Sport Performance: How Athletes Can Shift Negative Thinking After Training
As athletes, we’re taught to reflect, address our weaknesses, and always push for better. We often don’t learn to identify our strengths. It’s hard not to get caught up in the cycle of only focusing on what needs improving over what’s going well.
If you’re an athlete who can’t stop replaying mistakes after training or competition, you’re not alone, and nothing's wrong with you for feeling this way. For many athletes, this is tied to perfectionism and the pressure to always perform at your best (I’ve written more about that here).
In this post, we’ll explore why negative thoughts show up and why simply trying to think positively usually doesn’t work.
You’ll learn practical strategies to manage the mental replay, including tools like the STOP method, mindfulness approaches to staying present, and techniques to challenge unhelpful thinking and refocus on your strengths. I’ll also share ways parents and coaches can support athletes through these challenges, creating an environment where performance and mental health are both valued.
Why Athletes Replay Mistakes
The type of sport may influence an athlete’s perception of themself or their abilities.
Sports like gymnastics, diving, and figure skating place a high emphasis on precision and perfection, making athletes more likely to replay every detail.
Sports like weightlifting can take years to add one extra kg to a lift, putting athletes at a greater risk of hyperfocus on perfect form and negative thoughts associated with a lack of progression.
In team sports (ie, soccer, basketball), negative thoughts might focus on “letting the team down.”
Replaying mistakes is never a flaw; it’s the brain’s way of trying to learn and fix, but it can spiral into self-criticism.
Why You Can’t Just “Think Your Way Out”.
Unfortunately, and as much as we’d all like them to, thoughts don’t stop just because you tell them to. Our brains need a little more work to challenge or change the way we think, especially if it’s been something we’ve done most of our lives. And the more we try to fight the thought or avoid it, the stronger they come back (the rebound effect).
Rest assured, negative thoughts are normal, not a weakness.
Tools Athletes Can Try
If you’re ready to try a different approach that you can do on your own, here are you can start ways to address negative thoughts both during and after training:
a) During and After Training: The STOP Method
Stop → notice you’re replaying mistakes/ spiralling.
Take a breath → regulate your body first.
Observe → what’s happening in your mind right now?
Proceed → shift to a helpful next step (focus on what’s in your control, strengths, or next action).
b) During and After Training: Mindfulness
Act as an observer of your thoughts, notice them pass by without “hooking” onto them.
We can acknowledge a feeling, allow it to be present without judgment, and then still move through my day even if it’s there.
In training example:
“I notice that I’m feeling frustrated for missing my lifts, and I’m worried about what will happen on competition day next week. Right now, I’m on the platform, I’m going to take a deep breath and check in with my head, neck, and shoulders, and make my way back to the bar”.
After training example:
“I notice my brain replaying that missed shot. I don’t have to follow it right now.”
“I keep re-watching the video of the jump I fell on 10x at training, I’m feeling frustrated. I can choose to put my phone down right now and opt for a healthy distraction”.
c) After Training: Thought Challenging
Step One: If negative thoughts occur during or after training, write them down in your phone or training journal.
Step Two: When you get home, take the opportunity to reflect and put each thought “on trial” by writing out:
What evidence do you have for this thought to be true?
What evidence do you have against it?
Was everything really a disaster, or did I also get some things right?
Example
A weightlifter thinking: “I couldn’t do anything right today, my lifts were all over the place, I barely held on to each set, why can’t I do this today? I did it last week, I clearly don’t know what I’m doing”.
Evidence against:
I didn’t actually drop any lifts; they just didn’t feel perfect
Just because it feels hard doesn’t mean it’s wrong
I did many things right today, both out of and in training
Only 2 out of 5 sets were wobbly
I probably have some idea of what I’m doing if I can safely put weight over my head and catch it
Evidence for:
My lifts were wobbly, and I had a few unstable saves
I’m underslept today and was feeling the fatigue in training
Step Three: Identify strengths and small wins
Ex. The weight I did today was a double snatch at my previous 100%.
How Coaches and Parents Can Support Their Athletes
Coaches: It’s normal as a coach to have feedback as a part of your role. In training, you know your athlete is working hard, but you may fear providing feedback out of concern for your athlete spiralling on the input or mistakes after training.
Here’s what you can do:
Encourage reflection that includes what went well, not just mistakes. This can be done verbally, with an individual or team check-in at the end of a session, in an athlete's training journal or written on their phone in a note with reminders.
Model balanced feedback by providing both positive and constructive feedback. Be mindful of the way your words come across; either way, ensure effort is always acknowledged!
Parents: It never feels good to hear your athlete beat themselves up over mistakes in training or see them struggle with negative thinking. It can be hard to know how to respond when you want to respond the right way.
Here’s what you can do:
Resist the urge to “fix” right away by getting curious, asking questions, and trying not to jump in right away to “make it better”.
Focus on effort, not results. “Wow, you worked really hard tonight.” over “Wow, you made six shots tonight!”
Validate feelings: “It makes sense you’re frustrated”.
Gently guide them toward seeing effort and positives, too, without forcing.
Remember…Negative thoughts do not mean you’re weak or wrong; it means you care.
Every athlete experiences negative thoughts from time to time. Resilience is about how you respond, not avoiding them altogether.
When to Seek Help
Signs it may be time for extra support:
Negative thoughts become constant and interfere with sleep or performance.
Training feels more draining mentally than physically.
You start losing enjoyment in your sport.
Working with a sports performance professional, such as a sports psychologist or sports social worker, can help athletes build tools to manage these thoughts and feel more confident in training and competition.
If you’re an athlete stuck in the cycle of replaying every mistake, you don’t have to stay stuck. At RYSE, we support athletes to improve their mental health and perform at their best.
