During his or her recovery from injury, the athlete spends less time with their team mates and coaches, and may feel left out or isolated. He or she may experience feelings of depression, anxiousness, and sadness. Because of his or her emotions, the athlete may not want to be around others. Often, an athlete will withdraw, which provides temporary relief from his or her feelings. Unfortunately, being away from others, particularly team mates and coaches, keeps the athlete away from the support and energy they need to recover. The emotional experience from injury may cause the athlete to be moody, grouchy, and easily irritable. He or she may stop attending games and normal social events. Relationships with important people in their lives (friends, parents, girlfriends/boyfriends) often strain due to the athlete’s mood.

During physical therapy, the athlete might find themself becoming frustrated, angry, and depressed. The athlete often becomes frustrated with therapy, as he or she is not making progress as quickly as he or she expected. Frustrations can cause the athlete to become demanding and angry with his or her physical therapist/trainer. In times of high frustration or anger, some athletes will ignore his or her trainer/physical therapist’s recommendations, and push ahead of schedule. Lack of patience and pushing too fast runs the risk of re-injury. During a period when the athlete needs the support and guidance of excellent trainers/physical therapists, the athlete can ignore these important supports assistance.

Meeting with a sports psychologist who listens to the athlete’s story and understands his or her unique struggles helps many injured athletes. Athletes feel safe voicing their anger, sadness, frustration, and fears with a sports psychologist. After he or she has discussed their emotions, the athlete and sports psychologist can identify the skills he or she developed in becoming a top athlete, and how to utilize these strengths to help cope with his or her injury. Through the use of specific sports psychology techniques such as guided imagery, goal setting, and confidence exercises, the athlete learns to successfully manage his or her emotions and decisions. As the athlete gains confidence and a positive mind set, they feel comfortable re-engaging with their team mates and coaches. Now, the athlete is ready to use his or her new skills, accept the support of others and make healthy decisions about training and returning to competition.

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One common reason that athletes seek out a sports psychologist is because they experience over intensity. Over intensity involves too much emotional, mental and physical energy. The athlete doubts his/her ability, focuses upon mistakes, feels nervous/anxious, feels stiff and has difficulty moving, and overall cannot perform as he/she does in practice. In essence, the overly intense athlete melts down. Although less common than over intensity, under intensity is when an athlete feels over confident, does not view a game as important, has low energy and low motivation to compete. In the under intensity scenario, the athlete may be playing down in a match or game where he/she expects to easily win. The good news is that sports psychology research has developed specific techniques to help the athlete over come both over-intensity and under-intensity.

When working with the over intense athlete, I first want the athlete to understand what is biologically happening to his/her thoughts, emotions, and body. Understanding what causes over intensity allows the athlete to understand his/her self and is the first step in regaining control. Comparison of past successful and unsuccessful performances offers initial insights into how the athlete behaves differently at different times. Together with their sports psychologist, the athlete looks for thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that lead to strong performances. Examining past performances also provides insight into what the athlete is thinking, feeling, and doing when he/she performs poorly. Armed with new knowledge about his/her performance, the athlete will develop a pre-competition routine that includes several key components. First the athlete will learn and practice the physical skills of deep breathing and muscle relaxation. The practiced skills of deep breathing and muscle relaxation allow the athlete to regain control of his/her body, which in turn stops them from fearing that he/she will lose control (of his/her thoughts, feelings, and body). Deep breathing and muscle relaxation need to become integrated into the athlete’s daily practice routine.

Second, confidence skills that we discussed in Part I of Gaining The Mental Edge are integrated into the athletes daily practice routine and pre-game routine. Layering the perspective of confidence with positive thought skills directs the athlete to focused performance. Third the athlete needs to develop and then engage imagery of positive, focused, performance. Imagery often involves dipping into his/her positive image bank of past success to see and feel his/her past successes. Imagery (often called visualization) is not magical; it is a research based skill used to enhance athletic performance. The use of directed imagery before competition can help an athlete place his/her self closer to their optimal zone of intensity. Imagery will work if the athlete regularly uses imagery as part of his/her practice routine.

