Don’t Protect Your Lead
Do you or your team adopt a defensive mindset and fear mistakes when you have the lead in the game? Do you or your team protect a big lead and then just play it safe or try to hold on to the lead? If so, this is a sign that a comfort zone is causing you to change your approach during competition. This phenomenon in sports comes to light when an athlete (or team) stops going on attack and begins to just hold on to the lead and thinking about not losing.
For example, I’ve been working with a young tennis player that has some trouble closing out a game. She’ll work hard and get game point, 40-30 or 40-15, and change her mindset. She holds onto the lead and tries to not make mistakes. This of course leads to hitting poor shots and losing the game. But this is just one example of how comfort zones hold back athletes from closing out a competition.
What’s a comfort zone? A comfort zone is based on your expectations. A comfort zone is based on expectations that you maintain about your capabilities on any given day. Comfort zones are developed based on past experiences and previous success or lack of success. When you are performing better than you expect, a comfort zone becomes self-defeating because it limits and prevents you from performing in the “now,” or present moment.
With strick expectations about your performance, it’s more likely you’ll be judgmental and critical of your game. Once the competition starts, you will compare how you are currently doing with your performance expectations. Therefore, if you feel you are performing better than expected, this can lead to performing tentatively and trying not to mess up the lead you have. Like wise, if you feel as if you are under performing, frustration can ensue.
Read this entire article in April’s newsletter Lessons from National Championship Games: The Dangers of Protecting Your Lead
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Do You Protect Your Score on the Back Nine?
- How to Grow Competition Confidence
- Why Top-Seeded Teams Lose
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