DO NOT STRESS OVER YOUR COMPETITION IN SPORTS

By Stan Popovich (www.managingfear.com)
Remixed by Ross Guity aka R.G. Major

Many athletes sometimes get anxious when they are going against a tough opponent. They get nervous on who they are competing with and they get so worked up that they lose focus on playing their game. In the end, they tmake mistakes and end up beating themselves up if they do not win. Here is a list of techniques that an athlete can use to help manage the stress of going against the competition:

*The first step is to learn as much as you can on your opponent. Although this may seem obvious, some athletes may think they already know what they need to know. Remember that there is ALWAYS something to learn about your competition. Read the reports about your opponent and watch his or her performance. Try to figure out an angle on how you can beat your competition. The more you know about your competition, the better your chances are you will win. This will also help to reduce your worries in the future.

*DO NOT assume anything about your competition - whether they are stronger or weaker than you. Every athlete has his good and bad times and just because you may be facing a stronger opponent does not neccessarily mean that you will outright lose. Remember that you and your opponent both have an equal chance of come out the victor. You are both stating from scratch. This should help you gain confidence going into your next event.

* Focus on how you can best strive for perfection in your own event instead of solely worrying about your opponent. For instance, you are going against the No. 1 athlete in the tournament are you are nervous....Instead of focusing on how good your competition is, focus strongly on how YOU will perform. Concentrate on your performance and how you can BEST improve on your 'problem' areas.

*Realize that you can't win all of the time and the exact same applies to your competition. You may be the best athlete in the world; however you will still sometimes lose. NO ONE can win all of the time. When facing a tough competitor, use this fact to your advantage. Even the best athletes will make some mistakes....It is not uncommon to get nervous when you go up against a better opponent. All you can do is just focus on your skill sets and do the BEST you can. This will help you in the long run!