A
MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF PEAK
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Issue 90 ................................................................. September 3, 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!
If you enjoy our free mental toughness newsletter, please click here to forward it to other athletes and coaches. Get powerful mental game strategies as a subscriber to Sports Insights Magazine!
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...
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! As a member of our newest online community, parents and coaches can download age-specific confidence-boosting mental game strategies, e-books, videos, and audio programs produced specifically for young athletes. Learn how to boost sports kids' success...
NEW! Golf Confidence Video Series! Want a quick boost to you or your students confidence in golf? Check out the new golf confidence videos - free! As a bonus for just watching my videos, golfers and golf instructors can also download my new free report titled: "Six Costly Mental Game Mistakes Golfers Make During Their Preshot Routine."
Locker Room Talk
"I Could Not Reach My Goal Without Your Help!"
"I qualified to play in the US Mid-Amateur at Bandon, Oregon. The field was set at 264 players, and after two days, I had shot 76-72: 148 to place T28. I won my first match but lost the second one. Qualifying for a USGA event and making match play was one of my goals set when I started working with you this last spring. I exceeded this goal by not only making match play but winning a match. I do not believe I could have reached this goal without your help. Once again, thank you."
~Glenn Przybylski
Feature Mental Game Article
Application of Mental Game Strategies is the Key to Success
By Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.
Application, application, more application! I tell this to my personal mental coaching students and certified MGCPs constantly.
Athletic success and mental toughness in competition does not depend only on what athletes learn from instruction and coaching. Success in sports depends on what athletes can apply (from what they learned) and use in competition consistently.
I can tell what you are thinking… “What the heck is Dr. Cohn talking about?”
Let’s talk mental game... For example, I can teach my students the fundamentals of how to refocus when distracted with no trouble. Most of my students understand the principles of focusing on performance cues, being aware when they are distracted, and how to refocus quickly to get back on task.
However, the biggest challenge (for my students and I as a mental coach) is the ability to apply what they learn to performance and competition. I’ve taught very educated and intelligent students what I think are simple mental game strategies. However, I later realize they struggled to apply what they learned in big events or competitions.
Here’s the analogy I use… If you teach an athlete a new skill such as a topspin serve, has this athlete learned anything yet? Technically, the answer is “yes,” but the answer is “no” concerning motor behavior and application. An athlete has to practice this skill until it becomes WELL-learned – then real motor-learning has begun. The cycle is completed when he or she can use the new skill in matches consistently.
Learning the mental game is the same. For example, PGA Tour player Vijay Singh knows this lesson very well. He was stuck in a year-long winless drought, but Singh has won three of his last five tournaments. He now holds the No. 3 in the world ranking. He capped off his hot streak recently winning the 2008 Deutsche Bank Championship.
His attitude changed with his win at first win at Akron this year:
“So winning Akron, making the last putt at Akron, told me that I needed to change some kind of an attitude or change my putting style,” said Singh. Allow me to translate... Vijay needs to commit to having a better attitude more consistently.
Singh who has battled streaky putting during his career, realized it was up to him to refresh his attitude. A sports psychologist could tell him how to change, but it was up to him to make long-term, lasting changes. He had to deal with the problem directly:
“I went back home for just a good attitude change. I spoke to a [sports] psychologist that was trying to help me. Deep down it has to come from me. I mean, whatever they can tell me, it works briefly, but it has to come from inside of me, and that was the biggest thing,” Singh confessed.
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Want to Become a Mental Game Coach to Athletes? Enroll in Our Unique
Mental Game Coaching Professional Certification Program!
Apply for the 2008 Fall 10-Week Course!
____________________________________________The million-dollar question: How do you make the jump from knowing and understanding the mental game to have it turn into mental toughness in competition? Every athlete I work with reacts differently to this challenge. Some get it right away and others struggle for months.
Practice with patience would be one answer. Some athletes are quick to discard a strategy or technique when it does not pay off immediately. I encourage my students to stick with their newly learned strategy for more than one day or one week. I have no magic dust to boost your mental game.
Skepticism of sports psychology may prevent athletes from tapping into the power of mental training. Some athletes may engage with a mental coach to satisfy a parent, coach, or agent, but deep down think sports psychology is a lot of fluff. They never give it a chance.
I recently helped NASCAR star A. J. Allmendinger become a believer in mental coaching after resisting working on his mental game for two years. After being benched early in the season for not qualifying for a race, his agent contacted me to help improve his mental game.
A. J. agreed to give it a try. Fortunately, we were able to make quick progress with his confidence-rebuild and he embraced mental training as he realized the benefits. He’s now on top of his game – mentally and physically – and his results are showing it.
Change does not happen overnight. My model for helping athletes with the mental game is simple… Awareness, education, and application. Progressing from education to application of mental skills is always the challenge for my students and my number one challenge as a mental coach.
Lastly, mental training is not about "hand-holding" the athlete. Some of my students resent this approach. I want my students to be proactive with their own mental game and be able to adjust and self-correct.
If you want to learn a step-by-step mental coaching system to teach others how to improve mental toughness, enroll in the Fall 2008 mental game coaching professional certification program. The fall MGCP program starts in October, 2008.
Sports Specific Mental Training Tip
"A Good Night to Feel the Pressure"
When you have not won and get in position to do so, that's when your mental toughness is really tested. A battle in the mind takes place... Do I stay aggressive and go for it OR do I protect my lead and hope they don't catch me? When winning, some athletes feel the pressure to not blow it or throw away the win:
"I think tonight [winning Pepsi 500] was a really good night for our guys to feel that pressure and to go through that. And for myself inside the car, it's been a while since I've been in a situation to blow it or throw away and to really work on that mental toughness in those situations is important."
~Jimmy Johnson, NASCAR Driver
Podcasts of the Month
The Sports Psychology Podcast of the Month!
In this week's sports psychology podcast, Dr. Cohn talks about how to use failure and losing as a springboard or opportunity to improve your game. You don't want to dwell on failure or beat yourself up for mistakes. The top athletes understand that failure is a part of sports and know how to manage their mindset after failure. Listen to this month's sports psychology podcast...Show me the Sports Psychology Podcast of the Month!
The Golf Psychology Video cast of the Month!
Boost your golf confidence quickly with the golf confidence video series. Learn powerful strategies Dr. Cohn teaches to Junior to PGA Tour Winners. And download his free report, "Six Costly Mental Game Mistakes Golfers Make During Their Preshot Routine." Four videos are available with a 5th coming shortly!
Pro Athlete Quote of the Month
"Boils Down to a Great Attitude Change"
“I know it boils down to a great attitude change, a change in my head. My unconscious mind had a lot of stored-up bad thoughts in there, and that was the key, to get rid of all that.”
~Vijay Singh
Ask Doc Cohn
"How can our kids think they can win on every play?"
Football Coach:
Our football team is very unconfident. They are 8 and 9 year olds. One day they will play very well, the next they will not even try. Literally, our offensive line will stand up and let our quarterback get killed. How do we get these kids to think they can win on every play. We had a game last week. They scored a touchdown and the team literally just quit. We as coaches know they are better. We did not have one penalty in the game. So they understand and know what to do they just lack motivation...
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
Boost Your Success with The Confident Athlete Series!
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NEW! The
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Perfect for any competitive athlete or team coach! Buy
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