I'm pleased to announce the publication of my 14th book, Practice Development in Sport and Performance Psychology. Along with a team of experienced authors, I provide a foundation of knowledge and skills necessary to establish and maintain a consulting business in sport and performance psychology. Says Kate Hays, Ph.D., Past president, APA Division of Sport & Exercise Psychology, “This [...]
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.
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.
I have been working for the past year with a collegiate team with realistic aspirations of winning an NCAA championship. They have been an amazing group of athletes who struggled through challenges, stayed committed to their goals, and came together as a team. It has been a privilege to be a part of the team. [...]
No, this article is not a lame attempt at self-promotion. Rather, it is a challenge for you to take an essential, yet often neglected, piece of the ski racing success puzzle and make it a priority during the off-season. Let me elaborate in three ways. First, I speak to racers, coaches, and parents around North [...]
Here's a great article about how Winter Olympians use mental imagery. It supports my belief that mental imagery is a powerful and essential tool in an athlete's toolbox.
Here's a link to a great video in which three of Canada's top female ski racers demonstrate and discuss how they use positive self-talk and mental imagery to prepare them for success.
I have been thinking a great deal about what it takes for athletes to achieve what I consider to be an essential goal in all of your efforts, namely, when your game, match, round, race, or other type of competition concludes, you are make two statements: “I was as prepared as I could be to [...]
In my many years in ski racing, first as a racer, then as a sport psych consultant, I have studied and tested what I believe are the most important mental contributors to ski racing success including motivation, confidence, focus, and emotions. But there is one that I have recognized quite recently as being really important, [...]
I just returned from Zermatt where I spent a week working with a group of highly ranked U.S. tech skiers. After a few days, the feedback I was getting from them was that I was really getting into their heads and causing them to think a lot, in fact, to a few of them, a [...]