The Importance of Proactive Confidence Confidence is how strongly you believe in your ability to complete a skill. Confidence certainly is built on your past success in sports… For a gymnast, that may mean performing a solid routine or getting a personal best score. For a baseball pitcher, it means locating your pitches for strikes over the course of several innings or games. For a … [Read more...] about How to Grow Confidence Proactively
Sports Psychology Articles
Is Volleyball 90% Mental?
How to be Mentally Tough What is the difference-maker in volleyball? How can you turn losses into wins? How can you stay mentally tough after a hard loss? What can help a team bounce back or overcome tough circumstances? What can be the difference-maker that turns around a season? Many volleyball players would point to hard work. Nobody can deny the value of hard work. Outworking … [Read more...] about Is Volleyball 90% Mental?
Athletes Who Are Labeled as Superstars
Letting Go of Superstar Expectations In the world of sports, the phrase “The NEXT Big Thing” is frequently thrown around with up and coming athletes that show promise, creating high expectations for these athletes. Without a doubt, it's great to be recognized for your ability and talent within your sport. “The next big thing” tag can be validation for all your hard work and … [Read more...] about Athletes Who Are Labeled as Superstars
Why Andrew Luck Walked Away from Football
Are you Losing the Fun in Sports? “I QUIT!” This is a common thought many young athletes have when contemplating if they want to continue in competitive sports due to no longer having fun. Unfortunately, according to a study conducted by the National Alliance of Youth Sports, approximately, 70 percent of young athletes quit their sport by the age of 13. Why do young athletes … [Read more...] about Why Andrew Luck Walked Away from Football
How to Bounce Back after a Bad Performance
Recovering Mentally After a Loss Many athletes want to know the answers to the following questions: *How can you prevent one bad routine from turning into another bad routine? *How can you avoid following up one disastrous game by another disaster? Or *How do you not allow one bad competition to carry over to the next competition? Many athletes talk about the difficulty of … [Read more...] about How to Bounce Back after a Bad Performance
The Mindset to Perform at the Next Level
The Importance of Setting Mental Goals Getting to the next level requires that you do something different. I'm certain you've heard the saying, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got.” The same is true for sports. Genetics and talent alone can take you only so far. You have to set mental goals to perform at the next level. For some … [Read more...] about The Mindset to Perform at the Next Level
How to Stop Being Self-Critical of Your Game
Creating a Plan for Improvement Harsh criticism hurts an athlete but the effect of harsh criticism is doubled when it comes from within the athlete's mind. Harsh self-criticism is the quickest way to shatter confidence. Many times, athletes describe themselves as being their own biggest critic. This mindset is viewed by some in a positive light meaning that this type of athlete pushes to … [Read more...] about How to Stop Being Self-Critical of Your Game
How a Balanced Life Can Help Your Performance
You are More than just an Athlete “Sports is my whole life.” “I live for racing.” “Eat. Sleep. Swim.” Have you ever uttered similar phrases during your athletic career? Too many athletes define themselves based on their sport. They derive self-worth primarily from their sport. And surround themselves with like-minded teammates who are the source of social interaction. When an … [Read more...] about How a Balanced Life Can Help Your Performance
Mental Toughness in Pressure Situations
How Athletes can be Mentally Tough What have you done to get an edge over your competition? Athletes have tried all sorts of things to improve performance: supplements, new recovery regimens, athletic diets, improved training methods, increased practice sessions and mental toughness training. All these things can aid athletic performance but there is only one that gives you an edge in … [Read more...] about Mental Toughness in Pressure Situations
Are you Nervous in Competition?
Can Nervousness Lead to Choking? Are you an athlete who get overly nervous? Some athletes believe they cannot be successful when they feel nervous, but this might not be the case. Nervous athletes feel like “this is who I am” and believe there is nothing they can do to control their nervousness. So they enter competitions feeling excessively nervous, perform excessively tight and under … [Read more...] about Are you Nervous in Competition?