Fourth, athletes develop and enhance positive thought skills in order to effectively direct his/her focus. The use of positive thought skills keeps the athletes focused in the moment, reducing the possibility that his/her thoughts will drift to unproductive worry. The ability to re-direct focus during competition; remain on task and think positive is critical to optimal intensity. Finally, a sense of humor, an ability to laugh, smile and loosen up before a competition can be priceless. A coach, teammate, or family member’s ability to help a tense athlete smile, and laugh can instantly shift the athlete from over-intense to a positive, relaxed and ready state.

The under intensity athlete requires a different direction of focus. Often the under intense athlete is not mentally or physically ready to take on a lesser opponent. The under intense athlete believes he/she should easily win, and underestimates the competitive task. Learning to direct focus in competition to personal goals and excellent technique helps the under intense athlete maintain focus. Directing focus to his/her technique, provides the athlete with concrete goals, and directs his/her intensity. Second, the under intense athlete needs to remember that he/she once beat higher ranked teams/players, and that every game/match matters. Consistency of performance is a developmental goal, and learning to focus intensity for every game/match is work. Intensity and consistency are mental skills that need to be practiced as much as physical skills do. Roger Federer (number one ranked men’s tennis player in the world), perceives every match he plays as equally important. By maintaining this mindset, Federer is incredibly consistent and on his way to accruing a winning record that may see him become the most dominant male player in the history of tennis.

Confidence and intensity are work! No one will give them to your team or you. It is up to you as the athlete or coach to build them. Confidence and intensity are your job! Learn to build and maintain them and you will see your game rise to a new level.

The post Gaining The Mental Edge Part II: Intensity appeared first on Winning Edge Psychological Services.

A confident athlete has the belief that he/she has what it takes to be successful no matter what is happening on the field/court. His/her thoughts are positive, in the moment, and directed to the task at hand. By focusing on their strengths, believing that they can make a difference in the outcome of the game, and staying in the moment he/she creates confidence. The combination of confidence and a positive mind set allows the athlete to meet the demands of the game head on. The athlete who lacks confidence quickly becomes negative in thought and emotion. Negative thoughts and emotions combine to create doubt which drains confidence and takes away the ability to make things happen. When asked what he was thinking just as he began a sudden death play off for the championship of a golf tournament, Tiger Wood said, “I love it when things get messy”. Woods enjoys the intensity and pressure of the finish and optimistically believes that he has what it takes to win. He brings confidence to the course!

Confidence can be built if you consistently work on several areas of your mental game. The key is to recognize that you can strengthen your confidence, but it is going to take attention and effort. The first step on the road to building confidence is deciding that you want to improve your confidence, and committing to working on it daily. Coaches and athletes can facilitate the next aspect of confidence through good preparation. Being physically prepared and knowing your job on the field/court is the foundation of confidence. You can’t fake preparation. If you know you have done everything possible to perform your best, you will feel confident. Reviewing your preparation with your coach can help you fine tune your practices, your technique and your overall level of preparation.

Second, a confident athlete will focus on his/her strengths. No one ever got to the top by focusing upon his/her weaknesses. Your strengths help motivate you and keep you going when things are not going well. Third, you need to actively seek and be comfortable with receiving positive feedback and constructive criticism. Some athletes have to learn how to be open and accepting to the positive. Athletes who lack confidence are often uncomfortable with positive feedback or dismiss it as disingenuous. At the same time you need to reduce and eliminate negative feedback. Negative feedback is negative self-talk or destructive criticism from others (coaches, team mates, or family members). Destructive criticism is commentary that attacks you (not your play) and causes negative emotional reactions. Constructive criticism is technical feedback that helps you improve your play. Negative self talk occurs when an athlete says negative comments to himself/herself. Fourth, you need to learn to notice when you think negative and replace your negative thoughts with positive strength based thoughts. You will be amazed once you allow yourself the permission to “catch” your negative thoughts, no longer listen to them, and begin to believe in your strengths!

