Flow & Playing in the Zone Archives

Flow State: When Everything Just Clicks

Concentration, Confidence, Flow & Playing in the Zone, Sport Psychology

Ever wonder what’s really going on in your mind and body during a flow state, when it feels like time slows down and everything just clicks?

During the 1992 NBA Finals, Michael Jordan hit seven threes in a row against the Portland Trail Blazers, scoring 35 points in the first half alone. By his seventh shot, he could only shrug, a performance so far above expectations that even Jordan seemed stunned by it (Bell, n.d.). Sport psychologists call this a flow state. Most athletes just call it being in the zone.

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The difference between superstition, rituals, and routines

Confidence, Flow & Playing in the Zone

Athletes, coaches and sport fans often mistake the difference between superstition, rituals and routines. If you’ve ever watched Rafael Nadal serve, you’ve probably noticed his methodical repertoire of hand gestures and movements. From touching the back and front of his shorts, then his shoulders, nose, ears, and eventually his thighs. In his autobiography, Nadal writes, “Some call it superstition, but it’s not. If it were superstition, why would I keep doing the same thing over and over whether I win or lose? It’s a way of placing myself in a match, ordering my surroundings to match the order I seek in my head.” In sports it is critical for athletes and coaches to understand and distinguish the difference between superstitions, rituals, and routines.

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The Confidence Continuum

Confidence, Flow & Playing in the Zone, Imagery

How do you build your confidence in sports? Athletes often come seek out a sport psychologist because their confidence is too low. Many athletes, especially female identifying athletes, worry they’ll be perceived as “arrogant” or “not a team player” if their confidence is too high? The gender confidence gap is real, and it affects many female athletes and women’s sports teams today.

One of the biggest misconceptions about confidence in sports is that most athletes and coaches think confidence is simply the belief in one’s ability to win or succeed. That definition is too narrow and often leads to a simplified “yes or no”, “you either have it or you don’t” type of thinking, when the reality is that confidence is actually far more complex.

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Imagery: The Action Happens in Your Mind

Concentration, Flow & Playing in the Zone, Imagery

Imagery is a mental skill that allows athletes to mentally rehearse in their minds using their five senses to imagine or replay the desired experience . The aim of imagery is to train your mind and body to feel calm under pressure situations and influence the outcome of events. Athletes can use imagery to picture what it will look, feel, and sound like to compete under pressure in front of loud spectators and in specific competition arenas. The action happens in your mind.

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Using Routines to Mentally Prepare for Competition on the Road

Concentration, Confidence, Flow & Playing in the Zone

In a typical season most teams play 50% or more games “away” from home or on the road. And yet, very few teams actually prepare for the differences between competing at home and away. The sheer number of away competitions that athletes can expect to experience demonstrates the importance of mentally preparing athletes to compete on the road.

One of the most effective mental performance strategies to help athletes adjust to discomfort and dysregulation that comes with playing away is for athletes to develop a pre-competition routine. A pre-competition routine or systematic ritual serves to increase athlete confidence and improve concentration (Vernacchia, McGuire, & Cook, 1996). To mentally prepare athletes for away competition, it can also be helpful to ask questions such as: What do you miss the most when you are competing away from home (Gardner & Moore, 2004)?

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How to Control Your Energy Level in Competition

Flow & Playing in the Zone, Imagery, Self-care

Got players that are feeling anxious and stressed? There’s certainly no shortage of things to be stressed out about in today’s world, but sports should be a stress outlet rather than a stress trigger – especially for young players. Unfortunately, that’s often not the case. Now more than ever before, we are seeing a rise in rates of anxiety, depression, suicide, and self-harm among teenagers. The New York Times has coined the term “the inner pandemic” to describe today’s mental health crisis among youth and adolescents.

Athletes and coaches alike experience a fight-or-flight response when their sympathetic nervous system is activated. Physical symptoms of stress can include increased heart rate, stomach nausea, shortness of breath, muscle tension, and unwanted arousal. There are evidence-based muscle-to-mind techniques that you can use to help athletes reduce their levels of performance anxiety and stress.

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