The Applied Mental Game Pyramid – Part 2

Proactive prevention, awareness, and intervention

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The Applied Mental Game Pyramid - Part 2

BTM Issue:

From my bowlers ending a championship in tears of disappointment to sharing in the joy of one of my athletes standing on the podium to hear their national anthem, I have had a front-row seat for the good, the bad, and the ugly of mental game performances.

From these experiences, I wanted more athletes to perform at their best when it matters most. Accordingly, I developed a six-level applied mental game model consisting of three in-training domains and three in-competition domains. I refer to this as the Applied Mental Game Pyramid.

This pyramid has been presented as a two-part series, and I started by sharing insights into the foundational in-training domains of knowledge, simulation, and anticipation. The first article provided recommendations on applied sports psychology methods for training to prepare for competition.

In this article, I continue sharing the Applied Mental Game Pyramid by discussing the in-competition domains of proactive prevention, awareness, and intervention to guide athletes to reach their best during tournament play.

The stress associated with major competitions can overwhelm an athlete, including those who have spent considerable time in mental game preparations. Accordingly, I present intervention strategies to help you perform at a higher level when it matters most.

A quick review

Let’s begin by reviewing the Applied Mental Game Pyramid. The three in-training domains of knowledge, simulation, and anticipation are from the foundational base of the pyramid:

  • Knowledge is the basic understanding of how stress impacts the body. Bowlers must also incorporate individual characteristics and an understanding of their emotional states, both helpful and unhelpful.
  • Simulation is the act of reproducing competitive stress in the training environment. An example of this is practicing in an area of the lane you are initially uncomfortable with to create more comfort in case that zone is needed in competition.
  • Anticipation is simply preparing for all scenarios by thinking about potential situations and how you intend to respond to them.

These three activities form the foundation of the pyramid. Upon this foundation, a bowler can build the ...

Joe Slowinski

About Joe Slowinski

Joe Slowinski, a USBC Gold Coach, is a freelance bowling coach who works with bowlers around the globe. He is currently on assignment with the Philippines. Slowinski is the former Director of Bowling at Lincoln Memorial University, where he served as Program Administrator and Head USBC Collegiate Men’s and NCAA Women’s Coach. The Portland, Maine native has served as the Administrative and Men's Head Coach at Webber International University and served for four years as a Master Teaching Professional at the Kegel Training Center. Slowinski is also the former Director of Coaching and Coach Certification for the National Sports Council of Malaysia. He has coached international teams at the World Championships, Pan American Games, South American Games, and European Championships, helping Belgium win a Gold medal at the 2022 EBF Championship of Champions and coaching Brazil to Gold medals at the 2015 Pam American Games and the 2014 South American Games. He was the 2018 NTCA DII/III Coach of the Year and the 2010 NCBCA Men’s College Coach of the Year.