Keep the motivation. When an athlete finally makes it over the hump and wins the big game, one of the worst things that can happen is to become complacent.  Success comes from hard work, dedication, goal-setting, and discipline (just to name a few).  Even though the taste of victory is sweet, it is important for an athlete to remember all of the ingredients that went into creating that victory to keep the motivation strong.  

Reassess goals.  Once the ultimate goal has been accomplished, it is important for an athlete to consider what comes next.  The most competitive (and usually most successful) athletes tend to never be satisfied with their performances.  Once they win one championship, they want to win two, or three or more.  If athletes do not take time to identify their next set of goals, the preparation and planning for the next season may be less focused, and ultimately less successful.

Pay attention to the small stuff.  It’s the short-term goals and engaging in the day-to-day grind of practices and training that lead to success. When a new long-term goal is identified, athletes must adjust their short-term strategies and training to fit what they now want to accomplish. Investing in the smaller more short-term goals will be easy, if the athlete has taken the time to remember what they did before, as well as identified a new long-term goal that they are inspired by. 

 At the Center for Sport Psychology and Performance Excellence at the University of North Texas, we have a dedicated staff of sport consultants who can help athletes, teams, and coaches learn from and handle losses in a way that can ultimately benefit the team in future competitions. For more information please call us at 940-369-7767 or visit our website at www.sportpsych.unt.edu or email us at sportpsych@unt.edu. As always, we leave you with our sport quote of the week:

 “I focus on the little things. Little things add up to big things.” – Michael Jordan