“From Fear to Readiness — Mental Training for Early-Career Athletes” (Part 2)

 This article is Part 2 of  “From Fear to Readiness — Mental Training for Early-Career Athletes”.

If you have not read Part 1 yet, click here to read the article!.

#4: The Role of Cognitive Scripts and Imagery

Cognitive scripts and imagery are adjustment tools to improve mental experience. They help develop stress and nervousness management skills at an optimal level without risk.

Some limitations exist:

• They are not strong physical stimuli, so they do not increase stress tolerance much.
• A limited range of imagery cannot prepare for all possible situations.

However, this intervention and strategy are very practical and helpful in developing mental control skills among youth.

Integrating Real and Imagined Experience

Model: Imagery (safe) → Physical experience → Reflection → Imagery (refined)

Sample cognitive script for early-career athletes:
Scenario: Regional inter school championships *Year 6 (like Colgate Games).
Goal: Manage stress and get used to specific nervous situations.
Script: Clear imagery of view, fear, and nervousness with body responses.

• (Visualise) I see many athletes who look strong and fast—taller than me. The athletics track has flags, tents, coaches, audiences, and marshals. The field looks larger than usual.
• (Anxiety) I feel a bit anxious and less confident because the competitors are unfamiliar.
• (Breathing) My breathing feels tight due to the bright sun, loud music, and stadium announcements.
• (Smell) I smell burnt synthetic track under the sun, BBQ, and coffee from food stalls. The atmosphere feels unusual, and I start losing focus.
• (Body scan) My legs feel numb during warm-up. I can’t feel my body weight clearly.
• (Cue word) My coach calls me to the call room and tells me to fix my number card and tighten my shoelaces. “Do some strides and take a deep breath at the start line.”
• (Action) I do strides. Tight shoelaces make my feet and shoes feel connected. My legs feel light and fast. I take a deep breath, and my vision becomes clearer.
• (Visualise) I walk to the start line. The track still looks large, but I take another deep breath—and everything feels normal again.

This cognitive script shows how regular mental training and real experiences help the body and mind adapt. After each new experience, you can update the script.
Eventually, you can apply this process to:

• Pre-event nerves
• Annual recurring competitions
• Controlling mental steadiness under pressure

This builds both emotional familiarity and physiological readiness.

#5: Different Types of Views for Cognitive Scripts

1PP and 3PP
When we imagine ourselves, we can think in two ways: First Person (1PP) and Third Person (3PP).

• First person (1PP) = Realism and motor rehearsal → Imagine and see from your own actual viewpoint.
• Third person (3PP) = Mindfulness and safe observation → Imagine from outside your subjective view.

Normally, young kids think in 1PP because their identity is not yet fully developed. Only their visible, real-world view exists for them. As we grow older, we realise that our self-view and others’ views are not the same, and we can imagine the world more broadly.

At first, 1PP imagery works effectively to control nervousness, fear, and anxiety. By imagining stressful situations such as a race, a big game, or a speech from an actual view, cognitive scripts help calm the brain and body. Each time, the imagined view becomes wider, creating more mental space to balance nervousness and relaxation.

With experience, we start developing an objective view and metacognition, which leads to 3PP. Through thinking and self-reflection, we can understand, “What did I think and do then?” from another perspective. The past self is different from the present self. Real experiences and conversations with others help us to form more diverse viewpoints.

Examples of 1PP and 3PP:

• First-person (1PP) – seeing through your own eyes:
  “I can see many stronger and taller athletes in front of me. I can hear my body; my heartbeat is getting faster. But my breathing tells me to stay patient and follow the rhythm.”
• Third-person (3PP) – watching yourself from outside:
  “I saw myself and other runners in the call room. They look nervous, but maybe they’re concentrating. We start walking to the start line. Everyone holds their spikes in their hands. I’m holding mine in my right hand, and it looks like I’m concentrating too.”

Both perspectives are useful:

• 1PP helps you understand body awareness, intuition, and embodied instinct.
• 3PP helps you develop objectivity, strategy, and a reflective mindset.

When you can use both, your self-observation becomes balanced—feeling and thinking cooperate.

#6: The Role of the Sport Psychologist

Coaches handle physical and mental readiness from the coach’s perspective, while psychologists guide emotional readiness from the athlete’s potential perspective.
Coaches observe athletes objectively and provide external advice that athletes may not notice from their own view. Sport psychologists explore athletes’ inner experiences and feelings deeply.

By integrating coaches’ advice and psychological insight, athletes can connect objective and subjective perspectives, gaining a broader understanding for imagery and self-reflection.
The intervention mainly focuses on re-recognising body–mind connections, identifying feelings and thoughts, and integrating them into a clearer view that helps athletes adapt to various situations.

#7: Conclusion – Courage is Trained, Not Born

“Fear fades not by ignoring it, but by rehearsing it safely and consciously.”
We can train and control it with practice.

However, many people give up before overcoming stress because fear, anxiety, and nervous feelings are often conditioned by past failures. In such cases, self-efficacy has no chance to grow.

Encourage young athletes to train their minds as deliberately as their bodies. Appropriate mental training expands mental capacity and builds confidence.
Big confidence grows through real success, but invisible small training—like imagery and mental scripting—creates the foundation.
It is invisible but strongly effective.