How Can Sports Psychology Help Athletes?
Athletes often ask me this question: "How do I know when a poor performance or error is a physical or a mental problem?" From my experience, here are a few hints that it may be a mental breakdown:
1. You perform much better in practice than during competition
2. You have a tough time performing well when others are watching you
3. You maintain many doubts about your sport before or during games
4. You feel anxious or scared when you perform in competition
5. You are not sure why you play your sport or what motivates you
6. You only participate in sports to feel better about yourself as a person
7. You lose focus or have mental lapses during critical times of the game
8. You can't perform the way you did pre-injury, but are physically 100%
9. Everything is fine, but you just want to improve your mental attitude
Sports psychology sometimes get a bad reputation because of the association of psychology with pathology. That is why I prefer to call what I do mental game coaching or mental training, which athletes understand. Mental game coaching is for athletes who want to improve upon their current performance and take their games to the next level with the help of a mental coach like myself.
But most athletes, unfortunately, seek out my services because of an particular performance barrier or decrease in performance. As a mental game coach, I often become the last resort after athletes have tried other means to get beyond performance slumps. I wish it wasn't this way, but athletes wait until some needs to be "fixed" and they have exhausted all other resources before they commit to mental game coaching.
How can sport psychology help you perform better? Here is the most obvious list:
1. Improve focus and deal with distractions.
2. Grow confidence in athletes who have many doubts.
3. Develop coping skills to deal with setbacks and errors.
4. Find the right zone of intensity for your sport.
5. Help teams develop communication skills and cohesion.
6. To instill a healthy belief system and weed out irrational thoughts.
7. Improve and balance motivation for optimal performance.
8. Get back into competition after an injury is healed fully.
9. To develop game-specific strategies and game plans.
10. To identify and enter the "zone" more often.
Sport psychology may not be for every single athlete. Not everyone involved in sport wants to "improve performance." Sport psychology is probably not for recreation athletes who just like the social component of sport. Most of my students are committed to excellence and seeing how far they can go. They love competition and testing themselves against the best in their sport. They want every possible advantage they can learn including the mental edge over the competition.
Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is a leading mental game coach who consults with Tour Pros and amateurs. He is the author of Going Low, Peak Performance Golf, The Mental Game of Golf and The Mental Art of Putting. For more information: www.peaksports.com
Related Articles:
College Fanz and College Sports Information Directors Ink Pact : College Fanz Sports Network Newest CoSIDA Corporate Partner
The College Fanz Sports Network? today announced it has finalized a corporate partnership with CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America), joining CoSIDA?s family of major corporate partners including ESPN, ESPN The Magazine, Multi-Ad, ICS, DigiPixArt, and the NBA/WNBA.
Virginia AAU Partners with LocalReplay to Provide Unprecedented Web and Mobile Solutions for all Virginia AAU Sports
As school breaks and summer sports heat up, Virginia's preeminent amateur sports organization is providing its members and teams with groundbreaking web and mobile solutions. Virginia AAU basketball members and teams are already live on the LocalReplay.com platform. Virginia AAU is the first major amateur sports organization in the US to provide all of its members with professional web and mobile solutions.
Sport Card Auctions Opens Offering a Way for Sports Card Collectors as Well as Dealers to Participate in Online Auctions
Online sports card auctions are too expensive is what Greg Hansen has believed for years. If I could build a site that didnt have the listing fees, the true collectors could re-enter the market. It would also a good alternative for dealers to not only sell items that they couldn't sell locally, but they could buy cards that were popular in their region for re-sale. Hansens solution was to launch a new online auction site dedicated solely to sports cards. In April 2005 he launched www.sportcardauctions.com.
Sports Massage - Post-Event
The purpose of a massage after a major event is simply to aid the athlete to recover from the activity. This is achieved by reducing post-exercise soreness, re-establishing full range of motion and enhancing blood flow to tight muscles.
New Report Says Longer Healthy Life Expectancy Multiplies Seniors Competing in Sports and Keeping Fit
Medical and public health advances doubled life expectancy and greatly extended healthy life years over the last century. These trends have made it far more possible for more people in mid life and later to compete in sports and exercise to stay fit. Sports and fitness activities provide the physical activity needed for good health, there are many more opportunities for older people to compete in sports and participate in fitness, and technological improvements have made participation easier and prevented and mitigated injuries. The state of the economy and individual motivation will determine whether older people continue to increase their participation in sports and fitness.