Fifth, you need to learn to develop the power of perspective. Perspective comes from building three mental muscles: personalization, pervasiveness, and permanence (Taylor & Wilson 2005). A confident athlete personalizes by taking responsibility for those things that are under his/her control, while not blaming his/her self for things out of their control. By recognizing what they do control and as importantly what they do not, the athlete remains focused on the task and not distracted by unimportant variables. Confident athletes also believe that their success is pervasive. This means that he/she believes success was due to his/her skills and success will happen again. The confident athlete also thinks of his/her skills, abilities and success as permanent. He/she knows that his/her ability to succeed is a permanent part of their game. Pessimistic athletes believe that success was due to luck, not his/her ability. The pessimistic athlete believes that success is fleeting and failure is just around the corner. Recognizing the differences between he optimistic and pessimistic athlete is helpful. Once the athlete has personalized control, sees success as pervasive and permanent he/she now has the positive perspective of confidence. If you begin thinking in a positive manner, focus on your strengths, be prepared, personalize control, and believe that success is a permanent part of your life, you will have confidence to spare!

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The unpredictability of choking strikes fear into the heart of any athlete because once it happens the athlete is never sure when it will strike again. The unpredictability robs the athlete of his/her desire to put themselves on the line when it most counts in a game. Choking leaves the athlete feeling embarrassed, guilty, and that they have let their team and coach down. The combination of negative thoughts and emotions leads the athlete to lose confidence, decreases their motivation and even doubt their ability to compete.

What causes choking? It isn’t really that mysterious. Choking involves a chain of events which are predictable as well as preventable. First, the athlete’s focus becomes distracted. His/her thoughts drift to unproductive and negative thoughts that “pull” the athlete from his/her task. For example, during a big baseball game in which a star pitcher has just given up several hits – instead of thinking about putting the next pitch landing in the catcher’s glove, the pitcher starts thinking “I can’t control the ball anymore”. He/She loses focus of what they need to do and starts worrying about things that cannot control (winning or losing the game) and what they should not do (don’t throw a wild pitch). Second, the loss of focus leads to negative self talk and self doubt. The combined loss of focus and negative self talk quickly leads to a surge of anxiety which robs the athlete of his/her ability to remain calm and direct his/her performance. The surge of anxiety leaves them nervous, shaky, weak, tight, and breathing difficulty.

Turning around the choke response involves teaching the athlete several different mental skills. A sports psychologist can help the athlete understand what he/she were doing when they choked. The sports psychologist then helps the athlete learn to manage their thoughts, emotions, and focus so choking does not happen again. At a basic level we want the athlete to do several things. First, stay present. This mean thinking about what he/she needs to do now, not about what just happened or what might happen next. Second, the athlete needs to manage his/her body’s energy and breathing. By slowing down his/her breathing and reducing muscle tension the athlete feels in control again and is on the road to turning around his/her performance. Third the athlete needs to let their negative thoughts go. Every athlete has negative thoughts; the trick is to let them move on by without reacting to them. Many athletes make the mistake of reacting to his/her negative thoughts which lowers his/her confidence and motivation. Finally, the athlete re-focuses with a positive performance cue and executes. Working with the sports psychologist at Winning Edge can help you understand your unique pattern of choking and how to break it.

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Young children (ages 7-10 years) face two major challenges in sport: #1 learning how to get along with friends and #2 learning how to interact with authority figures other than their parents, (USOC Sport Science Summit 2000). At this young age, learning to cooperate within a team as well as compromise for other’s interests are major accomplishments. Children at this young stage of sport are just beginning to develop the ability to see the world from the perspective of others. Parents and coaches can take care to make clear distinctions between what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Since the child is learning, we need to provide them the opportunity to grow through guided trial and error. It is important to remember that fun, exploration, and developing a love of sports are key elements at this age. If competition and winning are becoming main themes, they are most likely fostered by adults, and the adults need to decrease their competitive nature.

