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Issue 100 ...................................................... August 4, 2009
Welcome to Sports Insights Magazine
Welcome to Sports Insights Magazine! Learn practical, cutting-edge sports psychology and mental training tips to improve mental toughness in sports.
If you enjoy our free mental toughness newsletter, please click here to forward it to other athletes and coaches. Get powerful mental game strategies as a subscriber to Sports Insights Magazine!
Golfer's Mental Edge: An 8-Week Program for Ultimate Golf Confidence. Dr. Cohn's new CD and workbook program teaches you the top eight lessons to play with mental toughness on the course. Read more about how to improve confidence in golf...
Boost Confidence for Tournament Tennis! Learn how to boost your tennis confidence with Dr. Cohn's unique 8-week mental training course for tournament tennis players!
Improve Sports Kids' Success with Kids' Sports Psychology! Kids' Sports Psychology is a one-stop, exclusive 10-step plan for boosting confidence and cultivating positive mental game skills in young athletes! Download age-specific confidence-boosting mental game e-books for young athletes. Learn how to boost sports kids' sports success...
Download a Free Mental Game Report! Golfers: Improve Your Preshot Routine. Baseball and Softball Players and Coaches: Improve At-Bat Routines. Tennis Players and Coaches: Improve Your Mindset Between Points! Parents and Youth Coaches: Boost kids' confidence and success in sports!
Locker Room Talk
"I won the next tournament I entered!"
“I fully committed to completing The Fearless Athlete CD program in 14 days and it worked, I won the next amateur tournament I entered.”
~Richard Laing, Golfer
Feature Mental Game Article
How to Play Well When You Feel Uncomfortable
By Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.
Does your performance suffer when you're not "on," you feel uncomfortable, or don't have your "A" game that day? Do you struggle with staying determined and grinding out the competition if your game is off or the competition is too strong?
At an extreme level, I work with perfectionists that have trouble staying composed when their games are not up to self-imposed standards. They not only want to win, but they want their performance to look good and feel good at the same time. If they don't perform close to perfection, they lose momentum, entertain doubts, and become easily frustrated.
Athletes who are not perfectionists by nature also struggle with getting the job done when they don't feel right or are not spot on. For example, I know basketball players who miss shots early in the game and they stop shooting for fear of missing more shots. I don't think Michael Jordan would ever think this way... He keeps shooting and believes the next shot is going in!
Likewise, I know golfers who struggle with finishing off the round when they don't have their "A" game. Confidence gets thrown out the window when the round does not go according to plan or at the first signs of marginal shots.
I've also worked with a NASCAR driver that self-destructed when he or his team made one mistake early in the race. He was so distracted with thinking "what's wrong with us" that he could not adjust.
What's common among all these scenarios? If an athlete or team is not willing to grind it out or make adjustments, they have little chance at winning or performing well.
One of the top grinders I've seen in sports is Tiger Woods. He's exciting to watch because one moment he hits amazing shots no other player in golf can hit, but the next moment he might have to scramble his way out of a jam by hitting a recovering shot from an adjacent fairway.
"Well, if you look at most events you play, you don't ever hit the ball great for four straight days. You're always going to have one off day, and even some of my best rounds that I've gone 25-under par were, four rounds, I had one off day. But off day score wise can still be a pretty good score, but you don't feel quite right about your game, and you ask how I'm going to make up the score, and I did that, a little bit yesterday. I wasn't hitting the ball very good on my Back 9 and somehow made a score, and that's what you have to do."
~Tiger Woods, after winning by 3 shots at the 2009 Buick Open
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______________________________________________________I believe one sign of a mentally tough athlete is the ability to improvise and make adjustments when you don't have your best game that day. You have to understand that it's impossible to play in the zone or near your peak every day. As my mentor Ken Ravizza says, you must learn to be comfortable with your game when you feel uncomfortable.
