Sport naturally creates environments where there will only ever be one winner. So that means there will be a lot of individuals that come away feeling defeated. Are you someone that takes defeat personally, only focusing on your mistakes and the things that didn’t go well in your performances?
Then keep reading…
As with all situations, our initial response will be an emotional one. However, we know that once the emotion subsides and we take some time to look at the bigger picture of our performance and not just the outcome we can learn a lot from the situation.
When you carefully consider what happened (either individually or as a team), you will be able to:
Notice the positive things you did
Find areas to improve on
Grow in confidence
Set goals for training and your next competition
Step 1 - Notice, label and work through the emotions.
Step 2 – Select 3-5 questions from the list below that will help you to reflect on your performance.
Step 3 – Based on your reflections – set yourself some goals for training and future competitions.
Reflective question list:
What surprised you today, and for what reason?
What’s the most important thing you learned today?
What do you want to learn more about to help you in future competitions?
How was your warm up today?
What were the 3 best bits from today's competition?
Which piece of apparatus was your best and why?
Which piece of apparatus was your worst and why?
When were you at your best today, and what helped you to be in that place?
What do you need from others to get the best out of yourself at competitions?
Who are the key people you need to communicate well with at competitions?
What have you contributed to the team at this competition?
My highlight from the competition is...
How did my emotions affect my performance today?
How did I support others at the competition?
This content has been developed as part of our #itsmyjourney project with Valleys Gymnastics Academy.