By Amani Kimball-McKavish

It is the night before the championship game. You lay awake in bed, watching the clock’s hand tick farther and farther into the latest hours of the evening. You are worrying about all of the possible things that could go wrong during the big game: What if I forget my jersey? What if I have the perfect opportunity to score, but I sky the ball over the goal? What if I’m playing defense, and I humiliatingly fall and get scored on? Given that you have about 15 hours until gametime, are any of these thoughts within your control in the present moment? 

The answer is no, and this is where mental training can have a tremendous impact on you as an athlete. In her book The Mountain is You, Brianna Wiest explains, “Irrational fears, especially the kind that are least likely to become reality, are often what we project real fears onto… Nothing can possibly ruin our lives more than we are ruining them with our negative, distracted, and irrational thinking and focus.” Mental training can present itself in many aspects of your daily life, and it can be utilized to benefit each individual who seeks to improve the strength of their mind. Mental practice and strengthening can help combat the natural phenomenons of self-doubt, nervousness, and fear of not meeting expectations. Have you ever thought about how much strengthening of your mind could impact your life?

In the professional sports world, there is an emphasis on preparation and hard work, yet what comes across to the general public is that preparation and hard work mostly entail tireless practice every day. Most people are unfamiliar with what it’s like to be a high-level athletic performer, which creates the misconception that the world’s best athletes follow a strict schedule of eating, sleeping, and training. However, among the best of the best, there is a ceiling for talent, preparation, and hard work. What most people do not know is that mental training is what allows successful athletes to differentiate themselves from their strongest competitors and truly be great. 

“What you think affects how you feel and perform. Training your brain is as important as training your body.”  – Mind Gym by Gary Mack, author and sports psychology consultant and counselor.

In professional sports, or even at the college level, athletes are constantly working and pushing themselves to get better. But when it comes time to play and there’s a high-pressure situation, many athletes fold, because skills can only get them so far. This is where sports psychologists like my aunt Dr. Aimee Kimball come into play.

Dr. Aimee Kimball. Photo courtesy of Aimee Kimball.

Dr. Kimball received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Penn State University in three years and then went to The University of Tennessee, where she earned her PhD in Sports Psychology. Finally, she attended Miami University of Ohio, where she graduated with a Master of Science in Sports Behavior and Performance, as well as an Executive MBA in Entrepreneurship. Dr. Kimball has an extensive background and has worked with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia 76ers as a draft consultant, the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, and The United States Women’s Olympic Hockey Team in varying roles regarding sports psychology and mental training, and she also owns her own consulting firm, KPEX Consulting.

A photo of Dr. Kimball with the Stanley Cup. Photo courtesy of Aimee Kimball.

Dr. Kimball details that sports psychology is “understanding how your mind affects performance and learning how to control the way you think.” She claims that there are two main components to sports psychology: the mental health side and the performance enhancement side. The mental health side of sports psychology works with athletes who are struggling emotionally within their sport, while the performance enhancement side specializes on strategies to become a better player. 

Dr. Kimball works with athletes on the performance enhancement side of sports psychology, helping them succeed and focus on what they can control through visualization, reflection, goal setting, and relaxation. Players who have trouble moving on from their mistakes, who are unable to settle nerves before important games, or who don’t feel as though they’re reaching their full potential are all examples of clients who Dr. Kimball is able to help through mental training. 

When working with her clients, Dr. Kimball starts her sessions with an incredibly basic, yet vital question: When are you doing your best? For each athlete, the answer to this question is the gateway to their success. Mental trainers’ approach is to attempt to replicate the conditions under which an athlete feels most elite, comfortable, and devoid of pressure. Some follow up questions to help steer a mental trainer’s approach may include: What are you focused on when you’re at your best? What is your energy like? What are you thinking? What do you do before a game? What do you eat? What are some times when this is not present?

Having focused on sports for most of my life, I ask myself these questions consistently. Whether golf, tennis, soccer, field hockey, basketball, or lacrosse, all of them have taught me that sports require a strong mind. I have spent countless hours practicing my skills, but what has shaped me most as an athlete are the tough losses, high-pressure situations, and moments of adversity when my mental game is challenged. As a high school student and athlete who is going to pursue sports in college, changing the way I think in a strategic manner so that I can be more successful on the field has been a heavy focus of mine throughout my time as an athlete.

Personally, a perfect game feels like I am watching myself play in front of me. There is no pressure, and my teammates’ and my mistakes are blanketed in positive energy. Everyone on the field is playing for each other and pushing to make one another better. I am doing all of the little things right, which builds up my confidence and allows me to take risks when possible. In the few days prior to the game, I am drinking enough water, getting over eight hours of sleep, and eating as healthy as possible. When these feelings are absent, I play outside of the present moment and forget to enjoy myself. I worry about how I could make a mistake, and I lose confidence and sit back rather than making my usual plays. 

