There’s a fine line in sport. You have to listen to your body so you don’t get injured – you also need to train to get stronger. Have you ever done a gym session where you felt amazing but then couldn’t move the next day? I know I have.

Disclaimer: All of my psychological knowledge on this post has come from AQA A Level Physical Education. I am in no way an expert, I am just writing what I have been taught!

THe mental Game

Physical activity is hard. That’s why so few people make it to the top. And part of the reason for it is that elite athletes are ok with being uncomfortable. They’ll train 3, 4, 5 times a week, and then play matches while recovering from pitch and gym sessions. It’s not just about coping with the physical stress the body is under, but the mental stress too.

So many people have the mentality, but not the skill. So many people have the skill but not the mentality. Some will push through the pain, and others will avoid it entirely. The Theory of Achievement Motivation suggests that its because of 2 differing personality types: Need to Achieve (NACH) and Need to Avoid Failure (NAF).

People who possess NACH tend to enjoy challenge and are not afraid of failing. These are the athletes who take risks, who persist with any task regardless of how difficult it is, and have high levels of confidence. They will often become the leaders in their groups because of it, and will normally be the first to volunteer to take a penalty for example. NAF personalities however tend to give up easily in order to avoid failing. They may refuse to take the penalty altogether if they feel like they may miss.

I wouldn’t say that every elite athlete has a NACH personality, but I firmly believe that many of them will have had a time in their career where they have fluctuated between NACH and NAF. There are times when NAF personalities suit the situation.

For example, when injured, a NACH athlete may push themselves too hard to get back to training. This may lead to being out of the game for longer, thus increasing the mental strain. A NAF athlete, however may take it easier, work slower, and ensure that they don’t get injured again. But when fighting for a place back in the starting squad, they may need to exhibit a more NACH approach to prove that they can give 100% effort again.

The physical game

The one thing they have in common though, is being comfortable when uncomfortable. And that may be why so many people leave competitive sport as the move out of the youth setup. I have heard so many people say “It got too serious.”, and it is usually in athletes between the ages of 13 and 16. They might be right, but why shouldn’t sport get serious? It gets to the point where in order to play, you have to go to the gym, you have to go through that period of soreness while the body is recovering, you have to put 110% into training to picked for the squad.

And it’s the people that enjoy that environment and competition that thrive; it’s the people that show up to every training session and use the feedback to learn, the people that go into every match wanting to win and improve their own gameplay.

Sport is physical. It involves making the body do things that it is not built to do, so when people use the phrase “Fighting for their spot!”, it truly means they are fighting. They are fighting against the need to train and the need to rest, against other people who may be naturally better at the sport, against people who put in more effort than them, against people who feel who always get into the starting squad. It’s always a big cycle of if and buts, yet the people who make it always master the fight.

Is it really worth it?

If you’re not an athlete, you will probably say no, it’s not worth it. If you are an athlete, then you will most likely say yes, of course it is. To me, being comfortable after a training session is bittersweet – I’m glad that I’m not in pain, but I also feel like I haven’t tried hard enough. Pain means progress (however much I complain about it!) and, well, without progress, what’s the point?

Thank you for reading, see you in the next one 🙂

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