Top Mental Game Questions Athletes Ask

Q: What is sports psychology?

Sports psychology coaching helps athletes how the mind influences performance and how to apply mental strategies to compete at their best in competition. It also sharpens practice efficiency and focus. You'll learn to mentally prepare for competition and carry your practice game into games. It is not for problem athletes. We help you improve your performance using mental training strategies.

Q: What is mental performance coaching or mental training?

Mental Game Coaching (also known as mental training or mental toughness training) is the practical aspect of sports psychology. Mental toughness training helps athletes improve mental skills and overcome mental barriers, such as confidence, concentration (focus) or composure related issues. It requires replacing unhealthy attitudes and beliefs with healthy ones in order to achieve peak performance in sports.

Q: What’s the difference between sports psychology and therapy?

Unlike psychotherapy or therapy, sports psychology doesn’t use couches, prescribe medicines, or work with abnormal behavior. Instead, the goal of mental game coaching and/or sports psychology is to teach athletes how to be more confident, improve focus, stay composed under pressure, practice more efficiently, and develop better pre-performance routines. The main difference between a mental game coach and a therapist is that mental game coaches work with athletes on sports performance enhancement and not personal challenges (e.g. working through a divorce or coping with an addictive behavior, etc.) or abnormal behavior (e.g. schizophrenia).

Q: When should I work with a sports psychology expert?

The most common sign is when an athlete can't perform up to their ability level in competition. This often shows up as someone who performs well in practice but freezes or flounders in games. Smart athletes and coaches recognize the warning signs: trouble coping with the pressure of competition, getting distracted easily, or struggling with performance anxiety and fear of failure.

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Top mental game questions athletes ask a sports psychologist

Most athletes put in the work. Few train their minds as seriously as they train their bodies.

After 40 years of coaching more than 1,000 athletes in the NFL, PGA Tour, Olympics, Motocross, NASCAR, and NHL, Dr. Patrick Cohn has heard the same mental game questions come up again and again.

Why do I play great in practice but fall apart in games? How do I stop choking when it matters most? Why does my confidence disappear right when I need it? These aren’t signs of weakness. They’re the questions every serious athlete faces, and each one has an answer.

This page is a complete guide to the most common mental performance questions athletes, parents, and coaches ask. Each question includes a direct answer from Dr. Cohn’s 40 years of sports psychology experience, plus a link to the full article where you can go deeper.

Struggling with your mental game right now? Book a free mental coaching session with one of our certified mental performance coaches.

Slumps and Mental Game Challenges for Athletes

How do I break out of a slump as an athlete?

A sports slump is when your performance drops below your normal level for an extended period. Most athletes make it worse by focusing on results, overanalyzing mechanics, and piling on extra pressure. You break out by shifting your focus back to your process, lowering the internal pressure on each performance, and rebuilding confidence through small daily wins. The mental side of a slump usually outweighs the physical one.

How do I stop choking in big moments?

Choking in sports happens when athletes underperform in big moments because pressure shifts their focus from execution to fear of failure and outcomes. Common mistakes include overthinking mechanics, worrying about errors, and holding high expectations. To stay composed, refocus on the process, trust your training, manage body tension, and accept mistakes. With the right mental strategies, you can compete with freedom instead of fear and perform your best under pressure.

About Sports Psychology & Sports Psychologists

What is the role of a sports psychologist?

A sports psychologist helps athletes perform better by teaching mental game skills such as confidence, focus, and composure under pressure. Once viewed as a last resort, mental performance coaching is now a standard part of the coaching staff for sports teams and for amateur and professional athletes. A sports psychologist’s main job is to teach the mental skills that improve performance and learning.

How do you find a top sports psychologist?

Look for a coach with real experience, relevant credentials, and a focus on performance rather than therapy. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, there was only a handful of top sports psychologists and mental game coaches, including Bob Rotella, Ken Ravizza, and Jim Loehr. Dr. Cohn learned from all of these mental game experts and several others as a graduate student at Cal State Fullerton, the University of Virginia, and at conferences.

What is sports psychology?

Sports psychology coaching helps athletes understand how the mind influences performance and apply mental strategies to compete at their best. It also helps athletes practice more efficiently and focus under pressure. You’ll learn how to mentally prepare for competition and how to carry your practice game into games. Sports psychology is not for problem athletes. It improves performance using mental training strategies.

What is a mental performance coach?

A mental performance coach helps athletes develop the mental skills to perform consistently in competition, much like a head coach develops the physical and tactical side of sport. Mental performance coaches work with athletes one on one or in groups to identify mental strengths and break through the barriers that hold performance back.

What is the difference between a sports psychologist and a mental performance coach?

Sports psychologists can address both performance and mental health concerns, depending on their training and credentials. Mental performance coaches focus primarily on improving mental skills such as confidence, focus, self-talk, composure, and handling pressure. For healthy athletes who want to perform more consistently, mental performance coaching helps them improve consistency in competition via mental training.

All About Self-Talk for Athletes

How do I stop negative self-talk during competition?

Negative self-talk is a learned habit you can retrain through deliberate practice. The most effective approach combines thought-stopping to interrupt negative thoughts, reframing to replace them with constructive ones, and consistent practice of cue words and personal self-talk scripts. Most athletes see measurable improvement within 4 to 8 weeks of focused mental training.