What a sports psychologist might ask me as a follow-up to my description is, “Have you ever had a good game where you didn’t feel your best?” They would try to make me understand that the harder I try for perfect circumstances, the harder it will be to create an environment where I feel 100%. After asking this question, they would help me to establish a pregame or in-game routine to ensure that my mind knows it is time to play.

Rachel Lifson. Photo courtesy The University of Louisville.

I asked a Collegiate graduate and current lacrosse player at The University of Louisville, Rachel Lifson (‘19), how mental training works at her school and what programs are offered for student athletes. She told me, “mental health training is very encouraged at my school” and that they meet with the Director of Mental Performance often; she even accompanies them to away games from time to time.

Lifson is an incredible athlete who played field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse during her time in the Upper School. Similar to me, she “knew about mental health training in high school.” She also detailed that “the biggest things I’ve learned from high school into today have just been to stay present and not get too caught up in things I cannot control.” Lifson experienced a few injuries throughout her career, which forced her to develop a stronger mind and approach her situation with positive energy.

In college, Lifson and her teammates meet with the Director of Mental Performance for “exercises to stay present and mentally sharp, as well as having discussions on what may be stopping us from being as successful as we can due to our self doubts and other internal thoughts.” Lifson’s team focuses on ways to “maximize performance on the field by minimizing distractions.” When asked how mental training has specifically impacted her, Lifson explained, “Mental health training has helped me with my performance by leading me to understand what is blocking my ability to be successful from a mental standpoint.” She has learned “tactics to help stay present and not worried about the unknown.”  

Photo credit: Anssi Koskinen via Wikimedia Commons.

Much of the culture at Collegiate is rooted in athletics, and many students are incredibly dedicated to the sports that they play. In a Match article written by Anna Armstrong (‘23) about the emphasis on the mental game in tennis, Collegiate tennis players Claiborne Dillard (‘23) and Sarah Beth Neese (‘23) discuss the pressures they feel when playing in a match. There is no doubt that there is high pressure and a competitive environment within sports teams at Collegiate, and it is also apparent that many of the great athletes in the Upper School would significantly benefit from more resources to learn about mental training and how to healthily weigh the mental component of their sport with the physical training aspects.

Most athletes will tell you that they play sports because they love it or because it’s fun. However, as athletes age, the pressure to perform at such a high level certainly exists and can be overwhelming at times. In this moment, it can be hard to sort through the self-doubt and anxiousness and find your love for the game. Mental training can undeniably help to combat this issue, but why don’t we do more of it? 

Putting effort into your mental game as an athlete is challenging on various fronts and often hard to justify, because there are not always visible results. Mental training doesn’t always yield instant or tangible returns, like gaining muscle after lifting consistently does, which makes it difficult to have confidence in the process. For many athletes, it is natural to be results-driven, and because mental training is a feeling rather than an appearance, it is easy for someone with a busy lifestyle to place it on the back burner. Not only is it easy to make personal excuses as to why mental training is not necessary, but because practice, lifting, stretching, and healthy eating are all valued so much higher than mental training in society, it is incredibly easy to overlook. 

One of the most common misconceptions regarding sports psychology is that athletes must only seek aid when something is wrong. This stigma, which includes various fears about being seen as incompetent or weak, is what prevents most athletes from taking care of a major component of their game. In fact, “only one-third of people who could likely benefit from psychological treatment seek help,” according to a study done by the Journal of Counseling Psychology.

“The dominant culture in both sports and management has historically been one of strength, power, and invulnerability.” –  Alyson Meister and Maude Lavanchy in Harvard Business Review

Naomi Osaka. Photo credit: Rob Keating via Wikimedia Commons.

While reaching out for help at any point is healthy, mental training can be most lucrative when serving as a preventative measure. Just as athletes lift weights to develop strength and avoid injury, athletes can also work with professionals to strengthen their mind to avoid moments of self-doubt and folding under pressure. Dr. Kimball emphasizes to her clients that, “inconsistency has more to do with mentality and not skill lapse,” because high-level athletes will not lose skill overnight, but rather it’s their mindset that is most volatile.

In the case of professional tennis player Naomi Osaka, her absence from a 2021 French Open press conference prior to her resignation from the tournament led to criticism towards her as an athlete and as a person. However, athletes around the world stepped in to express their gratitude and support towards Osaka for her bravery in admitting to her struggles with mental health on a world stage. Because of role models like Osaka, “there’s more acceptance of the fact… that mental health is a real thing, and in the athletics realm, it takes serious bravery for these high-profile athletes to come out and use the word ‘depression’ or use the word ‘anxiety,’” explains Ohio State University sports psychologist Jamey Houle. Not only do young athletes struggle with normalizing the importance of their mentality in sports, but so do professionals. But, because of athletes like Aly Raisman, Michael Phelps, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Love, Jennifer Brady, Leeann Passaro, Victoria Garrick, Serena Williams, and so many more who have been brave enough to share their own struggles with mental health in sports, the next generation of aspiring athletes can have the confidence to pursue mental strengthening and adopt strategies to become more healthy athletes.