Sports Psychology Tips for Athletes, Coaches, and Parents
Issue 115 ...................................................................... December 1, 2010
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NEW! Instill Confidence in Your Baseball and Softball Players! Learn how to help your team play with full confidence and help them stay confident after mistakes! Learn more about Instilling Confidence in Baseball and Softball Players>>
Mental Preparation for Equestrians program! Learn how to cope with pre-competition jitters and perform your best in the ring! Learn more about Mental Preparation for Equestrians>>
Parents and Youth Coaches: Help Kids Cope with Mistakes! Help your athletes deal better with setbacks and errors with The Composed Sports Kid! See our new sports psychology program for parents, coaches, and their athletes!
Athletes: Improve Your Success with Online Mental Training! Peaksports Network teaches athletes and coaches cutting-edge and simple mental training strategies for a fraction of the cost of personal mental coaching. Learn how to boost your confidence and success...
Parents: Improve Your 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...
Free Mental Toughness Reports!
- Golfers and Instructors: Improve Preshot Routines.
- Baseball and Softball Players and Coaches: Improve At-Bat Routines!
- Tennis Players and Coaches: Improve Between Point Mental Toughness!
- Hockey Players and Coaches: Improve your Pregame Mindset!
- Equestrians and trainers: Improve Rider's Preshow Mindset!
- Parents and Youth Coaches: Boost Kids' Confidence and Success!
Locker Room Talk
"Confidence has already improved 1000%..."
"Week 1 of "The Golfer's Mental Edge" is going great. It's amazing how easily my frame of mind can be almost manipulated into the right place. I know I got more to do, but my confidence has already improved 1,000%. So thanks again for everything and I'm looking forward to continuing the program. This is by far the best mental game 'stuff' I've read yet. THANK YOU!!!"
~Robert Merrill, Jr.
Feature Mental Game Article
How to Mentally Prepare to Cope with Distractions
By Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.
Distractions in competition are just a fact in sports. The bigger the event, the more likely you or your athletes can become distracted. Distractions can come in many ways and forms--from subtle to not so subtle. You must learn how to cope with distractions during practice and competition to improve and perform your best.
After watching a post-game interview on ESPN, I realize that coaches are very familiar with the problems caused by distractions. Some coaches would go as far as to say that distractions are the primary reason for failure or losing....
After the Tennessee Titans lost its fourth game in a row last weekend, coach Jeff Fisher said that his team has to deal better with distractions. "The number one reason for failure in football is distractions," coach Fisher said after the game. “People have to step up, we have to do more."
I would argue that distractions are NOT the number one reason for a team's failure--it's actually the team's inability to cope with distractions. More on this later...
I talk about two types of distractions with my students: (1) Internal distractions, and (2) External distractions. The most common distraction, by far, for athletes are internal distractions. These are usually self-induced and enter the mind in the form of dwelling on the past, doubt, indecision, lack of confidence or negative thoughts about your performance. Your own experiences, thoughts and beliefs, not the environment, usually trigger internal distractions.
But when you have self-doubt, I consider this to be far more damaging than a simple distraction.
External distractions usually begin in the environment. Something or someone else triggers the distraction. Examples include hecklers in the stands, a change in the weather, or a fan who runs onto the field during a ball game.
Here are some typical external and internal distractions:
- Unusual noises or visual distractions—the sound of clubs rattling in a player's bag on the adjacent fairway.
- Psych-outs or intimidation—an opposing competitor trying to purposely take you off your game by playing mental games.
- Judges—a figure skater or gymnast thinking too much about what the judges think.
- The presence of media—photographers, interviewers, cameras, flashes from camera bulbs, heat from lights, etc.
- Over-coaching—coaches who do not know when to stop coaching and let athletes play.
- Unjust refereeing—worry about not being treated with fairness.
- A mind block—you simply forget what to do next.
- Negative Thoughts—a tennis player worried about double faulting.
- Fear or anxiety—worry about missing a putt. Afraid to fail.
- Doubt or lack of self-confidence—you question your ability to strike out the batter in crunch time.
- Off-arena, off-court, or off-field distractions—dwelling on non-sport distractions during competition such as business, family or relationship issues.
- Comfort zones or breaking mental barriers—trying to throw your first no-hitter in baseball or break 80 the first time in golf.
- Need to impress others—the presence of parents, friends or peers in the stands.
- Frustration and dwelling—dwelling on past errors and being upset.
______________________________________________________
Want to Become a Mental Game Coach? Enroll in Our Unique
Mental Game Coaching Professional Certification Program!
