Overcoming The Fear of Injury Injuries are inevitable in sport. Every athlete, if they compete long enough, will be faced with the adversity of being injured. Some injuries will be minor, some nagging, some major and some career-threatening. It is an unfortunate cost of training and competing but something that … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Do You Have to Perform Well to Feel Confident? One of sport’s biggest conundrums is which comes first: confidence or good performance? Athletes and coaches of all sports believe confidence to be the single most important mental skill for athletes to perform at their peak. Despite athletes identifying confidence as a key ingredient … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Keeping Your Head in the Game Have you ever had a critical mental lapse while competing in baseball? Lapses in concentration can affect players at every level of the game. The causes of mental lapses are numerous, such as: In fact, this recently occurred to Chicago Cub shortstop Starlin Castro. … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Jim Abbott’s Mental Rehearsal Do you ever wonder what the pros do to prepare for a game? I’ve been reading Jim Abbott’s new book, “Imperfect: An Improbable Life.” If you don’t know Abbott, his career is a great story… Jim Abbott was born without a right hand but never let … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Pre-Game Mental Preparation Baseball players spend hours doing batting practice, fielding ground balls, and doing strength and conditioning, but how much time is dedicated to getting prepared mentally? Many baseball and softball coaches tell us their players performed poorly because “they lost their heads” or “psyched themselves out,” which suggests … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Closing Out A Game When in The Lead The San Francisco Giants won the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers in four games with a strong mental game for baseball by staying focused and intense for four straight games. In playoff games, such as the World Series, coping with … Read Sport Psychology Tip