The Zone in Sports

Why Chasing the Zone Hurts Athletes’ Performance

The zone in sports, also called a flow state, is a mental state in which athletes perform with full absorption, automatic execution, and no self-doubt. It is widely regarded as the peak performance state in athletic competition. Research on flow states, pioneered by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, describes the zone as a condition that emerges when skill level and challenge level are closely matched. In sports, it appears as a byproduct of preparation and process focus rather than something athletes can summon on demand.

How do I get in the zone more often?

You get in the zone more often by building consistent routines, narrowing your focus to the present, and trusting your training. The zone, or flow state, happens when mind and body work together automatically without distraction. You can’t force it, but you can set conditions that make it more likely, such as strong focus cues, pre-performance routines, and less mental clutter. The more you practice these skills, the more consistently you reach peak performance states.

How to Tap the Power of the Zone for Peak Performance in Sports

Athletes in every sport want the focused, sought-after state of mind known as the “zone.” It helps you perform at your peak. Many athletes chasing their potential look for secrets to reach it, but the zone is not as hard to access as it seems once you apply the right mental game strategies.

What Are the Mindsets That Help Athletes Perform in the Zone?

How often do you or your athletes perform in the “zone”? The zone is a mental state of total focus in the present moment. We call it being “immersed,” because you don’t worry about outcomes and you aren’t distracted while you perform. You trust your skills and react without worry, doubt, or fear about results.

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Frequently Asked Questions About the Mental Game

What is the mental game in sports?

The mental game is your ability to manage confidence, focus, motivation, and emotions in competition. It’s the difference between performing freely and holding back under pressure.

What is sports psychology?

Sports psychology coaching teaches athletes how the mind influences performance and how to apply mental strategies to compete at their best. It also sharpens practice efficiency and focus. You’ll learn to mentally prepare for competition and carry your practice game into games. It is not for problem athletes. It improves performance through proven mental training strategies.

What is mental performance coaching or mental training?

Mental game coaching (also called mental training or mental toughness training) is the practical side of sports psychology. It helps athletes build mental skills and overcome barriers tied to confidence, concentration, and composure. The work replaces unhelpful attitudes and beliefs with healthy ones so you can reach peak performance in sports.

What’s the difference between sports psychology and therapy?

Sports psychology doesn’t use couches, prescribe medication, or treat abnormal behavior. The goal of mental game coaching is to teach athletes to be more confident, focus better, stay composed under pressure, practice more efficiently, and build stronger pre-performance routines. The main difference is scope: a mental game coach works on sports performance, not personal challenges (such as working through a divorce or coping with an addiction) or clinical conditions (such as schizophrenia). Read more about the roles of a sports psychologist.

When should I work with a sports psychology expert?

The most common sign is when an athlete can’t perform up to their ability level in competition. This often shows up as someone who performs well in practice but freezes or flounders in games. Smart athletes and coaches recognize the warning signs: trouble coping with the pressure of competition, getting distracted easily, or struggling with performance anxiety and fear of failure.

It also helps after an injury or during the recovery stage, when an athlete needs support working through issues like diminished confidence that surface during healing. Read more about what a sports psychologist does.

What kind of results can I expect from mental training?

Sports psychology is not a one-size-fits-all fix for performance issues. Results vary from athlete to athlete and depend on factors like your desire to improve, your ability to apply the strategies, and your willingness to work through the mental obstacles in your way.

Common outcomes include improved confidence, greater composure, and sharper concentration thanks to a better ability to cope with distractions, plus reaching the zone faster and staying there longer.

How do I know if I need mental coaching?

If you play great in practice but struggle in games, get nervous under pressure, or lose confidence after mistakes, mental coaching can help. These are the exact struggles athletes ask us about every day.

Can parents and coaches support the mental game?

Yes. Parents and coaches shape an athlete’s confidence and mindset. Learning how to support athletes without adding pressure makes a major difference.

Do you work with athletes or teams in all sports?

We work with any athlete, team, or performer who is open to change and motivated to improve their mental game. Our programs fit every level of competition, including youth athletes and parents, junior, high school, college, and professional. We work with individuals and teams.

Our mental performance coaches have worked across a wide range of sports, including golf, auto racing, motocross, running, shooting, gymnastics, skating, soccer, tennis, football, basketball, baseball, softball, hockey, BMX racing, swimming, triathlon, skydiving, surfing, competitive sailing, billiards, and bowling. Our programs and assessments let us focus on the specific needs of each athlete, whatever the sport. To see feedback from athletes across all sports, visit our client list.

Can mental training help my child perform better in sports?

Mental training for sports parents and kids helps you spot the areas in your child’s mental game that hold their performance back. It also teaches you the mental skills, practice routines, and communication habits to support your child’s performance. Learn how to become the Ultimate Sports Parent by visiting our Youth Sports site.

Patrick Cohn, Ph.D. Owner, Master Mental Coach

Dr. Patrick Cohn is a sports psychology Ph.D. with 40 years of experience coaching 1,000+ athletes, from the NFL and PGA Tour to the Olympics. He founded Peak Performance Sports in 1996 and has published 25+ books and workbooks on mental performance training. He’s the architect of the Mental Edge Framework for athletes, coaches, and parents seeking competitive advantage. He is also the creator of the MGCP certification programs for coaches and life coaches.

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Last Updated on September 17, 2026