Apply for the Spring 2011 MGCP Course Today!______________________________________________________Coping with Distractions:
Sports is riddled with distractions. You can't hide from them. Your best option is to prepare mentally for distractions by learning how to cope better when they do hit. My philosophy is very simple about helping my students overcome distractions. I use this three-step process:
- Understand what performance cues you need to focus on to perform your best.
- Be aware of the external and internal distractions that compete for your attention.
- Practice refocusing when you are distracted.
OK, simple enough. Let's look at each of these steps in more detail...
(1) Understand what you need to focus on to perform your best.
What do you need to think about when performing? In sports psychology, we call these performance cues. Performance cues are any thought, image, target, or strategy that helps you perform in the present moment. For example, a batter in baseball or softball has to think about a small set of performance cues to perform well, such as setting up in the box and seeing the ball well.
(2) Be aware of the external and internal distractions that compete for your attention.
Next, you want to list your "typical" distractions -- both internal and external and when they most likely occur. You want to note when you're distracted during competition. Some athletes are not even aware when they become sidetracked, which does not allow them to make adjustments. One goal is to anticipate distractions and then develop coping strategies to get back on task.
(3) Practice refocusing when you are distracted.
This is the most important step to coping with distractions. You will be distracted at times, but the key is how you respond! I teach my students how to quickly refocus when they get sidetracked. For example, if you're racing the track and you messed up on one section on the last lap and this pops into your mind, how should you adjust? You have to learn to quickly recognize that your mind is off task and equally as fast, refocus on the current section of the track. Ask yourself is this: “What do I need to focus on right now to execute this play, shot, or routine?”
I teach the Three R’s for Refocusing strategy to help my students refocus quickly after distractions. As a matter of fact, I use the same strategy for helping athletes move on after mistakes. Here's what it looks like:
1. Recognize—that you are not on task or out of your mental routine.
2. Regroup—and break the current distraction or thought.
3. Refocus—on the task-relevant cues of the next play, shot, or routine.
Thus, distractions are not the cause of failure. Your inability to recognize and cope with distractions quickly and efficiently are the cause of failure. A distraction does not become a problem until the moment you allow it to take over your mind or cause you to dwell on a mistake you made in the past.
To learn more strategies to enhance your focus in competition, check out The Focused Athlete CD and workbook program.
Sports Specific Mental Training Tip
"Concentration is the ability to think about..."
When you are in the zone or performing well, do you really need to think about anything? I agree with Ray Night: When you put your mind in position to react and allow your body to do what you trained yourself to do, you are not trying to focus or concentrate; you're just performing.
"Concentration is the ability to think about absolutely nothing when it is absolutely necessary."
~Ray Night
Podcasts of the Month
The Tennis Psychology Podcast of the Month!
Dr. Patrick Cohn at Sports Psychology for Tennis, is a mental game of tennis expert and helps tournament players, tennis coaches and parents improve confidence, focus, and composure. In this week’s tennis psychology session, Dr. Cohn helps an athlete who is having trouble with his shot selection because he is over-thinking the process during matches. Indecision will not allow you to hit full, aggressive shots on the court.
- Show me the Tennis Psychology Podcast of the Month!
- Learn more about "Tennis Confidence" CD Program
- Watch the Tennis Confidence Video series!
- Tennis Players & Coaches: Improve your mental game between points with this free report!
- Subscribe to the Tennis Psychology Podcast at iTunes!
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 and The Mental Art of Putting, Dr. Patrick Cohn, helps a golfer who wants to learn how to free up his putter. Dr. Cohn discussed the drills that he uses to help his students free up their putter.Too many golfer bind up their putter by over-thinking their stroke...
- Show me the Golf Psychology Podcast of the Month!
- Learn more about "The Golfer's Mental Edge" CD program
- Watch the Golf Confidence Video series!
- Golfers and Instructors: Download a golf psychology report to improve your preshot routine overnight
- Subscribe to the Golf Psychology Podcast at iTunes!
Pro Athlete Quote of the Month
"Focus more on doing the right things..."
"So I really tried to focus harder on my first serves to make sure I make them. Just focus even more of doing the right things. Then I knew that I could come through. I stayed offensive. I knew in the long run that could be vital, which it was at the end, so I'm very happy."
~Roger Federer, after winning the ATP Finals
Ask Doc Cohn
"Can athletes channel anger into positive outcomes?"
Basketball Coach:
"Athletes who sometimes show anger are in my opinion the most determined and motivated. Is there a way to channel this anger into positive outcomes during training and competition?
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Read more about Instilling Confidence in Baseball and Softball Players CD program at Peaksports.com
Dr. Patrick J. Cohn
Master Mental Game Coach
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