Competition Anxiety – Enemy or Resource?
In the worst case, competition anxiety can take away the joy of sports for a child or young person 😟🏃♂️– or even lead to quitting altogether. Learning to manage competition anxiety and finding new ways to cope can open doors to better performances. When the direction is clear and the mind is open to growth, competition anxiety becomes a tool, not an obstacle.
Physical activity and participation in different sports have been recognized as factors that promote well-being and health. However, barriers such as lack of equality, joy, and sense of community can prevent children and young people from engaging in sports. Competition anxiety has also been identified by coaches as one of the themes that needs new approaches💡.
The international Joy in Sports project promotes interaction between coaches and children, as well as among children themselves, as a way to strengthen community and equality. The goal is to encourage children to participate in sports and ensure continuity of hobbies, while also serving as a means to combat bullying, racism, and discrimination. The project uses art-based methods and exercises designed to calm the nervous system and mind.
The project is now entering a phase where it will become visible, particularly in the Turku region. The Finnish partners in the project are Turku University of Applied Sciences and the multi-sport club TuTo ry. The pilot phase, which includes exercises and practices aimed at different objectives, is currently underway🏃♂️✨
The exercises aim to strengthen team spirit and trust, enrich interaction, and foster openness – and, of course, spark feelings of joy and enthusiasm.
One way to support young athletes’ well-being and enjoyment in sports is to provide both coaches and young people with tools to influence how competition anxiety is experienced.
The need for these nervous-system-focused exercises emerged during discussions with coaches at the start of the project.
Most people who have practiced or competed in sports can probably recognize the phenomenon of how the mind and body react before or during competitions🏆💓.
Next, you can dive into the topic through the experience story of Timo Heiskanen, a physiotherapy student at Turku University of Applied Sciences. His story about experiencing competition anxiety and its impact on his athletic career offers an engaging and emotional read. Can you relate, or does it remind you of experiences you’ve heard?
Competition Anxiety – Enemy or Resource?
Competition anxiety is a phenomenon familiar to almost anyone who has faced a performance situation or athletic challenge. It is the body’s and mind’s natural reaction to a situation where one’s abilities and performance are under scrutiny and pressure.
Anxiety can manifest in many ways: a racing heartbeat, sweaty palms, “butterflies” in the stomach, or even foggy thoughts. While anxiety may feel unpleasant, it is not entirely negative. When channeled correctly, it can even enhance performance.
Competition anxiety usually stems from the desire to succeed and the fear of failure. When the stakes feel high – whether it’s an important sports competition, a music performance, or a job interview – the mind starts evaluating the significance of the situation🤲 .This can lead either to motivation and improved focus or to paralyzing fear.
An individual’s personality, past experiences, and situational expectations influence how strongly and in what way anxiety appears.
Personal Experiences with Competition Anxiety
My own experiences with competition anxiety come from judo. I am a former national team athlete who competed internationally against Europe’s top players. I even sought professional psychological help to better manage competition anxiety, losses, and failures.
Here’s a practical example of my struggle with competition anxiety during the Finnish Youth Judo Championship final🏆
Everything around me felt distant, as if I were looking at the world through a foggy veil. It was my first Finnish Championship final – the first truly important moment of my athletic career, something I had waited for and trained for over years.
My opponent was familiar; I had faced him many times and won every time. Yet something felt different today. The anxiety was palpable, and I had no effective way to escape it.
The preparation area was tense. Other competitors focused on their own worlds and upcoming championship matches, but I couldn’t shut out my surroundings. My stomach churned like I was in the eye of a storm. My hands were sweaty. My breathing was shallow, and I couldn’t find that steady, focused mindset that usually carried me through competitions.
I tried to remind myself: You’ve done this before. He’s your opponent, but you’ve beaten him many times. The words echoed hollow in my mind. My body wouldn’t obey, even though my mind knew I was ready. My brain seemed to play its own game – flooding me with images of failure and questions: What if today is the day everything goes wrong? What if I can’t deliver in the most important moment of my career? Everyone will see, and I’ll be considered nothing if I don’t win this championship.😢
When I heard my name called to fight, my heart pounded so hard it felt like the whole hall could hear it. I walked toward the mat, but my steps lacked their usual confidence. Every movement felt stiff, as if I were trying to control something beyond my grasp.
I stepped onto the mat. The crowd buzzed in the background, but I couldn’t hear individual voices. I knew I could win this match – but I wasn’t sure I could win against myself.
As you might guess, competition anxiety defeated me, as did my opponent. I lost to him for the first time in the Finnish Championship final. I was crushed.
When I got home from the venue, I threw the silver medal in the trash. I didn’t want to continue in sports.
Competition Anxiety, Disappointment, and Reorientation
When anxiety wins and performance falls far short of expectations, the first step is to accept the situation. Denying disappointment or blaming yourself won’t help, but taking space and objectively reviewing what happened can help you understand why. What factors prevented success? Was it physical preparation, psychological challenges, or lack of strategies to manage the situation?
Breaking down the reasons for disappointment gradually weakens their power🔍💪
In the case of competition anxiety, reflecting on failure can provide valuable insights into your strengths and areas for improvement. Perhaps the failure was due to insufficient tools for managing anxiety – that was certainly true for me. Or maybe the situation triggered too much self-doubt, and there was no backup plan to calm down. These observations can give a clear direction for what to develop next.
Reorienting after failure takes time and determination. It may mean adding mental training to your weekly routine, finding new relaxation techniques that work for you, or practicing visualization to prepare for competition scenarios.
Managing anxiety is not a magic trick but a skill that develops with time and practice – just like any other skill. Disappointment can also offer an opportunity to reassess your relationship with competition and goals. What motivates you to compete? What do you want to achieve? Why do you want to achieve it?
Looking back, I can say with a clear conscience: Sometimes failure can serve as an important reminder that success does not have to define your worth – as a person or as an athlete.
Competitions and achievements are an important part of the journey, but true reward lies in growth and development as an athlete and as a human being🌱🤝
Ultimately, every disappointment that is processed openly and constructively strengthens the athlete. No athlete should have to deal with setbacks alone. Whether it’s teammates, coaches, family, friends, or a sports psychologist, every athlete should talk about failures and disappointments👨👩👧👦🧑⚕️.
Managing competition anxiety and finding new approaches can open doors to performances that once seemed impossible in moments of failure and frustration. When the direction is clear and the mind is open to growth, competition anxiety becomes a tool, not an obstacle – and even after setbacks, you can move toward new successes🌟🏆
The Joy in Sports project, funded by the Erasmus+ Sport Cooperation Partnership, aims to increase inclusion, enthusiasm, and joy in children’s sports⚽🤸♀️🎉. Follow the project’s outputs, especially the “Coaches Educational Pack” with materials designed for coaches but also useful for anyone involved in club activities.
Joy in Sports webpage: /https://joyinsports.com/
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Authors:
Timo Heiskanen, Physiotherapy Student, Turku University of Applied Sciences. Timo Heiskanen participated in the Joy in Sports project.
Anu Granberg, Senior Lecturer, Turku University of Applied Sciences. Anu Granberg is the internal project manager for Joy in Sports at Turku UAS.
Read more article in Finnish Magazine TALK Kilpailujännityksen hallinnalla lisää iloa lasten ja nuorten urheiluun – Talk by Students
