07/19/2025
How an athlete perceives a competition – as a threat or a challenge - can have a significant impact on their performance.
❌Threat Perception
When athletes see a race or a game as a threat, their body goes into survival mode.
✔️ physically- heart rate spikes erratically, muscles tense up, and coordination can suffer.
✔️ mentally – they are anxious, they focus on not failing, worry about consequences (worst case scenario thinking), and overthink every move.
Ex.: before an NCAA championship prelims heat, the athlete is thinking “if I don’t make the A final, I’ll let the team down.” They feel anxious and tight and overwork the first part of the race, leaving them exhausted for the second half of the race.
Ex.: a high school soccer player fears making a mistake in front of college coaches & plays more cautiously, avoiding risks, and under performs.
What it looks like:
- Low confidence
- Outcome based thinking & what if… thinking
- pressure from coaches, parents, media, rankings, financial consequences, etc.
- focusing on past failures
✅ Challenge perception
When the same event is seen as a challenge, the athlete feels energized and focused.
✔️ physically – heart rate increases in a stable way, muscles are primed, but loose, reflexes are sharp.
✔️ mentally – they feel motivated, confident, and in control.
Ex.: the swimmer reframes the prelim heat as a chance to show what they have training for.
Ex.: a basketball player sees college coaches attending the game as an opportunity to prove their growth and development. They are able to stay present, adapt, and take smart shots.
What it looks like:
- focusing on solid preparation
- confident
- process focus thinking, such as “I have trained for this and I want to see how well I can execute this”
- focusing on past successes
It is not the event itself. It is the athlete’s interpretation of the event that is crucial. Most of the time, the interpretation is unconscious. Athletes need to learn to train their mind just like they train their body.
📷: nineoclock.ro
