Taylor Interviewed by WGN about Chicago Teams and Fans
I was interviewed recently by WGN Radio Chicago about the city's pro sports teams and its fans. Address topics including leadership, injury, and the diehard nature of Cubs fans. Here's the link.
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11, 2014
30
10, 2014
How to Be a Great Sports Parent
I was recently interviewed by Today's Parent for an article titled "How to Raise the Next Sidney Crosby" (it's a Canadian magazine). It's a good read for sports parents with some great perspectives from elite athletes, parents, coaches, and, yes, yours truly.
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10, 2014
Taylor Interview with Cycling Website
Cyclists might be interested in this interview I did for a cycling website on the psychology of cycling (both road and mountain).
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10, 2014
Your Favorite Music Enhances Your Workouts
A nice article in the New York Times describes research that confirmed what many of us already knew, namely, that listening to our favorite music during intense workouts increases our efforts. Surprisingly, the research reported that music didn't make the workouts any less unpleasant or bearable, just that people try harder. It was not clear [...]
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10, 2014
The Destructive Bubble of Sports
If you have a child involved in sports or are a fan of sports, whether high school, college, or pro, this New York Times article should be really unsettling to you. Sports can be a wonderful world to instill healthy values, attitudes, and life skills. But, what has been spotlighted recently, from the Sayresville, NJ high [...]
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08, 2014
Why Isn’t Mental Training Treated the Same as Physical and Technical Training?
Not long ago, I completed what has turned out to be a three-week international tour of sport psychology. During my trips, I have worked with athletes and coaches from the U.S., Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia in Argentina, California, Oregon, and Switzerland. One question that has emerged during my travels involves the role of mental preparation in athletic development. But before I get to that question, let me provide some back story. Whenever I speak to athletes and coaches, I ask them how important the mind is to sport success. With few exceptions, the response is that the mind is as or more important than the physical and technical side of sports. I am obviously biased given my work in sport psychology, so I won’t take a position on which I believe is more important. But I will say that the mind is an essential piece of the sport performance puzzle. Consider the top-10 athletes, male or female, in any sport. Are they all gifted? Yes. Are they all in exceptional physical condition? Yes. Are they all technically sound? Yes. Do they all have the best equipment? Yes. So, on game day, what separates the best from those who are close, but can’t quite get to the top? All of these other factors being equal, it must be what goes on in their minds.
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07, 2014
Wake-up Call for All Sports Parents
A compelling article in the New York Times titled All Played Out, written by an orthopedic surgeon and sports father, nails the problem with youth sports directly on the head. Every parent of a young athlete should take a long and hard look in the mirror at why they have their children participating in sports. [...]
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07, 2014
The Power of Self-talk (“You” is Better Than “I”)
An interesting article discussing research that demonstrates the benefits of self-talk and the difference between using second person ("You can do it") and first person ("I can do it"). Hint: second person is better.
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07, 2014
Practice Makes Better, But Not Necessarily Much Better
A great article that further debunks the "10 years, 10,000 hours" theory of deliberate practice. Yes, practice makes you better, but, according to a recent study, not that much better.
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07, 2014
For Athletic Success, You Pay Now or Pay Later
Just about every sport has an off-season during which a key focus should be on building your fitness that acts as the foundation for all of your other sports efforts. Because all aspects of sports preparation have become so sophisticated in the last decade or so, regardless of your sport, without the necessary strength, agility, and stamina, you have little chance of achieving your athletic goals no matter how good you are technically, tactically, or mentally. The problem is that, for most young athletes, conditioning isn't all that fun, in fact, it can be downright tiring, boring, and, yes, painful. Which means that you may not be entirely psyched to work out as much or as hard as you should. I heard this complaint twice recently from young athletes I’m working with. Both knew they should be in the gym regularly, but when it came time to head out the door, they just couldn't pull the trigger as often as they know they should. Plus, when they got to the gym, they just couldn't seem to push themselves as hard as they knew they should. If you feel this way, don’t feel too bad because even the most successful and committed athletes don’t always enjoy their time in the gym. Even for the world’s best athletes, conditioning isn't always fun and it is usually really painful. But each of them make a choice and you can too.