Best Gambling Strategy For Sports Betting
Sports betting is one of the most popular forms of gambling there is People just love to bet on their favorite sports, and they do it for a lot of different reasons
Triple Crown Sports Girls Championship Tournament to be held July 9-29, 2007 in Park City, Utah
ResortQuest Park City is proud to be an Official Lodging Sponsor of the Triple Crown Sports Girl's Championships. 2007 will start the 12th year for the Triple Crown girl's fast pitch program to be held in Park City, Utah, July 9-29, 2007
3DVO Customer List Grows as Online Retailers Invest in 3D Product Models: Black Diamond, Moretz Sports, Ogio, Rocky Outdoor Gear,
3DVO announced today six new retailers have signed up for 3DVO Engage, the pioneering 3D service that delivers true-to-life online product images. Online retailers and manufacturers including Black Diamond, Moretz Sports, Ogio, Rocky Outdoor Gear, Skullcandy, and Spira are rolling out 3D product models to enhance the online buying experience for their customers and increase online sales. 3DVO delivers high quality 3D product images that cost 40 to 60 percent less than other available technologies with greatly improved speed-to-market.
Protein Requirements for Athletes-Sports
There still exists considerable confusion and controversy regarding the protein requirements for athletesparticularly for those who are involved in high-intensity training. Even scientists have disagreed on exact protein requirements, and thus many strength and conditioning professionals who desire muscular enhancement in their athletes have increased their protein intake well beyond the recommended daily allowance (RDA). Much of the confusion arises from poorly designed research studies and a lack of understanding of protein metabolism, resulting in recommendations that are unnecessary and occasionally harmful. Proteins are complex molecules that have many enzymatic and structural functions related to the promotion of body growth, maintena...
Staying Safe at the Gym: Top Sports Orthopaedist on Keeping Shoulder Injuries Out of Your Workout
Most people never think about their shoulders - until, of course, they start to hurt. But the shoulder joint is a wonder, allowing you to push, pull, lift and twist your arms in every direction. Unfortunately, all that mobility has a price, and shoulder injuries are one of the most common problems among athletes of all levels - professionals as well as weekend warriors. The biggest problem for most is overuse injuries, the kind that come from a repetitive motion, in fact common for most regulars in the gym.
Action Sports Industry Insiders Discuss "What Youth Brands Can Learn From The Action Sports World" at Ypulse San Diego Teen Media Mashup
Leading figures from the action sports world, including the editor of Primedia's Skateboarder Magazine, executives from The BLOCK Hotels, Premise Immersive Marketing Agency and Powerline6 Design and professional skater Dorian Tucker for a roundtable discussion about "What Youth Brands Can Learn From The Action Sports World" December 5.
Sports Fan Warehouse expands its MLB Team Stores
SportsFanWarehouse.com, a leader in on-line team logo merchandise, launches its expanded MLB Team Stores Merchandise at http://www.sportsfanwarehouse.com/mlb-team-stores.html
Back To School, Back To College Sports
It?s that time of year again, when students are heading off to college, and new sports seasons are starting for college teams. There are many ways for students, alumni, and hometown fans alike to show their loyalty, and stay warm as they cheer on their teams in dropping temperatures. While football moves indoors in colder climes for the pros, college athletes, and their fans, are likely to be playing and cheering outdoors, come rain, wind, or shine. Make sure that your favorite fan has a well stocked closet for the fall season.
IntentionalFoul.com Offers Insightful Fodder Looking at the Often Irreverent and Illogical World of Sports
Ticket Solutions is proud to announce the launch of IntentionalFoul.com, a sports blog featuring the warped perspective of Chris Richardson. Intentional Foul brings a much-needed attitude to sports news while providing an outlet for passionate sports fans where they can read and react to whatever is topical.
Basketball Jerseys - Trendier Sports Gear
Basketball jerseys are the more preferred sports apparel among school and college going crowd. Jerseys are part of the official sports apparel of NBA and other basketball teams.