Pre-adolescents (ages 10-13 years) face the social challenges of developing best friends and gaining acceptance from peers. Social relationships are one of the developmental milestones that this age group is navigating. They want to be part of a group and often fear being embarrassed. Developing a same sex best friend (s) is a major task of this social stage. Pre-teens tend to be loyal to their friends and make many decisions based upon maintaining their friendships. “Sport hopping” is an example of decisions based upon maintaining friendships. Sport hopping occurs when a pre-teen changes sports or quits participating in sports because of friendships. For example, Johnny (who has played soccer for the past five years) announces at dinner that he is quitting soccer to play junior football! Mom, Dad, and Johnny’s coach are frustrated because Johnny is a good soccer player. Although not initially articulated by Johnny, this change is motivated by his desire to be with his best friend who is trying out for junior football. It is the job of parents and coaches to remember the social motivations of pre-teens. During the pre-teen phase of development, structure practices that allow for social interactions. Social interactions at practices are often viewed by coaches as “goof off” time. Contrary to many coaches’ beliefs, practice which contains structured social interaction and which is part of a regular routine develops team relationships. We suggest using structured team building exercises and games, working in rotating pairs or small groups to practice skills.

Adolescents (ages 14-18 years) face the developmental challenge of defining who they are and how they fit into the world. Identity development is a complex process that involves applying the training and teaching we have given them, while the teen is trying on different identities. The teen is attempting to discover who they are and clarify their values through exploring different facets of their personality. This process occurs as parents and coaches wring their hands and watch their hair turn gray! Often, we see the teen’s identity search in the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, and changes in peers. Being tolerant of the adolescent while they try out new ideas is an important behavior for parents and coaches. Tolerance for new behaviors is guided by the rules that the behaviors do not place the teen in danger or interfere with team rules and goals. The second major transition during the teenage phase is recognizing that sport is truly important in their life (Bloom 1985). The teen makes the transition in identity from “I play soccer” to “I am a soccer player”. Participation in sport and being an athlete becomes a significant piece of their identity. Helping the teenage athlete enhance the technical mastery of their chosen sport, while supporting their growth as an individual is the challenge facing parents and coaches.

Regardless of an athlete’s age, there are several common themes that relate to participation in sport. A study completed by USA Swimming (1998-99) asked swimmers from age 7 to young adulthood why they swam, and how they defined fun. The results of the study supply important information about athlete’s motivation for participation in sport. The swimmers rated the following four reasons as their motivation for swimming: #1 To have fun. #2 For fitness. #3 Being with friends. #4 To compete.

The study went further and asked the young athletes what their highest ratings of fun were. They included: #1 Coach encouragement. #2 Being with friends. #3 Winning and accomplishments. #4 Team atmosphere. The social aspect of sport and fun is the appeal to the young athlete. Competition or winning are not the predominant motivators. Recognizing the young athlete’s need for encouragement, socialization, and fun is paramount. If the young athlete develops a love of sports, then with support and healthy coaching, the drive for competition and mastery naturally develops.

No matter the age of your young athlete there are several simple keys that help sport participation and competition evolve naturally: #1 Be supportive. #2 Avoid TMTS – (too much too soon), children’s natural drive for competition will evolve as they age. #3 Structure time to include social interaction and fun. #4 Help your teen incorporate athletics as part of their identity by being positive.

The post Understanding Child Development In Sports and Competition appeared first on Winning Edge Psychological Services.

Athletes are physical people who enjoy moving and doing. They are accustomed to hard work and seeing results from their actions. Sports psychology and mental skills are ‘thinking’ skills and have an entirely different feel. Thoughts are not tangible; we cannot touch them or ‘see’ them change. Further, most athletes and coaches have not made time for mental skills training in their daily routine.

The key to getting the most from sport psychology skills is to commit to using them daily. Just like your weight training, plyometrics, running and practice you need to ‘practice’ mental skills daily. Daily use of sport psychology skills makes them become ‘second nature’ and they begin to change how you think, feel and compete.

A good example is an athlete who is working on improving confidence or mental toughness. The athlete working on improving confidence and mental toughness would have a confidence statement which they would read aloud or recite to themselves 3 times a day, have confidence cues they say to themselves during practice, awareness skills to catch negative self-talk, and a post-practice exercise to evaluate their efforts.

This specific plan gives the athlete concrete tangible mental tools to use throughout practice and at specific points in the day. It is critically important that the athlete ‘practice’ their mental skills in daily workouts so they become second nature. By using mental skills daily your confidence will grow and you will notice that your thought processes start to change. As the sport psychology skills are practiced, they become automatic and the athlete no longer has to actively think them in practice. We then utilize the same routine and tools in competition.

