252214&noborder

Uncontrollable shaking, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, profuse sweating…

Uncontrollable worry, apprehension, poor concentration, difficulty in decision-making…

Irritability, negative affect, angry emotional outbursts…

Withdrawal and isolation, rumination, and difficulty staying on course…

What you just read above are common physiological, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms associated with sports anxiety.  While we often talk about the negative consequences of anxiety as it applies to sport performance, we don’t always dig deep and closely examine the responses that occur in the moment where fear replaces confidence and anxiety takes over in sports.

Think for a moment if just half of the above listed responses were to occur to an otherwise talented athlete — can you see how quickly the athlete’s performance would be negatively impacted?  Herein is why it is so important for athletes to develop their mental toughness, resulting in greater strength as it applies to warding off the negative symptoms of sports anxiety.

The reason why otherwise talented athletes fail to live up to their potential

Many athletes perform well in practice or other low-stress environments, but tend to come up short in game situations.  Almost always the reason for this change in performance is due to debilitating anxiety, but the good news is that anxiety can be channeled into positive arousal with a buy-in to mental toughness training. Arousal is often experienced as positive human energy, the type of feeling you get when you are excited to perform a task and when you feel like you are in “the zone” while performing.

Athletes who struggle with sports anxiety should be encouraged to try the following tips to help:

  • Deep breathing.  Arguably the fastest, most effective way to calm down is to take 3-4 deep breaths all the way into your stomach, then hold the breath for about 4-5 seconds. Deep breathing should be used as often as needed, especially in game-situations.
  • Positive self-talk.  Yes, what we say to ourselves has a dramatic impact on how we perceive and respond to the world around us.  Train yourself to see challenges instead of threats, and use positive self-talk to walk yourself through tough situations.
  • Cue words.  Come up with a word, phrase, or acronym that stands for something you find positive and inspiring, and place the cue word in discrete places where you can see it during games (i.e. written on your hand).
  • Imagery.  Rather than getting caught up in the pressure of a game, try to instead see in your mind exactly what you are going to do next and envision yourself being successful performing your job on the field.

Improving up sports anxiety is something every athlete can do, but there must be a buy-in first.  What this means is that athletes must be reminded that none of the skills discussed above are “magic,” and they may not work the very first time you try them.  Fortunately, with a little patience and practice the positive results will soon be seen, making it that much more worthwhile to dedicate training designed to improve mental toughness.  For more information on this topic please check out The Mental Toughness Guide to Athletic Success.

www.drstankovich.com

 

 

anxiety, breathing, Coaching, confidence, imagery, parenting, performance, psychology, sport

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • May 6, 2025 Beyond the Numbers: How Overusing Sport Analytics Can Undermine Expert Judgment
  • April 21, 2025 Juggling Sports and Schedules: The Hidden Costs of Playing Multiple Sports
  • April 17, 2025 Earning Power: College Athletes Aren’t Greedy, They’re Just No Longer Free Labor
  • April 16, 2025 Decoding Intuition: What Happens When We Follow Our Inner Compass?
  • April 8, 2025 Precision, Purpose, Performance: The Psychology of Efficiency in Success

Comments are closed.

PREVIOUS POST

Looking For A Unique CEU Course?

NEXT POST

Everyone in College Football is Getting Richer – Except for the Guys Who Make it All Go

Category

Amateur , Athletes , Athletic Counseling , Burnout , Coaching , College , Communicating with Coach , Confidence , Life , Mental Toughness , Performance Enhancement , Prep , Pro and College Sports , Sport Philosophy , Sport Psychology , Sports Culture and Society , Sports Leadership , Sports Parenting , Sports Performance Science , Sports Safety , Training and Development , Travel Leagues , Uncategorized , Youth and Interscholastic Sports , Youth Sport Burnout , Youth Sports

Tags

anxiety, breathing, Coaching, confidence, imagery, parenting, performance, psychology, sport

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Beyond the Numbers: How Overusing Sport Analytics Can Undermine Expert Judgment
  • Juggling Sports and Schedules: The Hidden Costs of Playing Multiple Sports
  • Earning Power: College Athletes Aren’t Greedy, They’re Just No Longer Free Labor
  • Decoding Intuition: What Happens When We Follow Our Inner Compass?
  • Precision, Purpose, Performance: The Psychology of Efficiency in Success
  • The Importance of Passion & Purpose for Sport Success
  • How Human Arousal Impacts Sport Performance
  • Bouncing Back: How Coaches Can Help Kids Learn from a Tough Loss
  • Learn Sports Fear Reduction with these 5 Psychology Tips
  • Why Does Your Kid Play Great in Practice, but Not in Games?
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1207 Grandview Ave., Suite #218, Columbus, OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482

    Media & General Inquiries

    information@drstankovich.com

    Sales & Product Support

    sales@drstankovich.com

  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2025 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