There is something really confusing about watching an athlete look great in practice and then struggle in competition. One week everything feels solid and confident, and the next it feels like their body stops cooperating. For parents and athletes, that shift can feel scary and frustrating, especially when nothing about the skills has actually changed.

I talk with athletes and families all the time who ask the same question: Why does this keep happening? They know the skills are there. They have done them over and over in practice. But when the pressure is on, their heart races, their muscles tighten, and everything suddenly feels harder than it should.

In this episode, I explain why competition creates such a strong reaction in the body. When something feels important, the brain treats it like a threat. The heart speeds up, breathing changes, and the body gets tense. This is not a sign that an athlete is weak or unprepared. It is a normal response that shows up when the brain thinks something really matters.

What makes the biggest difference is how that feeling is understood. I use the example of a roller coaster. Some people love them. Some people hate them. But the physical sensations are the same. The difference is the story the mind tells about those sensations. One athlete feels nervous and thinks, I’m ready. Another feels the same nerves and thinks, Something is wrong.

Most performance problems do not come from nerves themselves. They come from worrying about the nerves. When an athlete starts believing that feeling nervous means they are going to fail, their focus shifts away from what they know how to do. The skills are still there, but fear makes them harder to access.

Throughout the episode, I talk about why mental training is so important for athletes who struggle under pressure. Learning how to understand nerves differently helps athletes stay present and grounded instead of getting stuck in fear. When pressure feels familiar instead of threatening, competition becomes easier to handle.

In this episode, you will hear
 • Why competition feels so different from practice
 • Why nerves are a normal part of performing
 • How interpretation changes what pressure feels like
 • Why worry, not nerves, leads to mistakes
 • How mental training helps athletes compete with more consistency

In this week’s episode of the PerformHappy Podcast, I talk about why athletes don’t always compete like they practice and how changing the way they think about pressure can make a big difference.

Learn exactly what to say and do to guide your athlete through a mental block with my new book "Parenting Through Mental Blocks" Order your copy today: https://a.co/d/g990Bur

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