Gymnasts have the reputation of being some of the toughest athletes out there.  They endure hours of physical conditioning and practice skills until they have reached perfection. Yet, many people often overlook the mental aspect of the sport.

One of the hardest situations for a gymnast is hitting a successful routine after someone prior in the lineup did not. In cases like this, especially in collegiate gymnastics, the routines following a fall are critical to the team’s overall score.  Luckily, the women drop the lowest score on each event while the men only drop one score for the first half of the season.  After that, every routine counts, significantly adding more pressure on each gymnast.

However, there are many tricks gymnasts and coaches can use to help prepare and remain calm in these high pressure situations.

First, many gymnasts work with a sports psychologist to help them prepare for situations like this. For University of Missouri freshman, Shauna Miller, one of the biggest things she has learned from the team’s sports psychologist is the idea of having calming words.

“I use a lot of ‘I am’ words like ‘I am capable’ and such to get in my mindset and then take each skill one at a time.”

Other gymnasts use visualization as a way to prepare before competition.  Sometimes it is marking skills on the sidelines before their turn in line-up or going through the routine in their head.  The goal is that if he or she can do it in his or her head, then it is possible to do in real life.

Another tactic is for the coaches to create workouts in practice that include pressure routines.  A pressure routine is when the gymnast must hit a routine in a meet-like situation.  Routines under similar circumstances help create a more successful and confident gymnast because they have already been in a similar position.

Lastly, some colligate gymnasts pick a song to be played while on beam. A beam song is used to keep the gymnast relaxed and focused.  Instead of the arena being silent, a gymnast hears something she is comfortable and familiar with.

Being in the right mindset can make or break a gymnast.  Fortunately, developing mental skills can help ease the pressure of competition.