sportpsychology
Stay focused. Think positive. Leave the day’s baggage in the locker room. These are all things that athletes are consistently told in order to excel on the field, the court or the ice. If you can do these things, that’s great. Performance certainly is enhanced when you are able to control your thoughts and emotions. [...]
Everyone has a little voice inside their head. This voice is constantly there, commenting on our thoughts, feelings and actions. Our internal dialogue has the potential to greatly influence our behaviors. What’s your voice saying to you? Try this: DON’T think of a giant chocolate chip cookie. What immediately popped into your head? A cookie, [...]
For many collegiate athletes, it might be unclear how to approach the off-season, especially for those that are leaving campus. When you’re away from the team-system, it’s tempting to eat junk food and lounge at the beach, but this makes getting back into practice difficult in the fall. On the other hand, the off-season is [...]
Have you ever been on a team where the leadership (coach, captain, senior… etc.) just didn’t quite understand how to, well, lead? Maybe they didn’t have a clear idea of what a leader is and what it takes to really lead? For whatever reason, they couldn’t connect the dots between who they are and the [...]
Our last voyages into confidence building involved becoming more aware of what makes you confident, and using videos and modeling to increase your confidence. A third way to build confidence is to convince yourself to be more confident. Here are two ways to approach it: 1) You can physically make yourself feel more confident. So [...]
Imagery can be referred to as the pictures or images that go through one’s mind. Do you have a vision of what you look like when you perform? Does this vision match your ideal self during practice or games? If you are looking to enhance or maintain a mental image of your self or your [...]
10,000 hours! This is the amount of time that it takes to become an expert in your field, according to Dr. Anders Ericsson, the world’s leading researcher on expertise. But not just any practice counts. The time needs to be spent doing quality practice. Many of the best athletes in the world employ quality practice. [...]
As student-athletes, it can be difficult at times to balance the demands of a busy schedule at school and on the playing field. However busy your schedule, it can be extremely beneficial to include taking care of yourself in your “to do” list. Intentionally taking time to rest and re-energize, both physically and mentally, can [...]
Effective communication is a great tool anyone can use to help yourself and your team play at full potential. As an athlete or a coach, you are constantly communicating. With words and actions, on and off the field, you are setting the tone for your approach to sport and how you relate to other members [...]
A skill that has immediate athletic enhancement is breathing. Deep breathing. Taking a deep breath, has shown benefit time and again to athletes and performers looking to enhance their game. All athletes breathe, the question is, are you getting the most out of your breathing? Some athletes are shallow breathers during competition. This type of [...]