Perfectionism in sports and sports psychology articles for athletes, sports parents and team coaches.
How Perfectionism Affects Sport Performance What are your thoughts on perfectionism for athletes? In your opinion, should the goal be to have a perfect performance? So many athletes are confused by the perfection. Is perfectionism good or bad for athletes? Depends on who you ask… Some pitchers want to pitch a perfect game every time they take the hill. Gymnasts … Sport Psychology Article…
How to Perform Functionally, Not Perfectly Is perfectionism helpful or harmful to your performance? Do you see perfectionism as a key to your success? Many top athletes players call themselves perfectionists. You look at these players with admiration and conclude that perfectionism is the way to go to reach your full potential in sport. Perfectionism does have clear … Sport Psychology Article…
Athletes Who Are Highly Critical Post-Game Do you or your athletes only focus on mistakes after competition? Do you criticize your performance instead of learn from it? Or do you disqualify the positive? Perfectionist athletes can be extremely hard on themselves after they compete, which hurts their confidence. These athletes focus on the mistakes, mishaps, bad plays, and what they SHOULD have done … Sport Psychology Article…
Overcoming Highly Judgemental Behaviors One of the qualities of perfectionist athletes is the fact that they judge their performance extremely harshly. They are very self-critical. Very high level perfectionists want their performance to look good and feel good in order to get the desired results. When they don’t get these results they feel they aren’t performing up to … Sport Psychology Article…
Lack of Trust is Main Problem for Perfectionists One of the biggest challenges for perfectionists is the lack of trust in their skills… Lack of trust in skills is the reason perfectionists tend to under perform in competition–compared to practice. Perfectionism leads to: –Over thinking–Stuck in a practice mindset–Worry about what others think–Outcome and aftermath thinking–Anxiety, tentative play, and indecision … Sport Psychology Article…
Perfectionist athletes often worry too much about what others (coaches, teammates, parents) think about their performance. We call this social approval fears in our work. This is not only a huge distraction for athletes, but also a source of pressure to perform up to others’ expectations. This is the number one reason athletes cripple themselves with fear of failure. Worrying about … Sport Psychology Article…