Not every athlete has the mindset to play well when they feel uncomfortable or struggle. Negative emotions and doubt interfere with this mindset. How do you pull yourself up and get the most from your performance when you are uncomfortable? How do you feel comfortable when you don't have your "A" game? Here are four strategies to help you adjust:
First, you have to prepare yourself mentally prior to competition. You must know that competition does not always go according to plan. You plan for the best scenario, but also prepare for the fact that you might need to improvise or adapt. I like my students to be prepared mentally so they can make any adjustments and cope with any adversity. If your long game is not spot on, be prepared to grind it out with a great short game.
Second, you have to manage elevated (and sometimes perfectionist-like) expectations about performance. For example, it's not a good idea to expect to throw a no-hitter every game because no-hitters are very rare. Often, athletes will throw in the towel and check out when their performance is not up to their self-imposed expectations.
Third, you have to enjoy being in the role of a grinder. Can you abandon your original game plan and just get the job done or win ugly? One of the best grinders I've seen on the PGA Tour is a player named Brad Faxon. Brad won many tournaments with a below average long game because his short game would take up the slack. And that's the role he enjoyed and was rewarded for.
Fourth, don't get caught into the mental trap of over analyzing your mistakes. If you try to fix what's wrong in competition, this mindset does not allow you to adapt. You're too busy analyzing what's wrong with your game and you get distracted from getting the job done.
If you want to learn more about how to win ugly and trust your game when you are off, I suggest your check out The Fearless Athlete CD and workbook program.
Sports Specific Mental Training Tip
"Every Race I Enjoy, No Matter My Fitness Level."
Sometimes your energy or fitness might not be at the level you would like it. But does that mean you can't perform well? According the Phelps, he's ready to give his best even when his fitness is not at peak levels...
"It doesn't matter how much energy I have, it's all going to go into every race. That's one of the things that I enjoy most - stepping out onto the blocks no matter what kind of shape I'm in."
~Michael Phelps
Podcasts of the Month
The Tennis Psychology Podcast of the Month!
In this week's tennis psychology session, Dr. Cohn teaches you how to play your best in matches. Many tennis players don't perform as well in matches as they do in practice because of a faulty mind game. Listen to the podcast to learn how your mental game interferes with your performance in matches.
- Show me the Tennis Psychology Podcast of the Month!
- Watch the Tennis Confidence Video series!
- Tennis Players & Coaches: Improve your mental game between points with this free report!
The Golf Psychology Podcast of the Month!
In this week's golf psychology session, mental game of golf expert and author of The Mental Game of Golf, Dr. Cohn, helps a coach help a golfer close out the round. Many golfers lose confidence in their ability to finish off a round, especially when in contention. This can cause golfers to think too much about the outcome and focus on not making mistakes.
Pro Athlete Quote of the Month
"I Don't Care How it Looks..."
“I don’t care how it looks. I’ll take an ugly win over playing well and losing.”
~Derek Jeter
Ask Doc Cohn
"How do we help our (small) daughter feel confident?"
Softball Parent:
My 13 year old daughter loves softball, plays all the time on several teams. Confidence and aggressiveness are the only things she battles. The reason behind her battles is her size. She is the size of an average 10 year old, very short but built for softball! Her abilities and knowledge of the game are incredible. How do we help her gain confidence that is applicable to small athletes? Thank you and I love your emails.
Most Valuable Product (MVP)
Golfers Mental Edge: An 8-Week Plan for Ultimate Golf Confidence NEW!
Golfer's Mental Edge: An 8-Week Plan for Ultimate Golf Confidence. What's the one big sign that your mental game is the weak link in your golf game? When you can't play consistently as well as you can perform in practice! The “Golfer's Mental Edge Program” is a complete brain dump of the TOP eight mental training sessions Dr. Cohn teaches his personal students to help them boost their mental game and improve consistency on the course. In each of his 8 coaching sessions, you eavesdrop as Dr. Cohn teach four golfers his top mental strategies and learn right along side his students.
Read more about The Golfer's Mental Edge CD Program!
Peaksports Members get 25% off (save $100)! Not a peaksports member yet? Go demo our Online Mental Training System at Peaksports Network!
Dr. Patrick J. Cohn
Master Mental Game Coach
Boost Your Success with The Confident Athlete Series!
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