As you get ready for the season, you’ll spend hours on the field, in the weight room and getting your body ready. But remember, preparation doesn’t just include physical training. Any elite athlete will tell you that when going for gold, mental training and preparation are equally important.

These five strategies can help any athlete improve performance by concentrating on confidence, focus and composure.

• Set goals wisely. Choose a reachable goal, then plan out what has to happen each day for you to achieve it. Instead of “I have to practice more,” plan what and how much you will practice Monday, then Tuesday, etc. If you follow a plan, you’ll be more confident in your training.
• Visualize your performance. If your goal is 10 tackles, imagine yourself relaxing before the game despite all the potential distractions, then staying in your lane and performing 10 squared-up, form tackles. Watch this mini-movie in your head over and over, day after day, so that it becomes ingrained. Success will seem more possible.
• Create a pre-event mental routine. Ask yourself what you need to do before you perform your best. A wide receiver might think, “Before the first offensive drive, I will be on the field, running my routes and catching balls all around the field. I will be loose, warmed up and have a good feel for the ball.” Do it every time. An established routine will become partially subconscious and will help you focus without wasting energy.
• Learn how to manage butterflies. Practice relaxing, whether by meditating, deep breathing, listening to low-key music or another method. Surges of adrenaline before events can trigger anxiety, which sets off all kinds of chaos in the central nervous system. The key is to prepare for the surge and channel that excitement into greater focus.
• Talk to yourself. Call it a mantra or a cue. Basically, you want to come up with a couple of words or a phrase that you will conjure up during your performance. “Smooth, fluid” might be a golfer’s mantra, or “see the target” might be a pitcher’s. It can be anything that cuts through the distractions and focuses your mind.

Dr. Chris Carr is the sport and performance psychologist and coordinator for sport and performance psychology at St.Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis. He is the team performance psychologist for the Indiana Pacers and the Indiana Fever and a consulting sport psychologist for Purdue University athletics.