Do you need to limit your distractions during Basketball games? In “Sports Psychology Sessions with Doc,” Dr. Patrick Cohn answers sports psychology questions from athletes, parents and coaches. Visit Sports Psychology for Athletes at Peaksports.com and click on contact us to submit your mental game questions for Dr. Cohn to answer in his mental game videocast or podcast. Do you struggle … [Read more...]
How Trubisky Learned to Focus Better
How to Overcome Outside Distractions in Sports Are you familiar with the expression, "living in a bubble," which infers that you're living in your own little world impervious to what is going on around you? You may even have heard a similar expression, "Are you living under a rock?" to describe you're unaware of what is happening in the outside world. These two phrases are negative commentaries … [Read more...]
How Over Thinking Sabotages Athletes’ Performance
How to Stop Overthinking in Competition Peak performance in sports occurs when you have a calm mind and can react to your environment. Over thinking can cloud your judgments and send too many signals to your body at one time. Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons after the 108-103 Game 2 loss to the Boston Celtics tweeted about his "overthinking" during the game... He committed five … [Read more...]
How to Focus on Your Race for Triathletes
Staying Focused on Your Race Strategy What is your goal when you are competing in a triathlon? Are you focused on a podium finish? Are you looking to achieve a personal best? Do you want to beat a rival? Your goal starting a triathlon will affect your focus during the triathlon... and your focus will affect how you compete. For example, if your goal is to beat a certain rival, you will … [Read more...]
Can The Eagles Beat The Patriots with Mental Toughness?
Staying Mentally Tough Against Top Competitors Facing a "Goliath" opponent is daunting for any athlete or team. There is a mystique around a dominant team, a team with several multiple top-tier athletes or a highly-decorated athlete. These opponents, at times, appear unbeatable. When facing high-caliber opponents with a winning history, there are two approaches... The mindset you choose … [Read more...]
How to Cope With Trash Talkers in Sports
Staying Focused When Opponents Are Trash Talking Have negative remarks, whether it’s trash-talking or a negative comment from your opponent, ever distracted you? You are not alone... In every sport, mental warfare occurs and its sole objective is to get into your head, interrupt your focus, and mess with your performance. There are countless examples of trash talk in sports... A group … [Read more...]
One Mental Game Skill All Athletes Must Have
Concentration And Focus In Sports Concentration is critical for peak performance in sports, closing out games, competing against top teams, and playing consistently during a long season. Concentration is your ability to focus on what you need to do in the present moment. During a game, there will be countless distractions competing for your attention. Focusing on what's important is the … [Read more...]
Practice Drills To Improve Concentration
Sharpen Your Focus! As a gift for the holidays, we have prepared a free eBook... You (or your athletes) will learn how to improve concentration using practice drills. The bonus eBook is titled: "Sharpen Your Focus: Practice Drills To Improve Concentration." You can download my free practice drills to improve concentration below by clicking on the red download button! Personal mental … [Read more...]
How Mark Gangloff Overcame The Pressure To Perform
Mental Preparation For Competition Have you ever wondered how Olympic-level athletes are able to focus despite all the pressure to perform? Mark Gangloff is an American former swimmer and two-time Olympian. Gangloff won Olympic gold in 2004 and was the American record-holder in the 100m breaststroke. I interviewed Gangloff about his mental preparation for high-level swim meets. Gangloff … [Read more...]
Princeton Women’s Basketball: The Process of Being Undefeated
Focus On The Process In college sports, outcomes are everything. It’s all about wins and losses, your record, your score or your time. If outcomes are so important to sports, why do so many sport psychologists, coaches and athletes talk about the dangers of focusing on the outcome? Why do we constantly hear of the importance of focusing on the process? Let’s look at a great example of … [Read more...]