25 Jan 2021

For athletes to be considered mentally fit, they need to perform consistently at an upper range of their talent, University of Botswana senior lecturer in the Department of Sport Science, Dr Tshepang Tshube, has said

Speaking during a show dubbed Open Discussions with Tsosi in Gaborone recently, Dr Tshube said conceptualisation of mental toughness placed more emphasis on natural or developed psychological edge that enabled the athlete to cope better than opponents.

He said the athlete must be more consistent and better than their opponents as well as being determined, focused and confident. 

Athletes should also take control when placed under pressure, he added.

Dr Tshube said some of the attributes of mental toughness included self-belief in one’s ability to achieve competition goals, bouncing back from performance setbacks as well as self-belief that they possessed unique qualities and abilities.

He said it was imperative that coaches designed a programme to allow athletes to work independently and interdependently.

He said they must also be given a room for problem solving within the team as well as providing rational for their decisions.

Karate national team athlete, Ofentse Bakwadi, said the COVID-19 pandemic had created uncertainty amongst the athletes, given that it was also challenging for them to train the way they wanted.

He said there had been lockdowns and now there was a curfew, explaining that athletes were aware that the world was in the middle of the pandemic.

Furthermore, he said even in Europe, they were not sure of their athletic events, given that they were supposed to attend four major events last year, but were all cancelled.

Bakwadi said this month, he was scheduled to compete at the Paris Open and in Morocco but all events were cancelled. Ends