This article will explore the essential role that risk taking plays in athletic success. Before I continue, though, let me preface this discussion by saying that, when I talk about taking risks, I don’t mean taking stupid risks such as texting while driving, jumping off the roof of your house, or taking drugs. That’s not [...]
Most sport psychologists work with athletes on the mental side of their sport in an office setting (usually one hour per week), providing them with mental tools that they can use during training and competitions. This approach makes about as much sense as a coach offering their racers technical instruction in an office and then [...]
I'm excited to announce that I have just signed a contract with the publisher Rowman & Littlefield to write my 15th book, tentatively titled, Train Your Mind for Athletic Success. This book will be based on my Prime Performance System which is my framework for the role of the mind in athletic performance that I have [...]
If you do anything to work on the mental side of your ski racing during this off season, it better be mental imagery. Why, you ask. Because there is no more powerful mental tool than mental imagery and it can have a huge impact on your ski racing. And here’s my challenge to you: If [...]
Just a quick reminder that my new Prime Ski Racing online mental training course has held its first session, but there's still time to enroll (I've had several people sign up since the Wednesday class). When you enroll, you can catch up by watching the first session on the course's private YouTube channel. Here's what [...]
When I speak to athletes and coaches, I ask them how important the mind is to sports 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 what I do for a living, so I won’t take [...]
On June 1st, I will be launching my first-ever 12-week online mental training course designed specifically for ski racers. My motivation to develop this course was a need that I saw for racers and coaches to treat mental training the same way they do physical and technical training. So, I looked at what made physical [...]
This post is the last of my five-part series describing my Prime Performance System which encompasses everything I know about the psychology of sport. This post will introduce five practical mental tools you can use to get the most out of your competitive efforts. These five mental tools are the final piece of the prime [...]
You have certain muscles in your body that are absolutely essential for sports including your quads, glutes, abs, and hamstrings. The simple reality is that if you don’t actively strengthen these muscles, you will not be capable of performing your best. You should think about your mind as made up of ‘mental muscles’, the same [...]
This post, related to mental tools, is the last of my five-part series describing my Prime Performance System which encompasses everything I know about the psychology of ski racing. It also acts as the foundation for my upcoming 12-week online mental training program (begins June 1st!). This post will introduce five practical mental tools you [...]