Mindfulness is about being more aware of our thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and external environment in the present moment, and then making better-informed choices about what you’ll do now, having this new awareness.
It is about awareness and choice. Noticing something, gaining an insight, then making a choice based on this new awareness. We are then able to respond to a situation instead of just reacting to it.
Why is this helpful for an athlete in any sport?
High performance and playing our best can only happen when we are fully engaged in the present moment. If we get easily distracted or emotionally upset during competition, we can still play fine, it just makes everything more difficult than it has to be. If instead we start to become more aware of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surroundings, we can then better channel our energy and effort to maximize our sports performance.
Playing/competing with our full focus on the here and now, allows us more access to our best possible selves and the Zone.