Image of Cascade High School Soccer Coach, Renee Cantrell. Photo via Cantrell.
Overcoming mental blocks
Renee Cantrell is a high school soccer coach at Cascade High School. Last year was her first year at Cascade, but in total, she has been coaching for 14 years. During this time, Cantrell has seen and helped athletes try to overcome mental blocks.
Cantrell identifies when an athlete is having a mental block by noticing a change in their play.
“I can tell when an athlete is having a mental block because they are not playing to their full potential. The athlete starts to make simple mistakes out on the field that they typically do not make on a normal day,” Cantrell said.
Common Mental Blocks
Some of the most common mental blocks Cantrell sees in athletes are setting unrealistic situations as well as athletes thinking the way they play will affect their team as a whole.
“The most common mental block for an athlete is setting unrealistic expectations for themselves, or feeling like their performance is directly affecting the team’s outcome. Athletes can experience anxiety ranging from pre-competitive jitters to paralyzing fear. Some athletes have the fear of injury or failure or try to be too perfect. Also, athletes who always do what they are told may shut out their internal voice, which can lead to a mental block,” Cantrell said.
How Cantrell Handles Athletes With Mental Blocks
When an athlete of hers is having a mental block, Cantrell tries to find the problem and tries to find a way to fix it with the athlete, so long as they want the help. She does this because in her opinion, one of the worst things is an athlete putting themselves down over the game.
“When one of my athletes is having a mental block, I take them aside and have a conversation with them. I ask them a series of questions, starting with how are they? What was the best part about their day? What was the worst part about their day? Was the worst part about their day resolved or do they need some support resolving it? Then together we figure it out and fix the issue at hand. Nothing is worse than an athlete beating themselves up during a game or practice over something that might have happened at home or school. I always let my players know they can come to me with whatever problems they may be having. If you as a coach do not ask the simple questions to all of your players, the athlete will carry it with them into practice and a game, and then you do not get the ‘A game’ athlete,
Cantrell said.
Handling Mental Blocks
Mauricio Smith is a basketball player for the Salem Capitals, he has been playing for the team for three years but has been playing for 12 years. When Smith is having a mental block he tries to change his mindset
“I shift my mind to focusing on the things or tasks that I have control over versus the things I have no control over,” Smith said.
The Hardest Mental Block As A Basketball Player
As a basketball player, Smith thinks the most common mental blocks are missing wide-open or easy shots and not playing as much as he would like. In Smith’s opinion, one of the hardest mental blocks to overcome is having a lack of confidence.
“I would say lack of confidence is the hardest mental block to have. The reason I feel this way is because if there is no self-belief in oneself how can anything be achieved? Greatness always starts with self-belief and self-confidence,” Smith said.
Overcoming Mental Blocks
When trying to overcome a mental block Smith thinks the hardest part is trying to remain calm.
The hardest part of overcoming a mental block is trying to remain patient during that process. Mentally when I am struggling I do not want to sit in the struggle and figure it out, I want it to be over. The real growth comes when I am able to remain patient in the storm and overcome not only the physical battle but also the mental,
Smith said.
