Managing mindset is crucial to turning sporting talent to gold medals
AUSTRALIA has many athletes and teams favoured to win gold at the Commonwealth Games. But former Diamonds captain and gold medallist Natalie von Bertouch writes only those who can get their mindset right and handle the pressure will emerge victorious.
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THE Commonwealth Games have begun and for our Aussie athletes nothing will feel better than winning a gold medal in front of a home crowd.
We have plenty of gold medal hopes but as we have seen time and time again we cannot always count on “the favourites” to perform well on the international stage.
So just who will win gold? The answer is simple, whoever can get their mindset right and handle the pressure.
In sport the power of the mind is a very influential thing, and it’s what makes sport so interesting. It means on any given day you just never know who will win.
Of course, some athletes will live up to expectation. The Diamonds are one team I expect will do this, but there will be some athletes who leave the Games with bitter disappointment after crumbling under pressure.
We recently saw this at the Rio Olympic Games when Cate Campbell and Cam McEvoy had disappointing swims, and the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras missed medals.
It happens all too often.
Participating in a home Commonwealth Games is exciting for everyone — the athletes, their families and the spectators.
As a former Commonwealth Games athlete who competed at a home Games in Melbourne (2006) and away in Delhi (2010), I can assure you the athletes will feel the hype, excitement and support of the nation and a level of pressure that can only come from competing on home soil.
Athletes will get more phone calls from wellwishers, will feel a responsibility to see people who have travelled to watch them compete and will have increased exposure on social media — all great things but when not managed well will have dire consequences on performance.
This increased attention comes with a high price tag — greater risk of failure.
We will unfortunately see some athletes buckle at the knee but the smart athletes, the gold medallists, will be the ones who acknowledge these factors and find a way to manage them, and remove the weight of expectation from their own shoulders.
As a former athlete I learnt a lot about mindset along the way. I certainly didn’t always have it right, but one thing that was pivotal in helping me deal with the pressure was a statement from former Aussie Diamonds captain Liz Ellis.
In our changerooms before our 2007 World Championship final she said to the team: “Big games are won by players who have the presence of mind to do ordinary things in extraordinary circumstances.”
This statement stuck with me for the rest my career, and changed how I mentally approached big games. I took Ellis’s words to mean that I didn’t need to try harder, do more, run faster, jump higher or do things differently than before.
It made me realise if I (and the team) played like we had every game before that, the result would take care of itself.
Athletes sometimes forget this and try too hard — the ironic thing about trying too hard is that it backfires. Not fair, really, is it?
When athletes remove the pressure on themselves to perform better than ever before, they can clear their minds and focus on the process rather than the outcome.
This simple step helps athletes to perform to their potential, and even enjoy the moment without feeling too anxious. These are the athletes who will win gold on the Gold Coast.
Social media is a great place to check in on the mindset of our athletes. You can tell who is distracted and who is on the money.
I look forward to watching our athletes on this platform and hope, along with the nation, that athletes have learnt from past failings.
Let’s go Aussies, bring home the gold.
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As she continues her calls for a statue of a female sportsperson to be built at Adelaide Oval, Natalie von Bertouch gives her suggestions for whose should be sculpted first. CAST YOUR VOTE IN OUR POLL
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