Gaming mentally

by Dr Denise Bouah

Esports is not sport! If we were to accept this notion it will mean that you do not need mental skills! Or dare we tread into the realm of it being a sport and maybe against your will acknowledge that you actually need to have a pretty good arsenal of mental skills that you can whip out and use to your advantage? Yes, we know it is a sport. So, my dear athlete, my question to you is this: What does your personal repertoire of mental skills look like? As a competitive athlete, you need to be mentally equipped.

Anytime you attempt to achieve something, mental skills come into play:

Do you know how to enter a zone of optimal focusing and concentration so you can perform your best? How do you re-enter it when you get distracted? What do you do when you feel anxious the night before a big event? How do you curb those negative thoughts that you just might not have what it takes? How well do you cope with a lack of support from those around you? What do you do to maintain a healthy balance in your life - this means your sport is not ruling your life and that you can make time to visit with friends and family, enjoy other activities, be successful in academic studies etc., whilst not feeling guilty for not practicing or performing. It is all a fine art of setting up your life as a competitor in such a way that you can perform to the best of your ability, whilst also maintaining a well balanced life apart from your performance domain.

Fast forward to your next competition game, your game hasn't started yet. It is minutes before it starts and your palms are sweaty, you glanced at the opposition and suddenly you wonder for a brief moment if you will win, you shrug it off and tell yourself that you think you will be fine, your heart is racing, the intensity of your emotions is palpable, you feel nervous and if you are honest maybe ever so slightly anxious. You hope your training will pay off. The game starts.... and suddenly you're in it! Time for action!

This is what we experience as athletes. I am a competitive Chess player who has been representing South Africa since 1998. I know that competing is tough and that preparation can be strenuous and lead to making all sorts of sacrifices to get the required amount of training done. I know that sometimes, things go wrong and that hard work doesn't always pay off when we need it to. We have to dig deep to bounce back. But then I also know the joy when a win is recorded and you can sit back and just take in the moment of a good performance. As athletes, we get to experience it all! The highs, the lows and everything in between. 

Being mentally strong is NOT overrated. Making the decision to grow mentally as you progress in your sport is one of the most important choices you can make. Let's look at just 5 benefits of incorporating mental skills training into your preparation programme:

1. Confidence

Insecurity and doubting one's own ability can hamper performance greatly. It also saps energy and can distract a player from focusing on task related skills. Through mental skills training, a player can learn ways to boost confidence levels and as a result also increase positive thinking and self-talk. This is a crucial skill to have in the heat of the battle.

2. Coping strategies

 Anxiety is a common emotion to experience in the performance domain. I know athletes who have terminated their sport careers due to their negative experiences caused by anxiety. A psychologist can assist players to deal effectively with anxiety and stress. Depression can be a silent companion of an athlete. It is important to deal with this and not be limited in life and performance just because an athlete feels embarrassed to get help. Working with a psychologist is confidential. 

3. Time management

This is an important aspect that can be fine tuned with the help of a mental skills expert. Using time productively during a performance can be a determining factor of the result. If a player is anxious or gets distracted, it can cost the player valuable seconds during critical moments. 

4. Dealing with losses and mistakes

We cannot be part of competitive activities without experiencing losses from time to time. How we deal with them is critical, especially during a competition. This refers to making mistakes during game time. Being angry with ourselves or other teammates will not be helpful for our performances. So it is a good idea to develop strategies to deal with these type of moments and situations. 

5. Balancing life and sport

This is probably the most important skill to develop. We cannot live in a performance zone most of the time. There must be time for relaxation, connecting with others socially (face to face), and making time for other interests as well. Because eSports is sedentary in nature (as is Chess), it is important to be fit and maintain one's general health. Burnout can be prevented and it renews our energy when we step away from the world of performance so we can return with gusto, motivation and renewed enthusiasm.

Performing well is not just about plugging in and giving all we've got.  A successful athlete is one who lives a balanced life, who has the ability to be resilient, fair and on the lookout to grow emotionally through experiences. If you should score yourself on a mental skills scale of 1-10, realistically speaking, would you say that you can give yourself a 10/10 for doing the effort of developing key mental skills necessary for you to perform all-round in your life? If not, you have nothing to lose by investing in your growth as athlete and person. What do you need to take that step? Also read:

• Festive Season Special!! COMBO DEAL!

Festive Season Special!! COMBO DEAL!

Get both books for R600 and save 20% per book! 

Reflections on Chess in the Rainbow Nation 

The ideal book to test and improve your chess this summer! 

Dr Lyndon Bouah is a Candidate Master and former South African Olympiad player. He is a coach and plays competitively for Steinitz Chess Club. He has been captain of WP and South Africa at various national and international events respectively. This is his first volume of a series of reflections that he is publishing. 

It tells the stories of chess in Cape Town, South Africa, Africa and the world stage. Join him on this journey as he seeks to record for posterity the fascinating story of our chess tournaments, our chess players and our chess history in general. In the book he covers recent events ranging from the SA Closed 2019 to the SA Club Championship 2019. 

There are over 150 complete games, 250 diagrams and 166 individual players that are highlighted in this book. He has also added some stories about Vladimir Lenin, Paul Morphy and Levon Aronian. There are about 36 crosstables and results for the statisticians! 

