When the going gets tough on St. Joe’s playing fields, the tough get–a mantra.
For St. Joe’s athletes and coaches, mantras, which have their roots in Hinduism and Buddhism, offer a way to focus by repeating a word or phrase.
Senior guard Chris Clover has been using the same mantra for a while, a Bible quote, Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ.”
“I put that on my sneakers,” Clover said, pointing to his shoes.
Greg Nicholls, Ph.D., director of St. Joe’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), said mantras can help people respond rather than react when they are anxious.
“Combined with a focus on the breath, a mantra, such as ‘calm and cool’ or ‘relaxed and strong’, said internally and repeatedly on the outbreath can serve to reset the mind away from negative and self-critical thoughts,” Nicholls said.
Taking a deep breath helps Clover when he’s about to shoot, it’s all riding on him and fans are yelling.
“I don’t really say too much,” Clover said. “In my head, I’m just like, ‘This ball has to go in.’ I just do a method of breathing to calm my nerves down.”
Junior guard Greg Smith said when he’s on the free-throw line and the pressure is mounting, he tells himself, “Remember, it’s still a game.”
“At the end of it, it’s still a sport, like we are supposed to have fun playing and everything like that,” Smith said.
Missed shots, lost games and big falls can chip away at an athlete’s confidence. Mantras can help reset that negative thinking.
Sophomore forward Taylor Funk said he responds to missed shots with the simple mantra: “Next shot’s going in.”
Funk said he got another mantra from his father.
“Every time you shoot the ball, just think, ‘It’s going in, no matter what,’” Funk said his father told him.
When faced with doubt, junior forward Lorenzo Edwards said he tells himself, “God doesn’t give me anything I can’t handle.”
“I went through a couple injuries, and it was tough, but that saying, and that mantra right there, kept me pushing through and kept me going,” Edwards said.
Here are some of the other mantras guiding athletes and coaches at St. Joe’s:
