A
MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF PEAK
PERFORMANCE SPORTS
Issue 86 ................................................................. May 1, 2008
Welcome to Sports Insights Magazine
Welcome to Sports Insights Magazine! We are pleased to bring you practical, cutting-edge sports psychology and mental training tips to improve your mindset and performance. We thank you for being a subscriber of Sports Insights Magazine!
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NEW The Relaxed Athlete: A 14-Day Plan for Optimal Mental Preparation. Two programs combined into one, you not only learn how to develop a focused and confident pre-competition routine, but you also learn the secrets to a poised and relaxed mindset. Read more about mental preparation keys...
The Focused Team DVD Program! After months of tweaking, The Focused Team is so powerful that it’s virtually the same as having me conduct a live (in person) mental training seminar for your team. Includes everything a coach or team leader needs to effortlessly boost his or her teams' focusing skills and here is the kicker…. in just 7 short sessions! Read more about how to focus your team in 15 minutes per day...
New Program for Sports Parents and Kids! In the next two weeks we will be opening up a new program just for sports parents, youth coaches, and kids that you can't afford to miss. If you want to get updates, make sure you download a free youth sports e-book, "10 Tips to Improve Confidence and Success in Young Athletes" at YouthSportsPsychology.com.
Locker Room Talk
"A Dramatic Improvement in My Level of Play!"
“After doing The Confident Athlete Series, I noticed a dramatic improvement in my level of play or should I say consistency. I currently play NCAA Division I baseball for Lamar University, and even my coaches have noticed a change in the way that I approach the game - my attitude and confidence at the plate. It has also helped me reach a new level of focus. I am able to get into that zone where I am able to narrow my focus on to the task. Thank you for helping in my continuing goal to mental toughness.”
~Tylor PrudhommListen to Tylor's Success Story
Purchase the Entire Confident Athlete Series and receive "The Relaxed Athlete" Free
Feature Mental Game Article
When Relaxation Training Does Not Help
By Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.
Worry, anxiety, and tension are your or your team’s worst enemy. You can’t perform with trust and freedom when you are worried about your performance. As discussed in last month’s newsletter, excessive worry can lead to choking in competition. And this is the number one reason athletes contact me. These athletes can’t perform with confidence or trust in competition compared to practice.
Worry about your performance can come from several sources depending on your personality. You might become anxious or stressed about your performance, but a teammate might worry about letting others down. In my experience, most performance anxiety comes from focusing too much on results or the consequences of results.
For example, a volleyball player might worry about making mistakes in a game, but the real anxiety might be fear of embarrassment or letting a parent down after making mistakes. Her fear isn’t really about making mistakes. Her fear is directed at what she thinks others might think about her performance.
I know this sounds unlikely, but this is how an athlete’s mind can misfire. Many athletes worry about embarrassing themselves when they do not perform well. They are afraid others will judge them harshly or not approve of them.
You read or hear me talk a lot about fear of failure in athletes. Fear of failure is among the most common sources of stress or anxiety for athletes. I believe anxiety and fear of failure are closely related. Most athletes who are afraid to fail have anxiety about disappointing coaches, teammates, or parents, such as the example I gave previously.
What are the top sources of anxiety or worry for athletes? Here are a few:
- Focus on outcomes – This is the number one source of anxiety for athletes. You might focus too much on outcomes because of the perceived ramifications of your performance, such as how it will affect your handicap if you shoot a high number.
- Excess mental chatter – This results from anxiety you feel about your performance. The mind goes into hyper drive to cope with the anxiety. For example, you might think to yourself, “Don’t forget about what Coach told you about number 12…. Keep your elbow in when you hit the jumper… Don’t let your teammates down today, etc.”
- Fear of failing – You want to win or succeed so badly that you tie yourself up in knots with worry or go overboard and try too hard. Both have the same effect on your performance.
- Worrying about what others think – You fear what you might lose: respect or approval points from others if you don’t perform up to their expectations.
- Frustration over mistakes – This causes you to have the same symptoms of anxiety. Your mind races and your body tightens up as you dwell on a mistake.
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____________________________________________During my MGCP certification program I conduct two to three times a year with qualified coaches, I teach a three-step model for helping athletes overcome mental game barriers that hold back their performance. My model is (1) Awareness, (2) Education, and (3) Application. I use the same model when working with my personal mental coaching students.
The first step to managing your stress or anxiety is to understand the specific triggers that cause you to become anxious or tight in competition or the big game or race. You start by understanding your specific sources of stress, some of which I listed above, which cause you to get tight or anxious in games.
The next step is to learn how to cope better when you feel tight or anxious. My philosophy is that it’s not about learning to relax yourself or use relaxation techniques per se. I did a fair amount of relaxation training with athletes and teams early in my career when I studied under Ken Ravizza at CSUF. However, I have since learned that relaxation can only help with the symptoms of anxiety in most cases.