BOOK INFO: A4 Size, 228 pages with games and diagrams 

Sport Psychology for Children 

This book should be part of every young athlete's sport preparation! It is also a useful guide for parents and coaches who at times must play sport psychologist! 

Lessons learned in this book are not restricted to just sport, they can be used in other areas of a child's life too. Children get to journey with Jad, Xena, Chika, Bob and other characters through their sport adventures and experiences as they come to learn that there is more to sport performance than just the physical component. 

This book is the brainchild of Dr Denise Bouah who is a respected national athlete and coach in South Africa. She is a Woman International Master (WIM) in chess, 7x Olympiad player and 3x South African Woman Chess Champion. Her 32 year sport career has given her a front row seat in the highs and lows of sport participation, psychology, coaching and administration. Coupled with her academic achievements and career as psychologist, she is in a unique and empowered position to have written this book. It covers the "what we wish we knew as young, aspiring athletes." Just without all the frills and complicated academic jargon. 

Dr Bouah specializes in sport psychology and runs a private practice in Cape Town. 

BOOK INFO: A4 Size, 214 pages with colour illustrations 

Sport Psychology for Children is written for children who want to learn more about the mental side of performance. It is also a useful guide for parents and coaches who at times must play sport psychologist! Lessons learned in this book are not restricted to just sport, they can be employed in other areas of a child's life. It is written in everyday language and makes the daunting mental concepts accessible to the young mind. Journey with Jad, Xena, Chika and other characters through their sport adventures and experiences as they come to learn that there is more to sport performance than just the physical component. Join the cast in their adventures as Bob learns about dealing with a loss, Chika overcomes her pre-game anxiety and Xena learns to control her breathing. Not only can children relate to the stories in this book, but they will also learn about the basics of Sport Psychology which include values in sport, dealing with setbacks, goal setting, developing productive habits and so much more. 

The stories have been written and structured in such a way that children will find valuable information throughout. Opportunities are given for children to reflect on the principles and concepts discussed in this book. They get to answer important questions relating to the application of the concepts in their own lives. Sport Psychology for Children is not a one-time read. It is a manual designed in such a way that children can benefit from it throughout their sporting careers, no matter the level of participation. It aims at empowering children with the mental skills that can contribute to having a successful and enjoyable journey in sport. Dr Denise Bouah is a counselling psychologist who specialises in Sport Psychology. She holds a BPsych (Child Context), MA Counselling Psychology with specialisation in Sport Psychology, and a DPhil Human Movement Science degree (University of Pretoria). Through the years her studies have focussed on the habits, values and mindfulness of athletes, as well as the use of chess as a therapeutic tool as part of alcohol and drug rehabilitation. She values hard work whilst maintaining a balanced lifestyle, having received the University of Pretoria's Vice-Chancellor's Award for the student with the best combined Sport and Academic Achievements during one of her student years. 

Denise also holds the title of Woman International Master in Chess and is a 3x South African Woman Chess Champion. Denise represented South Africa at junior level in 1998 and, since 2000, at senior level. She has been a key member of the South African Chess teams and squads to various World Olympiads, World Teams and World Individual Championships, All African Games and African Individual and Zonal Championships. She combines her rich sport and therapeutic experiences with her academic knowledge to work with athletes on all levels. She has also been an active chess coach since 2000 and works with players of all ages and varying levels of strength. Denise has a love for dogs, and in particular the South African Boerboel on which many of the characters in this book are based. Her vision is to bring sport psychology and mental skills to each and every young athlete in the world. Her 32 year sport career has given her a front row seat in the highs and lows of sport participation, psychology, coaching and administration. Coupled with her academic achievements and career as sport psychologist, she is in a unique and empowered position to have written this book. It covers the "what we wish we knew as young, aspiring athletes." Just without all the frills and complicated academic jargon. 

Dr Lyndon Bouah holds the title of Candidate Master in chess. He qualified for this title at the 1992 World Chess Olympiad. He also competed for South Africa at various international events including the 1993 African Junior Championship in Nairobi where he was the joint runner-up, the 1994 Olympiad in Russia and thereafter the African Team Championships in Nigeria and various African Individual Championships in Zambia in 2005, Uganda in 2016 and Zambia in 2017. Dr Bouah has been the captain of the South African Chess Team at the 2002, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 Chess Olympiads held in Slovenia, Spain, Norway, Azerbaijan and Georgia. He was also captain of the team that won the Zone 4.3 Team Championships in Mozambique in 2008 and was captain of the South African Open Team at the All African Games in Nigeria in 2003. He led Western Province to ten Interprovincial Team Championships and has been the Steinitz Chess Club captain that has seen them win 9 national club titles, 8 provincial club titles and 11 district club titles. In his own right, Dr Bouah has won multiple Western Province Open and Closed Championships as well as the Eastern Province Closed Championship and University championships. Dr Bouah has served chess as an administrator, coach, player and journalist for the last 33 years. He is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and completed his law degrees at UWC and UCT and PhD at UWC in 2016. Dr Bouah is currently the Chief Director of Sport and Recreation in the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport in the Western Cape Provincial Government.

How to order your COMBO DEAL: Email Dr Denise Bouah: denise.LDbooks@gmail.com 

Cost: R600 per combo Add R100 for courier cost if you are not living in Cape Town. 

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