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MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF PEAK PERFORMANCE SPORTS
Issue 80.................................................................November 8, 2007
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 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...
Peaksports Bootcamp DVDs! Not able to attend this year's mental training bootcamp? Watch the DVD's from the comfort of your home! The 6-set DVD program with workbook is available today for purchase. Watch the top mental game experts in the country deliver powerful mental training lessons. Order today!
Join a Live Mental Training Teleclass! Improve your confidence, focus, and composure rapidly with a live teleclass! Get access to the world's most advanced online mental training program 365 days a year and learn innovative sports psychology strategies - designed for coaches, athletes, and sports parents. Listen to 25 one-hour teleclasses on your own time! Join our live teleclass and get the chance to win 20 minutes one-on-one with Dr. Cohn! Become a member and join 6 live teleclasses per year!
The Confident Athlete Series on Sale! Want to improve your confidence, focus, and composure for sports all in one place? Get all four of Dr. Cohn's new 14-Day Workbook Programs and save $50. Show me The Confident Athlete Series.
NEW Confident Athlete Program! The Fearless Athlete: A 14-Day Plan for Unbeatable Trust! Read more about how to improve trust and banish fear of failure...
"You Helped Our Kids Reach Their Fullest Potential!"
“I just wanted thank you for your mental coaching programs. This past weekend my cross-country team capped off an undefeated season and won the Indiana State Championship. We used information from your articles and podcasts throughout the year and it really helped our kids reach their fullest potential.”
~Mr. Rob Seymour, Cross Country & Track Coach, Fishers High School
Does the intense pressure of competition cause you to lose control of your emotions and composure? If you said yes, you are in good company. Even world class athletes let the pressure sink them.
Case in point: Jean Van de Velde choked away a big lead on the last hole of the 1999 British Open. It happens every day in sports from youth soccer to professional sports.
European Order of Merit leader Justin Rose confessed that he used to let the pressure of big events affect him mentally. He was not in control of his emotions and physical reactions to pressure as he used to "shake like a leaf."
But Rose was able to overcome this with maturity and experience. He recently won the Volvo Masters and clinched the Order of Merit. When asked about the pressure he feels to win when in a good position to win, he said:
“Obviously, I was feeling it [pressure] out there, but I think this year's been so much more comfortable on the golf course. I’m not out there shaking like a leaf anymore. I’m out there pretty calm, pretty collected. I feel like I'm in control.”
My friend and past mentor, Dr. Ken Ravizza, who was my featured speaker at the 2007 Peaksports Bootcamp, instilled a simple but fundamental statement to his students: “You must control your emotions before you can control your performance. If you're spinning out of control, you just can't control your performance.”
Rose has been able to master his emotions under pressure. However, even with greater emotional control, it’s not a cakewalk. "It’s still never easy. You've still got to get the ball in the hole and that's obviously not an easy job sometimes. But I'm feeling like I'm in control of my body and in control of my emotions, and that's -- then you can enjoy the occasion," Rose said.
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____________________________________________Some athletes are never able to overcome the pressure of competition. They either burnout or sport no longer becomes fun. You can’t have fun when you are shaking like a leaf and afraid to make mistakes. And you can’t perform to your true ability in a mindset of fear, intimidation, tentativeness and lack of emotional control.
Rose agrees that it is easier to enjoy the moment when you can cope effectively with the pressure. “I feel like I'm able to enjoy the occasion and enjoy the moment, which is obviously why we play golf. You need to be able to enjoy it down the stretch. Like I said, still never easy but at least I feel like I'm backing myself and at least I feel in control,” Rose said.
Mental barriers such as anxiety, fear, frustration, anger, and emotional tantrums block your ability to control your performance and enter the zone. You simply can't perform at top levels or enter the zone unless you learn to stay composed on the inside.
Is composure under pressure a learned mental skill or are you born with the right personality to stay calm and poised when you are in a tight battle for the win? I’m certain that your personality or general disposition has a lot to do with how well you perform under pressure. However, like Justin Rose, you can learn to improve your mental poise beyond just getting more experience.
How do you learn to play with poise and calmness in competition? The first step is to learn how to control the thoughts, beliefs, and self-labels that trigger a lack of poise or control. For example, if you label yourself as a “choker” under pressure, you will certainly live up to the label; it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when you get in competition.
