{"id":14131,"date":"2023-07-04T17:04:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T21:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/?p=14131"},"modified":"2025-06-17T06:19:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T10:19:22","slug":"how-athletes-respond-to-a-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-athletes-respond-to-a-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"How Athletes Respond to a Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/losing-a-competition.jpg\" alt=\"Game Loss Mindset\" class=\"wp-image-14137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/losing-a-competition.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/losing-a-competition-300x150.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=\"The_Mindset_to_Always_Focus_Forward\"><\/span>The Mindset to Always Focus Forward<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-athletes-respond-to-a-loss\/#The_Mindset_to_Always_Focus_Forward\" >The Mindset to Always Focus Forward<\/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-athletes-respond-to-a-loss\/#The_Michigan_State_University_football_team_found_themselves_in_a_similar_situation\" >The Michigan State University football team found themselves in a similar situation.<\/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-athletes-respond-to-a-loss\/#Coping_a_Tough_Loss\" >Coping a Tough Loss<\/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-athletes-respond-to-a-loss\/#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-athletes-respond-to-a-loss\/#The_Confident_Athlete\" >The Confident Athlete<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>How long does a tough loss affect you? Some athletes can get over a loss quickly and shift their focus to the next competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other athletes dwell on bad games or performances; &#8220;I can&#8217;t believe I choked,&#8221; &#8220;I let my team down again,&#8221; or &#8220;We should have easily won that game.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dwelling on a bad game will hurt your confidence and affect how you practice, train, and play in the near future.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even worse, for some athletes, a tough loss or bad performance can cause them to lose sight of their goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, you and your coach set some challenging yet realistic seasonal goals in the preseason. You worked your butt off in practice, harder than you ever have in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You saw some positive results early in the season and felt you were on the right path. You were focused and confident about achieving your goal. The season seemed to be unfolding as planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, at your mid season competition, you bombed. You started to question your talent, potential, and ability to achieve your goal. All the time and effort you put in seemed like a waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You thought, &#8220;I won&#8217;t be able to accomplish my goal now. Why even try?&#8221; You allowed one performance to shake your confidence and hurt future performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Michigan_State_University_football_team_found_themselves_in_a_similar_situation\"><\/span>The Michigan State University football team found themselves in a similar situation.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Michigan State was ranked No. 3 in the nation with an 8-0 record. In the ninth game of the 2021 season, Michigan was upset by Purdue, 40-29, potentially disrupting their hopes of making the College Playoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the game, Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker reminded his players that this was just one loss and they needed to shift their focus on the next game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tucker has a 24-hour rule that he invokes. After 24 hours, Tucker doesn&#8217;t let his team dwell on a past game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>TUCKER<\/strong>:<em>&nbsp;&#8220;We didn&#8217;t play well enough to win the game, but we have a lot of football ahead of us, and all our goals are still ahead of us, and so what needs to be done? What&#8217;s next? That&#8217;s what&#8217;s most important. What&#8217;s next? We have to get on the film, get the courage to understand why. We need to get those things fixed, and then we need to get ready for Maryland. And that&#8217;s the only thing there is to do.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To accomplish your goal, you need to keep moving forward after a loss. You may have to tweak your plan, but you should always focus forward and prepare for the next competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Coping_a_Tough_Loss\"><\/span><strong>Coping a Tough Loss<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Apply the 24-hour rule. After a competition, give yourself 24 hours to assess what happened. When that period of time expires, focus forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is there something you can change or adapt mentally or physically to grow or move your game forward? After you answer that question, ask yourself what you can do to prepare for the next competition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Always keep your focus on what is next instead of what has happened.<\/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\" id=\"block-979ef383-5bc7-43ee-b8f9-249663ca1a6c\"><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 id=\"block-05642731-8752-4dbf-9c18-5cc4d276e821\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-athletes-deal-with-stress\/\"><strong>How Athletes Deal with Stress<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-to-see-loses-as-lessons\/\"><strong>How to See Loses as Lessons<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-to-overcome-the-fear-of-negative-outcomes\/\"><strong>How to Overcome the Fear of Negative Outcomes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-5726d13f-f715-4ca4-8813-2f8a9ebd8bc3\">*Subscribe to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sports-psychology-podcast-by-peaksports-com\/id152566009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on iTunes<br>*Subscribe to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0ynyaalKxbnNmsoeL8gF5X?si=8224669de9b3435b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/a> <\/strong>on Spotify<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-281f5afb-980b-4c71-9aa0-11d606b5f7c9\"><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-94138e75-d591-4645-bb1d-212cf57a8841\"><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_Confident_Athlete\"><\/span>The Confident 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\/confident-athlete-audio250.jpg\" alt=\"The Confident Athlete Audio and Workbook Program\" class=\"wp-image-19341\" style=\"width:164px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Confident Athlete\u201d consists of 2 audio programs that include 14 days of confidence fueling exercises and a simple to follow workbook that guides you through the 14 days, helps you apply the strategies, and customizes the exercises to your personal needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me help you put a <strong>stop to the confidence leak<\/strong>. You can learn to have greater levels of confidence in competition than you do in practice by identifying the specific ways you undermine your own confidence and <strong>how to convert your practice confidence into COMPETITIVE CONFIDENCE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Confident Athlete\u201d is a ground-breaking system to teach you how to think like a champion and have ultimate self-confidence every time you step on the playing field, court, track, or course. The confident athletes was <strong>developed for any athlete \u2013 junior to professional \u2013<\/strong>that wants to gain confidence. However, coaches and sports parents can learn how to teach others to perform with ultimate confidence. Use my program if you want to bust a slump or just wanting higher or more consistent levels of self-confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-0b39f7aa\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-a74417ae gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-confident-athlete-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-461ab57c gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/collections\/the-confident-athlete-series-digital-download\/products\/the-confident-athlete-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Mindset to Always Focus Forward How long does a tough loss affect you? Some athletes can get over a loss quickly and shift their focus to the next competition. Other athletes dwell on bad games or performances; &#8220;I can&#8217;t believe I choked,&#8221; &#8220;I let my team down again,&#8221; or &#8220;We should have easily won that game.&#8221; Dwelling &#8230; <a title=\"How Athletes Respond to a Loss\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-athletes-respond-to-a-loss\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How Athletes Respond to a Loss\">Sport Psychology Article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[318,261,246],"class_list":["post-14131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-psychology-tips","tag-confidence-in-sports","tag-mental-game-of-golf","tag-mental-toughness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO Pro 4.9.5.2 - aioseo.com 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