| |
The Mental Game of Badminton
A Case Study Of The #1-Ranked Player
In The US
Bill Cole, MS, MA
|
This article tells the story of
how a badminton player undertook a mental game of badminton
training program and achieved the #1 singles ranking
in the United States. At the tournament levels of the
sport, the mental game of badminton is critical. It
separates the winners from the near-winners. It's that
final edge that pushes a player into the finals so they
can take home the big trophy. Having a strong mental
game of badminton is a must for all serious tournament
competitors. To succeed at these levels competitors
need to build mental toughness, a deep will to win,
sharp focus and the ability to make come-backs after
challenging points and matches.
|
How is your mental game? How does your
mental toughness and concentration stack up against your competitors?
At the tournament levels of the sport, the mental game of
badminton is critical. It separates the winners from the near-winners.
It's that final edge that pushes a player into the finals
so they can take home the big trophy.
In addition to being mental coach to badminton players, and
having taught badminton in college, I have coached world champions,
world record-holders, national champions and other athletes
at every level, and in over 60 sports. Even before I began
competing at the national level in badminton I knew having
a strong mental game of badminton was critical to succeeding.
I won some local and regional events and then was able to
reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA National Badminton Championships.
I was also very fortunate to practice weekly with numerous
singles and doubles national champions, and I could see their
mental toughness, dedication and level of focus.
It was a pleasure to receive a call from Hua Zhang, whose
daughter Julie, was a competitor at the regional and national
levels, asking how I could assist her in building a stronger
mental game of badminton. She took my on-line mental game
assessment, we reviewed it, made a plan and embarked on a
mental system to improve Julie's mental game.
Specialized Mental Game Of Badminton Training Program
Julie needed help on sharpening her pre-point
readiness, so I gave her special rituals and routines to do
before every serve and return of serve. She needed help in
handling set-backs in a match so I gave her a specific mind-clearing
breathing and relaxing procedure. She needed assistance in
keeping her focus on appropriate cues in a match, so I gave
her attentional cues that guided her thinking and focus. She
had a problem with maintaining focus in long points, so I
developed special on-court games that helped her become more
patient, tactical and to develop the points more. She used
to rush and feel time was slipping away in a match, so I gave
her various mental visualization protocols to slow her thinking
down so she could stay in the moment. She had a tendency to
hold her breath and get tight so we worked in my office on
deep relaxation exercises she could transfer to the match
court. She used to lose her touch due to trying too hard,
and from tensing up, so I had her work on body awareness,
body scanning, relaxation techniques and touch exercises.
She never had a mental game plan before, so we developed a
series of these, based on a variety of factors.
Her mental game of badminton training program had these elements:
- Mental Game Assessment
- Motivation And Goal-Setting
- Removing Self-Limiting Beliefs
- Non-Mental Factors In Sports Performance
- How Strategy And Tactics Affects The Mental Game
- Mental Readiness: Pre-Event Mental Readiness: In The
Event
- Turning Stress Into Success
- Controlling Nerves In Competition
- Breathing For Peak Performance
- Stopping Choking
- Finding Ideal Effort Levels
- The Art Of Ball Watching
- Attention Control Training
- Building The Inner Time Clock
- Getting In The Zone
- Mental Game Match Management
- Self-Coaching Skills
- Controlling Emotions
- Eliminating Self-Sabotage And The Paradox Of Success
- Stopping The Fear Of Failure And The Fear Of Success
- Playing To Win Vs. Playing Not To Lose
- Handling Mental Warfare In Sports: Gamesmanship And Ethics
- Practicing The Mental Game
- Sharpening Mental Tools On The Practice Court
- The Mental Game Off-Court
- Visualizing Success
- Thinking Like A Winner: Developing A Championship Mind
- Building Self-Confidence
- The Mental Game In Lessons
- Avoiding Slumps, Staleness And Burnout
- Building Mental Toughness
- Becoming A Tougher Competitor: The Will To Win
- Building The Killer Instinct
- Creating A Philosophy Of Competition
- The Mental Game After The Match: Self-Review
As a result of undergoing this very focused mental game of
badminton training program Julie achieved the #1 ranking in
the United States for Girls Singles Badminton 13 and under.
Julie's mother said, "Bill helped our daughter Julie improve
her mental approach to badminton, and we are very grateful
to Bill for all his assistance and guidance. As a result of
Bill's mental coaching, she is now ranked as the #1 player
in Under 13 Girl's Singles in Northern California, and as
a result of competitive play at the national level, she also
earned the #9 ranking in the United States for Girls Singles
Badminton 15 and under, and Julie achieved the #1 ranking
in the United States for Girls Singles Badminton 13 and under."
Read the full
testimonial.
Having a strong mental game of badminton is a must for all
serious tournament competitors. To succeed at these levels
competitors need to build mental toughness, a deep will to
win, sharp focus and the ability to make come-backs after
challenging points and matches. I encourage you to learn all
you can about the mental game of badminton so you can reach
your full potential as a tournament competitor.
Copyright © Bill Cole, MS, MA 2008-2013. All rights
reserved.
This article covers only one small part of the mental game.
A complete mental training program includes motivation and
goal-setting, pre-event mental preparation, post-event review
and analysis, mental strengthening, self-regulation training,
breath control training, motor skill training, mental rehearsal,
concentration training, pressure-proofing, communication training,
confidence-building, breaking through mental barriers, slump
prevention, mental toughness training, flow training, relaxation
training, momentum training, psych-out proofing and media
training.
For a comprehensive overview of your mental abilities you
need an assessment instrument that identifies your complete
mental strengths and weaknesses. For a free, easy-to-take
65-item sport psychology assessment tool you can score right
on the spot, visit https://www.mentalgamecoach.com/Assessments/MentalGameOfSports.html.
This assessment gives you a quick snapshot of your strengths
and weaknesses in your mental game. You can use this as a
guide in creating your own mental training program, or as
the basis for a program you undertake with Bill Cole, MS,
MA to improve your mental game. This assessment would be an
excellent first step to help you get the big picture about
your mental game.
Bill Cole, MS, MA, a leading authority on peak performance,
mental toughness and coaching, is founder and President of
the International Mental Game Coaching Association, https://www.mentalgamecoaching.com.
Bill is also founder and CEO of William B. Cole Consultants,
a consulting firm that helps organizations and professionals
achieve more success in business, life and sports. He is a
Wall Of Fame Honoree, an award-winning scholar-athlete, published
book author and articles author, and has coached at the highest
levels of major-league pro sports, big-time college athletics
and corporate America. For a free, extensive article archive,
or for questions and comments visit him at www.MentalGameCoach.com
or SportsPsychologyCoaching.com.
Article Source: SportsPsychologyCoaching.com
Return to The Mental Game
of Badminton Articles directory.
|
|