You also have to learn strategies to control your mind and body under pressure. Much of the anxiety and emotions athletes feel come from their strict expectations about results. Anxiety comes from thinking about the consequences of your results – more like the negative consequences of your results such as fear of embarrassment for blowing a big lead. Thus, managing your expectations about the level of your results or performance is very important.
The level of your composure is also influenced by your self-confidence and perception of your ability to rise to the challenge. If you feel over-matched or have doubt about you or your team’s ability to win, it’s more likely that you will become unglued. Addressing any holes in your confidence will go a long way to helping you boost composure.
Finally, another contributing factor to your composure is how much importance you place on the competition. The more important you perceive the game to be, the more you are invested in the emotional piggy bank -- and the easier it is to lose your poise when not performing well or winning.
Want to learn all my composure-boosting secrets and perform with poise in competition? Jump to The Composed Athlete CD/Workbook program and read more…
"Everyone Needs Balance in Their Life!"
How does an athlete know if he is dedicated enough to sport? How much time should you dedicate to training and practice? What level of sacrifice do you need to become successful? The short answer is that it is all about balance in your life and where to draw the line. And this, of course varies from athlete to athlete! Lance Armstrong is at a place in his life where balance is paramount.
“If you said, do you want to run 15-minute 5-K, which I suppose I could do if I tried very, very hard, focused on that, but then I wouldn't have any fun. I have to find a balance. I think everybody in this world needs to find a balance in their life, and I seem to have found one right now.”
~Lance ArmstrongArmstrong has found balance in his life – he trains hard, but then also enjoys his family. He is happy with his current level of training. Despite the fact that he believes that if he focused intensely and put a lot of extra effort in, that he could indeed achieve even faster times in the marathon or 5k, but then he wouldn't have as much fun! Armstrong emphasizes the importance of finding a balance between sports and other areas of your life. You have to find the correct balance so you are able to still have fun and enjoy it all!
The Sports Psychology Podcast of the Month!
This week's sports psychology podcast helps athletes understand pressure and the phenomenon of choking in sports. Many athletes talk about the pressure of competition, but do they really know the source of pressure? Dr. Cohn discusses his take on what pressure is, how athletes experience it, and methods to cope better with the pressure during competition....Show me the Sports Psychology Podcast of the Month!
The Golf Psychology Podcast of the Month!
This week's golf psychology podcast session helps you understand how to remain calm after 3-putting. Many golfers become easily frustrated and then lose confidence for the rest of the round. You must be able to move on after an error. This session discusses how to put bad shots behind you and continue playing with confidence....
"The Key is I Didn't Panic!"
"I had no choice today. It was either get over it [bad hole] or ruin the whole round. But I probably wouldn't have seen it that clearly a couple of years ago for sure. I would have been frustrated -- I'd probably have panicked, and I guess the key is I didn't panic. I re-evaluated the round and reset my goals and just started again."
~Justin Rose, PGA TOUR, after winning the Volvo Masters
"I am Afraid to Make Mistakes!"
Basketball Player:
I listened to your fear of failure podcast. I am afraid to take the shot, too afraid to make mistakes, and embarrass the coach. I am also afraid the other players are watching me – evaluating me. How do I stop this timid behavior and how do I stop this negative thinking?
The Focused Team: A Step-by-Step Plan for Coaching Athletes to Zone Concentration-in Just 7 Days! NEW!
The Focused Team: A Step-by-Step Plan for Coaching Athletes
to Zone Concentration-in Just 7 Days! Peaksports.com new DVD and workbook program in The Focused Team Series. Ideal for coaches and mental game coaches, The Focused Team includes absolutely everything you need to help lead your team to zone concentration effortlessly - from helping your team members buy into mental training to assessing their focus - to follow up assessments. Become a peaksports member and receive 25% off retail.Read more about The Focused Team DVD Program!
Buy The Focused Team Program Now!
Peaksports Members please login in by using this page to access the "Member Only" link to save 25%.
Not a peaksports member yet? Go demo our New Online Mental Training Site at Peaksports!
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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.
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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! |
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teamwork
:: confidence :: focus :: composure |
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