I grew up on Long Island where having a boat and being able to cruise in the Great South Bay was a treasured part of life. My favorite place to anchor was Hemlock Cove—a sheltered haven where the water was deep, the eelgrass was a beautiful color. Eelgrass, a type of seagrass, had long, dark and emerald green, ribbon-like leaves. With a short walk over the land that separated the cove from the ocean, we could breathe in the salt air that meant so much to us. We used the expression "salt" to describe people like us that love being in or on the bay.
It was always my job to stand on the bow and throw the anchor into the water. My father would back the engines down to set the anchor firmly in place. This simple ritual, repeated countless times throughout my childhood, taught me something profound about athletic performance.
The anchor, you see, represents stability in the midst of challenge. In the world of competitive sports, where pressure mounts and expectations rise like unpredictable currents, an anchor is what keeps athletes grounded. It prevents them from drifting with every setback, distraction, or moment of self-doubt. Yet it doesn't confine them—it provides the security needed to perform freely, with full expression of their skills and passion.
What follows is a practical guide to developing your own Mental Anchor—a psychological technique that can transform your athletic performance. Like that young boy on the bow of his father's boat, every athlete seeks that satisfying moment when they feel secure and centered, even while competing in the unpredictable arena of sports.
Join me as we explore how to set anchor in your athletic journey, allowing you to perform with quickness, intensity, and love for your game.
What follows is an invitation to transform your athletic practice through the power of mental anchoring. Whether you're an athlete seeking consistency, a coach helping others reach their potential, or simply someone who understands that excellence requires both mental and physical mastery, these pages contain practical wisdom to help you perform at your best when it matters most.
A Mental Anchor is a powerful technique that helps you achieve performance excellence. This approach allows athletes, coaches, and performers to prepare for and engage in deliberate practice with focus and purpose. By mastering your Mental Anchor, you'll learn to control your breathing, manage physical sensations, channel your passion, and perform with precisely the intensity your activity demands.
What Is a Mental Anchor?
A Mental Anchor grounds you in the present moment despite pressure or doubts. Like a ship's anchor in rough waters, it prevents negative thoughts, anxiety, or loss of focus during high-pressure situations.
Real-World Example
As a coach's coach working with high school basketball, I witnessed the power of Mental Anchoring with Barry, a point guard who struggled with consistency. When Barry lost the ball, he would drop his head and display negative body language, affecting both his performance and his teammates' morale.
Barry's coach implemented a simple signal—two fingers under his chin—to remind him to refocus. This physical cue helped Barry shift from dwelling on mistakes to focusing on the present moment.
During practice, Barry visualized lifting his chin after mistakes and re-engaging in the game. This mental anchor gradually became automatic. By season's end, his turnovers had decreased significantly, and his leadership remained consistent regardless of game situations.
The Four Pillars of Mental Anchoring
1. Breath Control
Your breath connects mind and body. Proper breathing regulates your heart rate and nervous system while delivering oxygen to muscles. It creates mental clarity and present-moment awareness.
Practice tip: Before training, take time to complete a series of deep, intentional breaths and notice the resulting calmness.
2. Sensation Awareness
Your body communicates through sensations. Learn to interpret these messages rather than ignore them. They help distinguish between productive discomfort and harmful pain, provide real-time feedback for performance adjustments, and deepen your connection to the present moment.
3. Passionate Expression
Passion provides energy for sustained excellence. Connect your daily actions to your deeper purpose. This allows you to express your unique identity through your performance, use emotional intensity to enhance focus and execution, and maintain motivation through challenges.
Practice tip: Before competitions, write down three aspects of your sport that excite you and review these during warm-ups.
4. Performance Integration
The goal is to integrate mental anchoring into seamless performance. This involves developing pre-performance routines, creating mid-competition reset techniques, establishing post-performance reflection practices, and building situation-specific anchors for different scenarios you might encounter.
Integration Process
As you develop your mental anchoring practice:
Start by combining breath and sensation awareness during regular training
Next, add verbal or physical expressions of passion during intense efforts
Finally, practice quick anchor resets after mistakes to build resilience
Performance Application
Test your mental anchor in increasingly challenging situations. Refine your pre-performance routine based on what works best for you. The ultimate goal is to perform while anchored without consciously thinking about being anchored—reaching a state of flow where your anchoring practice becomes second nature.
Measuring Progress
To gauge your mental anchoring development over time, pay attention to several indicators:
- Recovery time: Notice how quickly you bounce back after mistakes or setbacks
- Consistency: Observe your stability across varying conditions
- Technique maintenance: Your ability to maintain proper form under fatigue or pressure
- Enjoyment: Often increases with better mental anchoring
- Performance improvements: Look for progress in previously challenging situations
Conclusion
Your Mental Anchor transforms your athletic journey. By grounding yourself in breath, sensation, and passion, you create optimal conditions for performing with intensity and enjoyment.
Anchoring develops through consistent practice. Be patient, celebrate small improvements, and trust that your attention to these mental aspects will improve your physical performance.
Anchor deep, perform free.
"The mind is just like a muscle - the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand." — Idowu Koyenikan
Back in the early '70s, as surfers began to push the limits of what was possible in big waves, Kenny Bradshaw found himself caught inside as Waimea Bay closed out. Drawing on his mental anchor, Bradshaw trusted that his strength would allow him to curl his body into a ball as he threw himself into the breaking wave. The massive wall of water shot him to the beach like a ping pong ball, demonstrating the remarkable power of trust in a mental anchor.
This guide is designed to complement your existing physical training regimen. For personalized mental performance coaching, contact Coach Brad for a consultation.