A
MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF PEAK PERFORMANCE SPORTS
Issue 79.................................................................October 2, 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 sports mindset and performance. We thank you for being a subscriber of Sports Insights Magazine! If you enjoy our free newsletter, please forward it to your teammates and friends. Click here to subscribe to Sports Insights Magazine!
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Peaksports Bootcamp DVDs Are Coming Soon! Not able to attend this year's mental training bootcamp? Have no fear. We will soon have the 6-Set DVD program available to purchase. Stay tuned for more information....
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 CD Program! The Fearless Athlete: A 14-Day Plan for Unbeatable Trust! Read more about how to improve trust and banish fear of failure...
A Sports Parents Dream! Sports parents can benefit from our 15-plus years’ of work in sports psychology and sports parenting research. Now, you can tap into our secrets to sports success through a cutting-edge, 14-day program that identifies the top “mental game” challenges that sports parents face. Learn how to improve confidence and success in young athletes!
"I Instantly Know What To Do!"
"Everything on the PeaksportsNetwork.com site is great! I like your ABC approach…First you do this, then you do that. By reading your e-book; "Mental Strategies to Perform Your Best" I instantly know what to do and what's important. I am getting a boost in my self-esteem and feeling the self-efficacy getting up a nudge by doing the things you suggest."
~Karsten Nilsen, Peaksports Member
I recently received a question via email about how to cope when feeling intimidated by other talented athletes. This young basketball player called it “the mental collapse of intimidation.” He said that he always compares himself to other players. If he concludes that another athletes is better than he is, he becomes intimidated. And this turns into a mental barrier to playing to his potential.
Here is the important question: Do other players REALLY intimidate him? Or does he FEEL intimidated by comparing himself to other players?
I agree that intimidation is a real mental barrier that prevents many athletes from realizing success. As this athlete stated, it often happens when you compare your skills to your opponent’s skills before competition. Do you (or the athletes you coach) fret about the skill level of opponents and then feel inferior?
However, one mistake this athlete makes is assuming that others intimidate him. He makes a false assumption. This player’s intimidation comes from his own beleifs and attitudes, which I call “self-intimidation.”
Some athletes try to intimidate others intentionally because they think it gives them a mental edge, or feel they need to do this to win. The boxer Muhammad Ali or football player Dion Sanders come to mind. Other athletes just appear intimidating to opponents. For example, many golfers have struggled with playing along side Tiger Woods just for the fact that he is the number one player in the world and is hard to beat when he has or is anywhere near the lead.
However, the type of intimidation I am talking about comes from athletes who psych themselves out - all on their own. Your perception of your own skills (or results) compared to other skilled athletes causes a blow to confidence. Self-intimidation is what you bring on yourself because you worry too much about your competition or the team you are about to play.
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____________________________________________Many young racing students I coach sputter with mental gremlins because of their own self-intimidation. They feel intimidated by the ranking or reputation of other racers. They compare themselves with other racers. They look down the start line and predict who should win or stand on the podium at the end of the race. They create a mental pecking order in their mind prior to competition.
Self-intimidation is the most common type of intimidation in sports and the hardest intimidation to overcome. You can easily ignore what others might say to you to yank you out of the zone, but you cannot ignore your own doubts or feelings of inferiority!
Self-intimidation can come in many forms such as:
- Feeling pressure to perform your best or win.
- Worry about performing against other athletes who are just as skilled.
- Comparing yourself to other athletes who you think are better.
- Worry about competing against a *ranked* or well-known athlete.
- Getting caught up in the hoopla or importance of a game.
Phil Mickelson, in the recent past, struggled with performing his best when paired with Tiger Woods. He confessed was intimidated playing with Tiger Woods. But this past weekend he overcame any intimidation by winning the Deutsche Bank Championship playing toe to toe with Tiger down the stretch. With his recent win, he moved into first on the FedExCup Points playoff standing (a new playoff system for the PGA Tour).
