BENGALURU: Being a successful sportsperson on a national or international stage may bring fame, wealth, and the pride of representing your country but with it comes the stresses of a highly competitive environment, the stress of being in the public eye and the burden of fulfilling an entire nation’s sporting dreams.
Mental performance coaches like Bengaluru-based Mon Brokman, are becoming popular choices among sportspersons who want to prioritise mental fitness apart from just physical fitness. “Most people think with more years of experience, things are becoming easier. But as you become more successful, the external challenges also grow, and players have to learn through maturity, experience, and mental training how to deal with it,” says Brokman.
Brokman has worked with badminton player HS Prannoy, Indian Premiere League’s Rajasthan Royals, English cricketer Jos Buttler, golfers Anirban Lahiri and Shubhankar Sharma over his eight-year stint in Bengaluru. Having worked with Prannoy for the last five years, Brokman shares, “Prannoy’s USP is that he is always motivated.
We never needed to motivate him, even in his worst season and in his worst time, through a chain of injuries. It is something that he always had and that really inspired me.” In an interview with Prannoy, he mentioned to CE about the mental toughness needed to be a sportsman, the toll it takes in the long run, and how he keeps himself motivated. Brokman continues, “What we needed to do was take his motivation and channel it to the correct practices and training so the motivation is being used to grow and appreciate the small wins.”
Brokman and his team at performance and health intelligence company, Behavioural Foresight, use advanced biofeedback technology consisting of wearable devices and camera-based systems to give real-time insights into an athlete’s physiological responses during performance. “We track their cognitive skills, heart rate, heart rate variability, skin conductivity, breathing patterns and even emotional responses.
All these give a clear picture of how they’re managing pressure, maintaining focus and recovering from stress. By understanding these markers, we can guide them towards a ‘flow state’ – that optimal zone where everything clicks and performance is at its peak,” he explains. “It’s a huge step forward from traditional sports psychology which often relies on subjective observation or self-reporting. We use tailored routines to neutralise stress, stay present, and break through mental barriers that once held them back,” says Brokman.
Despite huge strides in the field, stigma around mental health holds those in the Indian sports scene back from seeking out mental performance coaching. “In India, the concept of mental performance coaching for athletes is still at a nascent stage, though it has long been embraced internationally. There remains some hesitation and discomfort from teams and individuals in India when mental coaching services are introduced,” Brokman says.
However, an increasing number of elite Indian sports persons, including Prannoy have started talking openly about using mental performance coaches and sports psychologists, indicating changing attitudes. Explaining its impact, Brokman says, “Prannoy was initially not open about it, but at some point, he was quite proud about what he’s doing. He’s working with us on a daily basis and it’s helping more and more young athletes and parents to accept that this is normal and integral to performance.”