Sports Psychology Articles

Sports psychology articles for athletes and performers to improve mental toughness in sports

How to Keep Calm after a Poor Officiating Call

How to Keep Calm after a Poor Officiating Call

Do Emotions Get the Best of you After a Bad Call? Do your emotional outbursts lead to a loss of focus and uncharacteristic mistakes? You can’t take emotions out of the game. By nature, we are emotional beings. However, when you don’t reel in your emotions, they will intensify, and your performance will decline rapidly. For example, Mary … Sport Psychology Article…

How to Evaluate Losses for More Confidence

Mistake in the Game

Finding Confidence After Failure How do you feel after blowing a lead and losing a game? Do you question your abilities? Do you feel less confident about the next competition? What you tell yourself after a performance will impact your emotions and confidence. In addition, your thoughts about a recent performance will affect your preparation and performance for … Sport Psychology Article…

How to Learn from Losses 

How to Learn from Losses

Do Losses Motivate You? For many athletes, losses hurt their confidence and detract from their motivation. Unfortunately, losses are part of the athletic experience. So goes the saying, “You can’t win them all.” How you respond to a loss separates good athletes from great ones. After a loss, you have two choices: 1. You can see the loss … Sport Psychology Article…

How You Can Become A Peak Performer in Sports

Talent is important, but mental toughness and strong mental skills are necessary for peak performance, and all athletes can learn those skills.

What Makes an Elite Athlete “Elite”? Elite athletes aren’t elite just because they are talented. Plenty of talented athletes have not lived up to their potential. Do elite athletes just have better coaching? Again, many athletes have risen to the top without the best coaching. Likewise, many talented athletes have elite coaches and still consistently under perform. Elite … Sport Psychology Article…

How to Perform Big in Pressure Moments

How to Perform Big in Pressure Moments

Do you Contribute to Pressure During Competitions? It’s interesting to think about how we contribute to pressure. Pressure doesn’t merely exist; it is shaped by our thoughts and feelings about competing in certain situations. Pressure is a personal experience, and your relationship to pressure impacts your anxiety and performance levels. What affects your relationship with pressure? *Belief – … Sport Psychology Article…

How This Pro Manages Criticism

How This Pro Manages Criticism

Mental Toughness When being Criticized Mental toughness is often seen as a physical triumph over adversity. For example, a football player who returns to action in the fourth quarter after limping off the field earlier in the game. Or a gymnast who gets back up on the balance beam to complete her routine after a hard fall. However, … Sport Psychology Article…