Intimidation is a massive mental barrier for many athletes. It often happens when you compare yourself to your opponent’s skills before competition. Most intimidation in sports comes from psyching yourself out, which I call self-intimidation. Your first task to overcoming intimidation is to be very honest with yourself and recognize when you psych yourself out.
Look for the following signs including: giving too much energy to your competition during pregame, doubting your skills to perform well against a certain competitor or team, losing your focus when in awe of the situation or hoopla of the competitive environment or feeling inferior to the competition and make comparisons to others or their record. If you look at yourself honestly and give yourself the credit you deserve, you know you’re as good as the competition. If you allow negativity and fear to creep in, you will wreck yourself. Instead, embrace the excitement, break the intimidation chain and allow yourself to play without hesitation or fears.
