It is a widely held belief in the sports world that team culture can have a big impact on how a team functions and performs. How team members, think, feel, behave, and perform are all influenced by the environment in which they practice and compete. For example, have you ever been on a “downer” team? I’m [...]
Let me preface this article with a few observations about sport coaching and mental training. First, I believe that great sport coaches are also great intuitive psychologists. They may not have the fancy degrees, but through experience and self-education (and sometimes formal education), capable coaches develop a deep understanding of the importance of the mind [...]
Michael Phelps has had a remarkable series of performances at the Rio Olympics. He is obviously a tremendously gifted athlete who trains incredibly hard. At the same time, as this video describes, Phelps commits a ton of time and energy to his mental preparation. And here's another video that describes how Michael Phelps the athlete [...]
Watching video of yourself and World Cup racers is a powerful tool for strengthening important mental muscles such as confidence, intensity, and focus. It can also be used, when combined with mental imagery, to improve technique and tactics. Another benefit is that watching yourself ski fast and top World Cuppers ski faster just gets you [...]
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, [...]
Confidence is the second mental “muscle” that I explore in my upcoming Prime Sport 101: Train Your Mind like a Champion online mental training course. I define confidence as how strongly you believe in your ability to perform your best and achieve your athletic goals. Confidence is the most important mental muscle because you may have [...]
In part one of my two-part series on risk taking (the good kind) in sports, I looked at what risks are for athletes, the upsides and downsides of taking risks, and how risk taking should be a choice that athletes incorporate not only in their sports lives, but also in their broader lives as well. [...]
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 [...]
As any sports parent knows, it’s often a challenge to get your kids to the practice field, court, course, hill, or what-have you every day on time and ready to go. I admit that I can be a bit of a taskmaster with my own kids (who’s main sport is ski racing) on those days [...]
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 [...]