A Monthly Publication of Peak Performance Sports
Issue 103 ................................................................................. November 5, 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.
Golfers: Improve Your Golf Confidence for 2010! 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...
Tennis Players: 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!
Parents and Coaches: 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...
Free Mental Game Reports! 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
"Helps deal with pressures of school & peers"
"I just wanted to let you know that I am very much enjoying your mental game tips! My teams are grateful for every ounce of knowledge that helps to boost their confidence and self-esteem. They have told me that it not only helps them with their game and their focus but in a lot of other parts of daily life, especially with dealing with everyday pressures of school and peers."
Read more about how to boost your team's confidence >>
~Rushell MacDonald, Coach
Feature Mental Game Article
World Championship Composure
By Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.
To perform your best in a championship game, you must be in control of your emotions. Playing in a championship game can test the composure of even the best athletes. As more and more parents, coaches, and athletes contact me about their mental game concerns, I realize how many athletes struggle with lack of composure.
A composed athlete or team has many facets. Most of the time when I discuss composure with my students, we discuss how to keep a level head playing under the pressure of the big game or trying to stay calm and poised after mistakes. For example, I know it's very common for young athletes to check out or have a emotional melt down when they make mistakes or when they do not perform up to their expectations, or after bad calls from officials and other things beyond their control in sports.
Most all athletes, at one time, have become upset or frustrated during competition. Baseball players get mad after striking out, football players get angry after throwing an interception, or basketball players lose their poise after missing an easy jump shot. The best athletes are not immune to mistakes too, but they are able to let go of those mistakes and play on with enough composure to still contribute to the team or find a way to win.
Besides, mistakes are a natural part of sports. Perfectionist athletes have a tendency to dwell on mistakes and berate themselves after mistakes. When you’re frustrated and dwell on your mistakes, you simply can’t focus--or perform your best--in the moment, which is critical to peak performance. If this sounds like you, you might over analyze mistakes, try to “fix it” by changing your technique, which makes matters even worse. You might speed up your play and forget to make good decisions. All which cause you to crash and burn or not be of any help to your team.
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______________________________________________________Your biggest test of composure comes when you are called upon to perform your best in a championship game or the playoffs. There's a finality to a championship game such as the state championship. The stakes are higher. You want all your hard work during the season to pay off...
If you play, coach, or are a baseball fan, you watched all of this play out in the 2009 MLB World Series. Momentum shifts, home runs, and bone crushing wayward pitches can test the composure of any player in the game. The N.Y. Yankees mustered enough composure in game six to defeat the Phillies 7-3 to win the series. Pitcher Mariano Rivera secured the last out to help N.Y. win the championship.
“You have to hold your composure, because at any movement, any wrong pitch, could be devastating. I tried to make my pitches. Thank God I was able to do that.”
~Mariano RiveraAlex Rodriguez admitted that he was over anxious in the first two games. So even the top hitters in the game are not immune to the pressure of the championship game. Staying calm was a key adjustment for him to succeed as the series progressed:
"It is important to stay calm. For me making an adjustment after Game 1 and 2 was very easy because what I was doing was just being a little overanxious. One thing about postseason, if you want to hit, you've got to swing at strikes, and if you don't swing at strikes, you're going to expose your weakness. That's all I've been trying to do."
~Alex RodriguezWhat are the top mental game keys to composure for any situation?
First, beware of placing high expectations on your game to the extent that you can play in the moment.
Second, prepare like you would for any other game during the season. Do what you have done all season to get you in position to win the big one.
Third, don't make comparisons between your team and your opponents unless you use this to build a strategy.
Fourth, anticipate challenges you might face and prepare yourself to perform with composure no matter what happens during the game.
Lastly, embrace pregame jitters or butterflies as a sign you are ready and remind yourself why you have worked hard all season long--so you can trust in your skills on game day.
Learn more mental game strategies to stay in control during crunch-time with The Composed Athlete>>
Sports Specific Mental Training Tip
"Being focused, relaxed, and seeing things clearly..."
Brett Favre obviously knows something about playing in the championship game. He led the Packers to seven division championships. He's played in two Super Bowls and has won one. He, more than any player, knows you can't make good decisions or be productive when you're nervous or have anxiety about the outcome of the game. According to Favre, you have to be relaxed and focused to make good decisions:
“To me, being able to focus, being relaxed, and seeing things clearly as they're happening is a much better and more productive way to play. Being nervous and having anxiety and things like that, I don't think can be a plus when you're in a decision-making role."
~Brett Favre, Veteran QB
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 as well in matches as you do in practice. Many tennis players play well in practice, but have a hard time transferring their skills to matches. Listen to the podcast to learn how to trust in your practice and perform well 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!
Dr. Patrick Cohn, golf psychology expert and author of the "Golfer's Mental Edge" CD program, teaches amateur to tour professional golfers how to improve their mental game of golf.In this week's golf psychology session, Dr. Cohn helps a golfer with fear of failure on the golf course.
Pro Athlete Quote of the Month
"You don't look at it as failure..."
"You don't look at it as a failure. We had a great season. We just got beat by the better team."
~Ryan Howard, Phillies
Ask Doc Cohn
"How Do I Stop Thinking About Technique?"
Golfer:
When playing golf I am always thinking of my mechanics or how to make a good swing over the ball and as result my performance is inconsistent and not what it should be. How do I overcome this?
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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