Mindfulness Training for Athletes: How to Stay Present and Perform at Your Peak

In this article, I’m going to go over mindfulness training for athletes. We’ll cover:

• What mindfulness is

• The benefits it has on your game

• Three key mental game challenges mindfulness can help you overcome

• Two ways to use mindfulness to enhance performance—both in training and during competition

Whether you’re a professional athlete, a dedicated high school player, or anywhere in between, mindfulness can be the difference between overthinking your performance and simply letting your skills shine.

What is Mindfulness?

Hey there, I’m Eli Straw, a mental performance coach who works with athletes from around the world on building a stronger mental game.

Mindfulness means being fully present in the moment. It’s all about your attention and your awareness—and in sports, where distractions are constant, this is a powerful skill to master.

Being Present vs. Being Distracted

When you’re mindful, your attention is completely in the here and now.

If during a game you’re thinking about…

• What might happen by the end of the game

• The result and how it will affect your record or stats

• A mistake you just made

• How bad your practices have been this week

you’re not present. You’re either living in the future or stuck in the past, and that takes away from your ability to perform in the moment.

Mindfulness and the Flow State

You’ve probably heard the term “flow state.” This is when you’re completely one with what you’re doing—so immersed in your activity that time seems to slow down, and everything feels natural and effortless.

Mindfulness is a big part of achieving flow because it keeps you locked in on what’s happening right now.

When you’re present, you:

• Allow your skills to take over

• Stop overthinking each move

• Let go of unnecessary stress

• Play without fear

This is exactly where we want to be as athletes.

Three Mental Game Challenges Mindfulness Helps Solve

From a mental performance standpoint, there are three major challenges mindfulness directly addresses:

Performance Anxiety

Anxiety in sports comes from worry about the future—concerns about results, playing time, or what your coaches and teammates will think.

When you practice mindfulness, you pull your attention away from the future and bring it into the present moment. This shift naturally reduces anxiety because you’re no longer fueling it with “what if” thinking.

Example: If you’re a basketball player who feels anxious before a big playoff game, you might start imagining missed shots, tough defenders, or your coach’s disappointment. Mindfulness helps redirect your focus to what’s happening in this moment—your breath, the feel of the ball in your hands, your pre-game routine—allowing you to start the game calm and ready.

Fear of Failure

Fear of failure is about avoiding mistakes—whether it’s protecting your stats, worrying about disappointing someone, or avoiding embarrassment.

But when you focus too much on not failing, you play it safe in a negative way. You stop taking the risks you need to succeed.

Mindfulness removes your attention from the negative outcomes you’re trying to avoid and puts it on what you can control right now. That freedom lets you play with confidence instead of hesitation.

Poor Focus

Many athletes know the frustration of trying to focus but feeling scattered. You might be standing at the free throw line or stepping up to bat and suddenly think about something totally unrelated—or a past mistake.

Mindfulness sharpens your ability to stay with the task at hand. The more you practice it, the more natural it becomes to refocus quickly when distractions pop up.

Two Ways to Use Mindfulness as an Athlete

I like to break this down into two categories:

1. Training the skill of mindfulness (so you can build the mental muscle of being present)

2. Using mindfulness techniques during games (so you can perform your best under pressure)

Training the Skill of Mindfulness

You train your mind the same way you train your body. Just like you lift weights or practice skills to prepare for competition, you need to work on mindfulness regularly if you want to use it effectively in games.

Mindfulness is a state—but it’s a hard one to maintain because sports are full of distractions. That’s why we want to train it like any other skill.

There are two primary training tools we can use:

• Mindfulness meditation

• Mindful activities

Both involve giving yourself intentional time to practice being present.

Mindfulness Meditation

This is one of the most effective ways to build your mindfulness skills. I use it with athletes in my one-on-one coaching program all the time.

Here’s how it works:

1. Set aside time daily — Start with 5–10 minutes and gradually increase as it gets easier.

2. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing — Notice the inhale and exhale, the rhythm, and the sensations.

3. Expect distractions — Thoughts about your game, school, or anything else will pop up.

4. Redirect your focus — Each time you notice your attention has wandered, gently bring it back to your breath.

The goal is not to eliminate distractions entirely—because that’s not realistic—but to notice them and return to the present moment.

Mindful Activities

Mindfulness doesn’t have to be limited to meditation. You can practice it while doing simple daily tasks:

Examples:

• Mindful walking — Go for a 10–20 minute walk and focus on your breath, your step rhythm, or your surroundings.

• Chores — Washing dishes, cleaning, or folding laundry while staying fully engaged in the sensations and movements.

Anytime you notice your mind drifting, bring it back to the task at hand.

By doing this daily, you’re building the skill you’ll later rely on during games.

Using Mindfulness During Games

Training mindfulness is only half the picture—you also need to apply it during competition.

The goal in games is to allow your physical skills to take over—the ones you’ve worked on for hours in practice. But overthinking, forcing a good performance, and letting distractions in can keep that from happening.

Here are a few ways to stay mindful when it matters most:

Breathing Cues

Focusing on your breath between plays, pitches, or points helps you stay calm and centered.

Examples:

• Baseball/softball — Take a deep breath before stepping into the batter’s box.

• Basketball — Focus on your breath before a free throw.

• Soccer — Notice your breathing as you move up and down the field.

Rhythm Cues

Pay attention to repetitive, controllable movements. This could be the bounce of the ball as you dribble, the cadence of your running steps, or the tap of your stick before a hockey face-off.

Sensory Awareness

Tune into what you can feel, see, or hear in the moment.

• The wind on your skin

• The sound of your shoes on the court

• The feeling of your grip on the ball

Performance Objectives

These are cues or targets that are 100% in your control right now. Focusing on these ensures you’re anchored in the present moment.

Example: A volleyball player might focus on “high elbow on the serve”—something immediate and actionable.

Why Mindfulness Leads to Peak Performance

When you’re mindful in games, you:

• Reduce overthinking and anxiety

• Let go of fear of failure

• Stay relaxed under pressure

• Play with freedom and instinct

This is when you’re most athletic and natural—when your hard work in practice shows up effortlessly in competition.

How to Implement This Starting Today

1. Pick a daily mindfulness practice — Meditation or mindful activities, even for just 5–10 minutes.

2. Choose one in-game mindfulness cue — Breathing, rhythm, sensory awareness, or a performance objective.

3. Reflect after games — Ask yourself: “How well did I stay present today?”

The more you do this, the easier it becomes to find and stay in that peak performance zone.

Final Thoughts

Mindfulness isn’t just about feeling calm—it’s about playing your best by getting out of your own way.

If you’d like more direct help on using mindfulness or overcoming any mental game challenges you’re experiencing, click here to learn more about one-on-one mental performance coaching.

I’ve also created two online courses for athletes:

• The Confident Competitor Academy
• The Mentally Tough Kid

And if you’re more of a reader, check out my books:

• Mind Games
• Athlete Mental Training

Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of success in all that you do.