The Importance of Having a Game Plan

How to Implement a Game Plan

A game plan only works if you focus on putting your game plan into action during the competition.

Having a game plan is necessary. Your game plan is your blueprint for success or strategy to either perform well or win out over the competition.

For example, in football, your game plan may be the style of defense you are going to play in different game situations…

In gymnastics, your game plan may be the particular routine you are going to perform in each event…

In swimming, your game plan might be designed around your splits for a race…

In tennis, your game plan may be how to attack your opponent’s weaknesses.

Having a game plan is necessary for athletic success but your game plan is worthless unless you put into action. The key to putting your plan into action is focusing on your plan.

Focusing on your plan can be tricky during competitions.

When playing a tough team or facing a highly ranked opponent, athletes tend to focus on what their opponent is doing.

Taking the focus off of your plan leads to under-performance and gives your opponent a distinct advantage because you are worried about what your competitors are doing.

Ultimately, taking your focus off implementing your game plan leads to defeat as professional tennis player Daniil Medvedev well knows.

Medvedev lost his focus when playing future Hall of Famer Rafael Nadal at the 2018 Rogers Cup in Montreal. Nadal dominated Medvedev throughout the match winning 6-3, 6-0.

Despite having a game plan, Medvedev was too focused on “who he was playing” instead of “what he should be doing”.

MEDVEDEV: “You speak with your coach, you understand your plan but you go out there and it doesn’t work because it’s [Rafeal Nadal]. [Nadal] kills your entire plan. In Montreal, I may not have been prepared mentally. It was terribly windy, which usually bothers Rafa but that day it could not help. The match was not close.”

Worrying about who you are playing interferes with focusing on your game plan. And paying attention to what your competition is doing hinders focusing on your plan.

Focusing on the importance of the athletic contest interferes with your ability to implement your game plan.

In order for YOU to compete at YOUR best, YOU need to keep the focus on YOU!

How to Put a Game Plan into Action

First, you must formulate a game plan, whether the plan takes advantage of your strengths or exposes the competition’s weakness. No matter, you need a strategy to focus on when the competition starts.

Next you want to mentally rehearse your game plan during your pregame routine.

Once you have developed your strategy, break down your strategy into specific objectives.

Set those objectives prior to the game.

And make sure you have plan B ready to go if plan A is not working.


Related Sports Psychology Articles

*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify

Download a free sports psychology report to improve your mental game!

Learn more about our one-on-one mental game coaching.


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!

Leave a Comment