To summarize, commit to using your sport psychology skills daily. Pick a specific time in your day (or multiple times) you will use them. Commit to making room for your sport psychology skills in your practice; if need be talk with your sports psychologist or coach regarding where to fit them in. If you find yourself not using them do not give up; problem-solve with your consultant or coach and find a solution that will work for you.

The post Getting the Most from Sport Psychology appeared first on Winning Edge Psychological Services.

To have fun!
To learn new skills.
To be with friends and make new friends.
To belong to a group/team and be accepted.
To experience competition and challenge themselves.
To experience success and winning.
To exercise and be healthy.

Having fun, learning new skills or improving current skills and being social have consistently been the top three reasons children participate in sport. Winning is an aspect that children mention, but it usually falls between 6th to 10th in surveys of children’s motivations. If winning is the dominant theme of your team, home, or child you probably need to take inventory of your own need to win.

As parents and coaches our job is multi-faceted and we wear many hats. Overall we are here to enjoy our children, foster their growth, enhance their lives, facilitate fun, help them learn and keep them safe. Sport is one area that we can introduce children to which may help them experience many of the aforementioned things.

Parents often contact me concerned about their son or daughter; worried they are no longer having fun, that their child seems “stressed” about sports, that coaching seems too intense for the age level, that their teammates are focused only on winning, about their spouse who is pressuring their child, and about fears of their child being injured at practice or competition as the intensity seems to be too much for the age group.

In working with athletes, parents, families, coaches and teams over the years I have learned many things from all of them. Here are a few tips in helping your child and team enjoy sports, grow, improve, compete and have some fun!

Encourage your child to participate in sports without pressure (from you or a coach)
Understand what your child wants from sports and be their biggest healthy fan
Keep winning and success in perspective and help your child do the same
Help encourage healthy values, respecting opponents and competition
Recognize that being social is part of being on a team
Don’t confuse winning with self worth, love them unconditionally
Recognize that effort is equal to or more important than outcome
Foster play and having fun – that is the #1 reason they participate in sport
Recognize if the fun is gone, something is wrong
Skill development and growth is important. Help your athlete “see” their growth by telling them how you have seen them grow
Let you child’s sport experience be theirs

A savvy parent (who also happens to be a sport psychologist) gave a suggestion at a conference several years ago which has stuck with me. When your child is finished with practice or a game and you are talking on the sidelines or in the car do not ask them how they played. Instead, ask them did they have fun? It’s interesting when we change the focus of the conversation from performance and outcome to fun. Children tend to talk more and you will hear about how they did – but it is framed within the context of enjoying sports.

For more information on positive parenting and coaching in sport the following organizations offer articles, ideas, programs and great websites:

Positive Coaching Alliance
National Alliance for Youth Sport
Coaches Canada
Australian Institute for Sport
United States Olympic Programs
University of Michigan Sport Psychology

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There is a philosophical question “Are you waiting for the world to change?”. The answer of course is stop waiting and start changing. Changing yourself directs your focus to what you control. If the person or individual starts changing you might just have a positive effect on the world.

When working with an athlete I want them to understand themselves clearly; their motivations, goals, drives, fears and insecurities. Self understanding is required for clear understanding of others as well as development of healthy relationships. If the athlete does not understand themselves they are prone to making a number of common mistakes that will impede their ability to communicate clearly, listen well, take direction and achieve goals.

We start with the question “Are you coach-able?”. Being coach-able requires a set of interpersonal skills which allows the athlete to learn, grow and achieve their potential. The same is true of students. In order to get the most from your education you have to be “teachable”. An example of a professional athlete who was challenging to coach early on was Kobe Bryant. Kobe came into the NBA at 19 years of age. He was physically talented but young and somewhat immature. There was a great deal of hype surrounding Kobe and what he might accomplish. Kobe is also incredibly competitive and wanted to make an immediate impact in the NBA.

Kobe’s youth and desire to be an immediate impact player in the NBA created a scenario where his incredible drive and goals adversely impacted his ability to be patient, listen, accept constructive criticism and become a member of the team. Ironically, Kobe’s coach happened to be Phil Jackson the “guru” of NBA coaches and guide of players Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O’Neal, and 10 NBA championships.