Why are athletes tight or tense in competition? Do they need to simply relax more or should they address the cognitive (mental) component that is causing the physical tension? I think athletes need to address the mental roadblocks that are causing the tension, and not just try to mask physical tension with relaxation training. My experience tells me that you must address fear of failure, worry about embarrassment, and negative self-labels, such as “I’m a choker” that keep you in a state of mild panic and physical tension.
The third step is to apply your new way of thinking to your performance daily. No learning can take place – in my work – until you are able to apply what you learn to your sport. For example, if I teach you how to let go of what others think and why you worry about others, the next step is to apply this to your sport. Most athletes can easily understand the issues. The tougher task is applying a new way of thinking to competition when the old habits want to shake you like a rag doll and not let go.
If you want to learn all my stress-busting strategies, I suggest you snag a copy of "The Relaxed Athlete," my latest ground-breaking CD program in The Confident Athlete Series.
Sports Specific Mental Training Tip
"I Revert Back to Things I Have Practiced!"
I think Jordan means "excited" before a game and not "nervous." However, he is able to channel his energy into the game at tip-off time. What I really like about this quote from Jordan is the fact that he "reverts back" to what he has trained himself to do in practice. He has trust in himself and does not try harder because of the emotion of the game.
“Sure, I am nervous before a basketball game because of the challenges around the game itself, but once the game is started, I am not nervous. Once the ball goes up for the jump ball, all that nervousness goes away and I revert back to things that I have practiced and things that seem to be very routine. I am comfortable in that environment.”
~Michael Jordan
Podcasts of the Month
The Sports Psychology Podcast of the Month!
In this week's sports psychology podcast, Dr. Cohn talks about how to come with mistakes by not letting mistakes cause you to perform tentatively.. Dr. Cohn gives mental game strategies for how to keep the "shooter's mentality" even when you are not "making" anything early in the game. Listen to this month's sports psychology podcast...Show me the Sports Psychology Podcast of the Month!
The Golf Psychology Podcast of the Month!
In this week's golf psychology session, golf psychology expert and author of The Mental Game of Golf, Dr. Cohn, helps a golfer who gets disappointed after missing short putts. Some golfers feel frustrated after missing putts. Golf Psychology Expert to Tour Pro golfers, Dr. Cohn, helps you maintain your composure on the course.
Pro Athlete Quote of the Month
"No Such Thing as Nerves When You're Playing Games!"
"I don't get nervous in any situation. There's no such thing as nerves when you're playing games."
~Shaquille O'Neal
Ask Doc Cohn
"My Daughter Has A Mental Block. Help!"
Sports Parent:
My daughter has been in competitive cheer for 2 years now. She was perfecting a skill and took a bad fall. She now has a mental block. She will do the tuck when her coach is next to her but freezes when he walks away. The fall happened about a month ago and her tryouts for the next cheer season is in 2 weeks. Any suggestions about helping her out of this mental block?
Most Valuable Product (MVP)
The Relaxed Athlete: A 14-Day Plan for Optimal Mental Preparation NEW!
The Relaxed Athlete: A 14-Day Plan for Optimal Mental Preparation!"The Relaxed Athlete," our 5th CD program in the confident athlete series teaches you Dr. Cohn's top mental strategies for complete mental preparation for competition. Two programs combined into one, you not only learn how to develop a focused and confident pre-competition routine, but you also learn the secrets to a poised and relaxed mindset. The program includes 14 days of mental preparation exercises that can be tailored to your specific sport. Each copy comes with 3 premium bonuses that you can download immediately! Become a peaksports member and receive 30% off retail.
Read more about The Relaxed Athlete CD Program!
Buy The Relaxed Athlete Program Now!
Peaksports Members please login in by using this page to access the "Member Only" link to save 30%.
Not a peaksports member yet? Go demo our New Online Mental Training Site at Peaksports!
Dr. Patrick J. Cohn
Master Mental Game Coach
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Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is the President and founder of Peak Performance Sports of Orlando, Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Virginia in 1991, and founded Peak Performance Sports in 1994. Dr. Cohn is an author, speaker and one of the nation's leading mental game experts. His coaching programs instill confidence, composure and effective mental strategies that enable athletes and teams to reach their performance goals. Dr. Cohn has helped athletes from a variety of sports backgrounds (both amateurs and professionals) identify and develop the mindset needed to achieve peak performance. World-class golfers, runners, shooters and auto racers, as well as motocross, tennis, baseball, softball, football and hockey players, are among those who have benefited from his mental game coaching and training.
Boost Your Success with The Confident Athlete Series!
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NEW! The
Confident Athlete Series by Peak Performance Sports brings
you the latest cutting-edge mental training strategies
in a practical step-by-step 14-day achievement plan. Each
program consists of 2 Audio CDs and an easy to
follow workbook to help you apply the mental strategies.
Perfect for any competitive athlete or team coach! Buy
All 4 Programs and Get "The Relaxed Athlete" FREE! |
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