Staying Focused When Opponents Are Trash Talking
Have negative remarks, whether it’s trash-talking or a negative comment from your opponent, ever distracted you?
You are not alone…
In every sport, mental warfare occurs and its sole objective is to get into your head, interrupt your focus, and mess with your performance.
There are countless examples of trash talk in sports…
A group of opposing gymnasts who make snide remarks as you pass by to prepare for your next apparatus…
Swimmers attempting to psyche you out behind the starting blocks as your heat is being announced…
Cocky opposing volleyball players who over-celebrate every point won.
The mind games are endless in sports. The reason that athletes trash talk is because, many times, it works. Some athletes get so caught up in the antics of their opponents that they find it difficult to focus during a competition or game.
For instance, there was a lot of trash talking in the 2017 NBA Finals where the Cleveland Cavaliers faced off against the Golden State Warriors.
Warriors forward Draymond Green is notorious around the league for trash talking and getting into the head of opposing players.
GREEN: “Everybody’s susceptible to that [trash talking]. I don’t care who you are.”
Green was given the task of defending Cavalier Kevin Love. Green talked about his mental game plan for disrupting Love’s flow during the game.
GREEN: “Try to take him out of spots where he’s comfortable. Make him do some things that maybe he don’t want to do… When he’s going, he makes their team a lot better, so it is my job to try to take him out of the game.”
In order to combat trash talking, you must have a mental strategy to prepare your to deal with it in competitions.
If trash talking interferes with focus, then focus is the answer to inoculate yourself from trash talking.
How does trash talking work?
Your opponent makes some negative remarks, “You can’t beat me. You know you are going to miss.”
Soon, you become preoccupied with the trash talking… Now you’re focusing on what your opponent is saying and doing.
As you focus more and more on the trash talk, negative emotions, such as anger and frustration, swirl inside you making focusing even more difficult.
The swelling of these negative emotions causes you to lose your composure and your performance goes down the tubes.
In this instance, trash talking won!
The way to nip trash talking in the bud is to stop it before it ruins your focus and infects your emotions.
Of course, you will notice the negative chatter of your opponents but you need to stay calm in order to maintain composure and refocus on your game when necessary.
If you stay calm and focused, you will often frustrate the trash talker and beat them in the mental battle of competition.
A Tip For Winning The Trash Talk War:
In order to keep your mind on your game, it is imperative that you maintain your composure and NOT look frustrated with it.
If you do hear it, pretend that you don’t notice the trash talking–that you are in your own zone.
Quickly refocus on the next play of the game and let go of the negative comments intended to keep you stuck in the past.
Just like you focus on your game to beat a defender, focus on your performance cues to execute your role successfully.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- How to Be Mentally Ready for Trash-Talkers
- Does “Trash Talking” Distract You When Playing Golf?
- How Elite Athletes Develop Mental Skills
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The Focused Athlete
It’s probably no secret that you have many opportunities to become distracted in sports. Athletes are bombarded with both internal and external distractions everyday in practice and competition. Focused athletes are able to get the most from their skills because they are more efficient with practice and more concentrated in competition. Athletes who lack focus let distractions run wild through their mind and don’t know how to adjust or refocus.
The Focused Athlete was developed for any level coach, parent, or junior to professional athlete who wants to improve performance and gain a competitive edge. It does not matter if you are a fledgling junior athlete; or a seasoned professional, plagued with distractions; or you just wanting to learn how to improve concentration…
“The Focused Athlete” is a complete system to teach you how to focus like a champion and harness the power of a zone focus every time you step on the playing field, court, track, or course in practice and games!