Pre-performance Routines

Building Mental Refuge

In moments of maximum pressure, known as "clutch" moments, the athlete's mind is vulnerable to external distractions (crowd, opponents) and internal noise.

To shield concentration, coaching implements pre-execution routines.

These are not superstitions, but deliberately designed technical and mental sequences that the athlete repeats before a critical action (a tennis serve, a free kick, a penalty kick).

These routines act as a "mental refuge": by focusing attention on a known, controllable and repetitive process (e.g., breathing three times, bouncing the ball twice, visualizing the trajectory), the brain has no bandwidth available to process fear of the outcome.

The athlete is isolated in a bubble of familiarity that restores a sense of control.

Tolerance for error and restarting

An essential component of these routines is error management.

Stress skyrockets exponentially when the athlete seeks perfection and does not tolerate failure.

If a player makes a mistake and gets emotionally "caught up" in it, he or she is likely to make another one immediately afterward.

Through coaching, the ability to instantly "wipe the slate clean" is trained. This is vital in dynamic sports where there is no time for regrets.

The goal is that the failure is processed as a past event that does not define the next action, preventing the cortisol spike of one moment from ruining the rest of the competition.

The rescue anchor

To facilitate this rapid recovery, the coach helps the athlete design a "rescue anchor".

It can be a subtle physical gesture (adjusting the cap, wiping the sole of the shoe) or an internal code word.

This anchor serves as a switch that signals to the brain the end of the error and the beginning of a new, clean sequence.

For example, a golfer can use the gesture of taking off his glove and putting it back on as a physical signal to "reset" his system after a bad shot.

This tool allows the athlete to regain composure and tactical clarity in a matter of seconds, ensuring that his or her performance remains stable despite the inevitable fluctuations of the game.

Summary

Pre-performance routines are sequences designed to shield concentration at critical moments. They act as a mental refuge, focusing attention on controllable and familiar processes.

Coaching trains the ability to "wipe the slate clean" after making mistakes. It is vital that the failure is a past event that does not condition the next immediate action.

The use of a rescue anchor makes it possible to regain composure quickly. A subtle gesture works as a switch to reset the system and regain the necessary tactical clarity.