{"id":14043,"date":"2021-10-26T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/?p=14043"},"modified":"2025-06-05T05:11:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T09:11:23","slug":"how-friendly-competitions-helps-boost-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-friendly-competitions-helps-boost-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"How Friendly Competitions Helps Boost Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/basketball-mental-game.jpg\" alt=\"basketball mental game\" class=\"wp-image-9228\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/basketball-mental-game.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/basketball-mental-game-300x170.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Pushing_Yourself_to_Perform_the_Best\"><\/span>Pushing Yourself to Perform the Best<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Article Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0769bf;color:#0769bf\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0769bf;color:#0769bf\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-friendly-competitions-helps-boost-performance\/#Pushing_Yourself_to_Perform_the_Best\" >Pushing Yourself to Perform the Best<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-friendly-competitions-helps-boost-performance\/#Friendly_competition_is_healthy%E2%80%A6\" >Friendly competition is healthy\u2026<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-friendly-competitions-helps-boost-performance\/#Embracing_Friendly_Competition\" >Embracing Friendly Competition:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-friendly-competitions-helps-boost-performance\/#Related_Sports_Psychology_Articles\" >Related Sports Psychology Articles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-friendly-competitions-helps-boost-performance\/#The_Fearless_Athlete\" >The Fearless Athlete<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>What is your mindset when you practice or train? Do you look for ways to compete with your teammates, or do you shy away from competing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Friendly_competition_is_healthy%E2%80%A6\"><\/span>Friendly competition is healthy\u2026<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Too many athletes are afraid to compete against their teammates. These athletes feel they are not as good as their teammates or are fearful of being embarrassed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, a basketball player with a cautious mindset may not want to guard a top scorer during drills because she is worried about being judged negatively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She fears being faked out and looking foolish. Instead of playing aggressively, she plays cautious, tight, and flat-footed. As a result, she gives up several easy drives to the basket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cautious mindset views friendly competition as an opportunity to fail in front of the entire team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alternately, a player with a competitive mindset views guarding a top offensive teammate as an opportunity to show off their skills. If this player is beaten off the dribble, she learns from the mistake and feels better prepared for the next drill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s examine a second example, two midfielders on the same soccer team are fighting for playing time. The one player has a competitive mindset and takes calculated risks on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In scrimmages, he tries to push the ball downfield or make the occasional difficult pass. Meanwhile, the soccer player with a cautious mindset plays cautiously and tries not to make mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Friendly competition is a characteristic of successful teams and builds team cohesion. When you compete against your teammates, not only do you get better, everyone around you improves as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The United States Women&#8217;s National Team has been one of the top soccer teams in the world for over a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Midfielder Rose Lavelle attributes the team&#8217;s success to the culture of friendly competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>LAVELLE<\/strong>:<em>&#8220;Hopefully we&#8217;ll be seeing new faces in camp because I think it&#8217;s always good to bring in some players who can push everyone here and push for spots. That&#8217;s what&#8217;s made this team so great and successful.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sauerbrunn, former captain of the USWNT, defined friendly competition as the balance between accepting your teammates and competing against them in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SAUERBRUNN<\/strong>:<em>&#8220;It&#8217;s like, &#8216;Welcome, we&#8217;re here for you if you need anything. But when we get on the field, I&#8217;m gonna do my best to basically not allow you to have a good day.'&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Friendly competition serves two primary purposes: (1) competing against your teammates brings all team members to a higher level, and (2) prevents complacency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Friendly competition makes good teams great!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Embracing_Friendly_Competition\"><\/span>Embracing Friendly Competition:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You want to welcome friendly competition. Friendly competition is not designed to make you look or feel bad. The goal of friendly competition is to motivate you to work hard and improve your game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you improve your game, you become a greater asset to your team. You also are better able to push your teammates even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look forward to practice and training, but most of all, look forward to challenging your teammates to work harder and smarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Sports_Psychology_Articles\"><\/span>Related Sports Psychology Articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-to-win-close-competitions\/\">How to Win Close Competitions<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-stress-can-affect-sports-performance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-to-manage-the-toughest-moments-of-elite-competitions\/\">How to Manage the Toughest Moments of Elite Competitions<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/pregame-stress-and-anxiety-athletes-mental-roadblock-to-success\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-to-manage-anxiety-in-competitions\/\">How to Manage Anxiety in Competitions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-dca36a64-5c8f-4fcf-8dfb-da8bd663e456\">*Subscribe to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sports-psychology-podcast-by-peaksports-com\/id152566009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/a>&nbsp;on iTunes<br>*Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0ynyaalKxbnNmsoeL8gF5X?si=8224669de9b3435b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/a> on Spotify<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-370496de-1ed7-41e2-a009-254e9ec866b2\"><strong>Download a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/mental-toughness-report-athletes\/\">free sports psychology report<\/a>&nbsp;to improve your mental game!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-af5321a1-562b-4266-b2e9-068b5b1e1556\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sport-psychology-training-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more about our one-on-one mental game coaching.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Fearless_Athlete\"><\/span>The Fearless Athlete <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/fearless-athlete-small.jpg\" alt=\"The Fearless Athlete Audio and Workbook Program\" class=\"wp-image-19344\" style=\"width:213px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>For the last two decades, I\u2019ve been working with athletes and helping them optimize their physical ability by teaching them the secrets of top performing athletes. Now, you too can <strong>learn how to regain that child-like fearless attitude.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mental toughness is what separates the winner<\/strong> from the loser in any competition. Champion athletes train hard in practice, perform without fear in competition, and trust their skills in crunch-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Fearless Athlete program<\/strong> is ideal for any athlete that wants to overcome fear of failure and uncover inhibiting perfectionistic traits; or for any coach or parent who wants to teach athletes to perform with trust and freedom in competition.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-d86f0f1f\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-15746978 gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-fearless-athlete-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-5e1cf75e gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/collections\/the-confident-athlete-series-digital-download\/products\/the-fearless-athlete-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pushing Yourself to Perform the Best What is your mindset when you practice or train? Do you look for ways to compete with your teammates, or do you shy away from competing? Friendly competition is healthy\u2026 Too many athletes are afraid to compete against their teammates. These athletes feel they are not as good as their teammates or &#8230; <a title=\"How Friendly Competitions Helps Boost Performance\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-friendly-competitions-helps-boost-performance\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How Friendly Competitions Helps Boost Performance\">Sport Psychology Article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-psychology-tips"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO Pro 4.9.6.2 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Too many athletes are afraid to compete against their teammates. 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Dr. Cohn earned a master's degree in sports psychology from CSUF and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, specializing in Applied Sports Psychology. Today, he is the president and founder of Peak Performance Sports, LLC in Orlando, Florida, where his team offers mental performance coaching to individual and team athletes. He works with high-profile teams and athletes, such as the Miami Dolphins, NASCAR winners, NHL players, NFL players, National Motocross champions, and PGA Tour professional golfers. 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