Over time Kobe has become more mentally flexible, coach-able and grown to his potential. He continues to be incredibly driven, a physical player and wins championships. Most importantly, Kobe has become coach-able. He his listens to his coaches, listens to his teammates, accepts constructive criticisms and regularly seeks to gain new skills. Kobe has become a true team member, leader and outstanding professional athlete. He has developed the skills of being a listener, accepting constructive criticism, being open to direction, and letting others help him achieve his potential. Kobe, his coach and the Lakers make NBA magic.

To grow to potential an athlete needs to begin by listening. This requires active listening. Active listening requires the athlete to focus on what is being said by the coach, and not thinking about what they want to say in response. When the athlete is thinking about what they want to say in response, they are not open, they are defensive and guarding their ego instead of accepting that they do not know everything and may learn something from their coach. In a nutshell active listening means “be open”.

Second, the athlete needs to understand their emotions and reactions. When being criticized (even caring constructive criticism) some athlete’s emotions over take them and they begin to feel embarrassed, or angry, or stupid, or guilty. When their emotions take over, they become defensive. Like all of us, athletes are people and their childhood experiences have a great deal to do with how they feel and think. Understanding their emotions and the thought process that accompanies their emotions is crucial to an athlete being open to feedback and utilizing it.

If they have openly and actively listened the athlete is now poised to take action. The third step is accepting criticism and defining goals. The athlete can choose to accept the direction or ignore it. If they choose to accept it, the athlete now has helpful information that can improve their skills. Hopefully their coach provided specific examples of how to improve and what to do. If not, the athlete needs to ask questions to clarify what will help them improve and what steps to take.

Another piece of acceptance is being a team player. Every athlete would like to be a star player, however not everyone is. In like kind, a star player is also a team member and has to learn to place team goals above their personal goals. Being a team player is accepting your role on the team, taking control of that role and placing team goals as your priority. If this occurs, the team will succeed and so will the athlete. This process includes not criticizing your teammates or coaches. Part of being team player is being positive, finding solutions and achieving goals.

The fourth step in our process is “trust the plan”. Trusting the plan is following directions, using them as goals to help you improve and seeking feedback. Hopefully the coach is providing feedback, motivating their players and using praise. If the athlete is unsure, they need to step up and ask for feedback about their performance.

The post For the Athlete: Are You Coach-able? appeared first on Winning Edge Psychological Services.

The coach is the director of goals; focusing their athletes’ attention to drills, plays, scrimmage and learning. More often than not, the athlete unintentionally comes to practice with a passive mindset. They are ready to work and put forth their best effort, yet they rely upon the coach to set goals and control how the team will improve.

There is a way to get more from your athletes at each practice. Practice goals (sometimes called process goals) are effective, easily set goals which are in complete control of your athlete. A practice goal is a simple technical skill that your athlete needs to improve upon. Follow through with their leg and body while taking a corner kick is an example of a practice goal. The emphasis on follow through is the technique you set as the actual practice goal. For the next 2 weeks of practice this becomes the goal that the athlete has as their personal goal during practice.

Talking with your athletes and helping them find and set 1 or 2 practice goals is the most effective means to setting practice goals. Giving a young athlete a practice goal works well, however as the athlete ages they generally want and appreciate input with their goals. Talking with them about what they would like improve upon as well as what you would like to see them improve upon is an easy way to find practice goal targets.

Practice goals can also be mental skills/sport psychology skills. Athletes who struggle with intensity, attitude, emotional control on the field, and focus can have these targeted as practice goals. Recently, I met with a high school senior who already has a full scholarship to play in college. Despite his talents his coach asked him to meet with me, as he becomes angry on the field when he makes a mistake, and particularly so when a teammate makes a mistake. We discussed his strong drive to compete and win, and how his perception of mistakes leads him to be angry at himself and/or a teammate. We developed practice goals that targeted letting go of a mistake, re-focus, and ready for the next thing to come. The player was excited, as he admits that his attitude gets in the way of his play.

Have fun with practice goals. They are an easy and highly effective way to help your players grow and improve. Practice goals have the added bonus of building your athletes confidence and motivation as they see their skills improve.

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