A player makes a mistake. The game is still on. The player may still be physically on the court, but all the time his mind is preoccupied with reflecting on his mistake.

Mentally he is not in the game. The player is unable to escape these recurring thoughts, not because he doesn’t want to, but because of the incessant operation of a certain electrical circuit in his brain. Electrical energy stimulates recurring thoughts; the player commits a series of fouls.

On the way to the bench he “catches” the look of his coach and his feelings of frustration and helplessness grow even stronger.

At this stage, we might have expected the player to take a deep breath and relax, however, humans are the only creatures that continue to respond to the source of pressure, even when it is gone. Thought has such a powerful effect that it sometimes works against us.

Bruce McEwen, neuroendocrinologist, explains in his book: “The end of stress as we know it”, that we are capable of driving ourselves into a state of madness only through the use of thoughts, despite the absence of any apparent threat.

The physical trainers check the recovery speed of the player after the effort.

The faster you recover, the better physical condition you will be diagnosed with.

Research has shown that when a player stays focused during their break, by way of internal focus, their heart rate will drop faster than the heart rate of a player who is not focused. In our case, the player’s ability to disconnect from the electrical circuit that is “blocking” his brain is the factor that will influence the time of his return to the court and the degree of mental preparation. This ability can be called mental resilience.

How can we help the player?

The following speech is not directed at gamers, who experienced this phenomenon only on several occasions, but at gamers who found this to be a typical behavior pattern they suffer from. These players should be aware of their tendency to “lock” their brain after making a mistake in the game. Such a simple acknowledgment can motivate the player to come to this agreement with his coach: “I made a mistake, replace me before I make the next one.” In this way, the player becomes part of the decision to put him on the bench and can maintain his self-confidence by saying: “The coach is keeping me out of trouble.”

At this preliminary stage it will be easier for the player to cut the electrical circuit, which has just been incited in his brain. While the player remains on the sidelines, I offer that they will adapt some action paths, which can help cut the thought cycle and get back in the game:

A. Diaphragmatic breathing, exercised at a rate of 3 to 6 breaths as follows:

1. The player sits loosely and exhales through the mouth.

2. Inhale through the nose (Stomach fills up and inflates a bit)

and as you inhale – heart count to 3. Hold your breath for another second – then slowly release the air from your mouth (Stomach empties and goes back in – while counting to 6).

The player repeats this action for a minute and a half.

In this way, the player tempers the response to stress, and also when applying the account, he maintains an internal focus, which avoids external distractions and negative thoughts that are usually associated with this type of situation.

B. Technique “The clock” to re-anchor the point of orientation:

The player closes his eyes and imagines a large round clock, where the digits 12-6-3-9 appear in their usual order. While taking the time to perform a series of relaxing stomach breaths, the player will imagine a light dot appearing below the digit 12. The light will turn off and imagine a light dot appear below the digit 6. The light will turn on and off. you will once again imagine a lit dot below the digit 12. The light will go out and you will imagine a lit dot appearing next to the digit 3. The light will go out and reappear below the digit 12. The light will go out and a lit dot will appear next to digit 9. Again, the light will turn off and appear below digit 12.

The player will be asked to repeat this process twice. In total, the player will spend one minute re-anchoring their waypoint.

By the time the player retains his sense of direction, he will be able to signal to the coach that he has recovered and is now ready to return to the game.

Of course the player needs to be trained and master the “clock” technique, before they can use it in real time.

In the course of applying these techniques, the player feeds the electrical circuitry of his brain with stimuli that creates new circuits in parallel with his relaxing breathing activity. Consequently, some of the energy that feeds the recurring thoughts, which annoys the player, will be transferred to the newly created thoughts and catalyze the weakening of the initial circuit.

As complicated as it may seem, this process turns out to be simple and efficient after just a few focused training sessions. The fact that a simple agreement between a player and a coach makes it possible for the player to achieve some degree of control of the situation is equally simple and surprising.

Remember, the element of control is critical to the player’s mental resilience. Let him control the process!