One of the ways Mickelson has coped better with his own self-intimidation is to change his perspective on playing with Tiger Woods. Instead of dreading playing with Tiger, I think he now relishes playing with the best player in the world (Phil is darn good himself being ranked number 2 player in the world behind Tiger).
I spotted a great quote for Mickelson on the topic:
“I loved this finish, I loved being able to play three rounds with the best player of arguably all time and certainly the best player in the world today. And to be able to come out on top feels great. And that just leads to excitement for coming here, as well as the finish of the year,” said Mickelson after winning.
Confident and composed athletes do not intimidate themselves. Confident athletes, who are in control of their emotions, love the challenge of testing their skills against others top-ranked athletes. The bigger and better the challenge, the more enjoyment top athletes gain from the competition. This is indeed Phil Mickelson’s new attitude about playing the number one ranked player in the world!
Do you want to learn how to stay more composed under pressure and perform without self-intimidation? Jump on over to Peaksports.com and check out The Composed Athlete CD/Workbook Program!
"I Don't Hear Anything - I am in the Zone!"
When Venus Williams was asked if the crowds were behind her and her sister Serena at this week’s US Open in New York, she said that she does not hear the crowd. How can you not hear 20,000 or more fans watching the match? Maybe she does not pay attention to the crowd because she is so into her game?
“I didn’t hear anything today. I didn’t hear anyone. The only people I could hear was maybe in my box, but other than that most of the time I don't hear anything. I am in a zone.”
~Venus WilliamsVenus must really know how to get herself in the zone. I will ad that she did say the crowd does come into her mind after great points in the match when both players are fighting it out on every shot. The focus Venus has during her matches is exactly what I teach you in The Focused Athlete program. You must learn to be so focused on your own stuff and playing the game one point at a time that outside distractions do not penetrate your mind.
The Golf Psychology - Podcast of the Month!
This week's golf psychology podcast answers a question about how to avoid big numbers during a round - also called the dreaded blow-up hole. A blow up hole is when you are playing well and then lose your focus on one hole and score a doubt or triple bogey, which ruins the round and your momentum. However, some golfers are "waiting" for the bad hole to come...
"I Tried to Stay Positive and Upbeat!"
"I just had to pay attention to myself and I didn't really worry about what he was doing. I just tried to stay focused on what I was doing and trying to do -- I knew I was playing well enough throughout the day. Even though I wasn't scoring that well, I thought I was hitting well enough to maybe make a few birdies coming in, not obviously four out of the last five holes. But I tried to stay as positive and upbeat and just waiting for my time."
~Steve Stricker, PGA Tour, after winning the Barclays Classic
"How Do We Support and Not Coddle Our Son's Confidence?"
Sports Parent:
"I have a 13-year-old son who is a decent athlete. He is playing football in a very competitive youth league. My son was recently starting both ways and lost both positions, one by ability, his competitor was better, and one by a father who is coaching, who clearly favored his son. My husband warned my son of what was coming. He is a former Linebacker who violates and follows a lot of your rules. I am a former college sprinter and we have a very intelligent somewhat shy son. With that as a background what do we do to maintain our son's confidence level? He played recently with a bad knee bruise my husband spotted. Our son told him he played with it because he was afraid he'd lose a starting position to the coach's son. Our son is intelligent enough to realize what is going on and is frustrated. We want to support not coddle and we want him to finish what he has committed to and not quit"
The Fearless Athlete: A 14-Day Plan for Unbeatable Trust NEW!
The Fearless Athlete: A 14-Day Plan for Unbeatable Trust is the latest Workbook/CD program in the Confident Athlete Series. This program is a ground-breaking program to help you overcome the mental handcuffs of perfectionism, fear of failure, and learn unbeatable trust. Dr. Cohn delivers his new program in a step-by-step practical workbook you use for just 15 minutes a day! Dr. Cohn gives you all his TRUST-BOOSTING STRATEGIES in this 14-day step-by-step easy-to-apply mental training program! Become a member and receive 30% off retail.
Read more about The Fearless Athlete!
Peaksports Members please login in by using this page to access the "special member price" link.
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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