“A healthy mind resides in a healthy body”- is a popular proverb. So, one has to be physically healthy to improve one’s thought process.

The life of every sportsperson undergoes three (3) phases:-

Phase I: A pool of talent automatically shapes up into a sportsperson. But every sportsperson is not a champion. You have trained yourself hard, the practice field has been drenched in your blood and sweat, everyday you woke up before the sun, everyday you have beaten your previous best, your pains had made your mom cry & pray harder than you, every time the clock has lagged behind you, yet nothing has stopped you in your training.

Indeed you have trained your body to the extreme level, and now when the stage is set to unleash your performance in front of the world how well you trained your mind, your thoughts, your emotion, and your confidence? Are you ready to handle the pressure?

What is that one factor that distinguishes a Champion from a group of sportspersons?

Phase II: Now once a person is a Champion, he/she will always have to be a performer. Because with great strength comes great responsibility. The level of expectation rises. Supporters want you to be flawless. Because now a win or a loss is not your personal win or defeat. The supporters loose when you lose & the supporters win when you win. They rise & fall with you. How to deal with this performance & expectation pressure?

Phase III: A sportsperson needs unlimited physical stamina to constantly improve his skills & renovate with the changing performance requirements. On him/her lies the prestige of the country /state/department/organization for which he/she is performing. He/she had been a champion for a considerable amount of time. But now there are young bloods who are stepping in. How to restore & hold the position where you have reigned for so long?

From the above 3 Phases it is clear that the physical skill & stamina is not the only thing that contributes to improve & maintain your performance. There is another thing that helps you to keep yourself on the hunt. And that is your mental strength.

This in itself proves that the above statement- “A healthy mind resides in a healthy body” is also true if we put it in the opposite way. “A healthy body can perform only if one has the proper & equally healthy mind.”

At one stage when a sportsperson becomes a huge champion, his need for a sports coach becomes limited as he already knows the basics of that sports & what to do in a particular situation of the game. He also knows what to expect from the opposition. But how should one go about it? And how to restore that hunger with which the champion had started his career when he was not a champion?

During this time the person whom the sportsman needs the most is – The Sports Mental Coach.

The life of a sportsperson is the duration till which he/she performs. Those 70 or 90 minutes, or in case of some sports, 7-8 hours is the most special & important moment in his/her life which everyone will remember life-long.

No one can stop you to perform during this time. No one can interfere, decide, delegate & dictate. Thousands of eyes look to you with thousands of hopes. Thousands of them feel the pain when you are hurt. It’s you who make them dream. It’s you who make them agitated. It’s you who make them cry. & it’s you who make them dance with joy. Thousands of them yell at you if you can’t perform. But millions of them bow their heads when you perform. They do this because they know that you, only you, can win the game for them.

Sometimes even a win or lose becomes immaterial. What stays in the mind is the fight. How you fought with the opponent? For the supporters it’s not a mere game. It’s a battle field. And for them you are the Alexander. You are the Arjun.

For all your hard work, training, practice sessions & preparations is to perform during those few hours of the match. That determines whether you have done justice with the tireless training you have undergone & the reputation you have on field. It is your mental state for those few hours that draws the line.

You need the help of the Sports Mental Coach when you are in great form. Because he will help you to extend it to make it your career best form.

You also need his help when you are in a bad patch. When every object around you seems to be out-of-shape & everyone seems to be conspiring & complaining about you. You need a Sports Mental Coach to take you out of this situation & restore confidence.

For neither a good form nor a poor form is permanent. But the impact of a Sports Mental Coach is permanent.

A sportsperson is not just an entity. Even he/she is a human being. He/she has a personal & a social life. He/she undergoes through various crisis like anybody else. And though a lot is said & written about sportsman spirit, even, like any other individual, the sportsman spirit toils up in the crisis situations.

All these are very humane.

The supporters, team mates, physical trainers & team coaches stay with you when you are on field, practicing, & then during the match when you are playing. But you need someone with you to guide you when you are preparing for the duel mentally. For mental preparations begin much before physical preparations. Because half of the battle is won or lost in the mind itself.

“At least with me, the match starts much, much earlier than the actual match.”- By Sachin Tendulkar.

Do we need any more confirmations when we hear it from the God of our religion called ‘Cricket’?