Self-confidence is how much you believe in your ability to perform, and in hockey it is the number one asset when discussing your mental game. Self-confidence separates great athletes from the good athletes. Athletes with high self-confidence play more aggressive and focused compared to other athletes because they believe in their ability. The two most common confidence killers are high expectations and self-doubt. High expectations are demands that you place on your performance. If you fail to achieve these demands, you will lose confidence in your game. Instead of having high expectations for yourself, you’ll want to set smaller, […]
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08
Jan
2011
Hockey’s Number One Mental Game Asset
05
Jan
2011
High Confidence Leads to Success
Confidence is key to success in sports and the number one asset that separates great athletes from the rest of the pack. Athletes cannot reach their true athletic potential without massive amounts of confidence in their talent and abilities. In sports confidence is defined as one’s belief in their ability to execute a task or win an event. It’s a mindset that says, “I can do this,” but it is based on tangible things such as your past success in sports. Most athletes will tell you that confidence comes from past success, playing well or positive experiences in their […]
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18
Dec
2010
Goal Setting for Sports
Goal setting helps athletes commit to the goals and objectives they have for their sport. Professional baseball players like Chase Utley, Derrick Jeter, and Tom Brady have reached the top of their game by setting, evaluating, and reformulating goals throughout their career. Things to consider when setting goals: Goal should identify a specific action or event that will take place. Goal and its benefits should be quantifiable. Goal should be attainable given available resources. Goal should require you to stretch some, but allow the likelihood of success. Goal should state the time period in which it will be accomplished. […]
Read moreHere are the top myths and attitudes that prevent athletes from embracing mental training: “I do not need to improve mental toughness — I’m already mentally tough.” Some athletes may feel that they are already mentally tough. Mental training is designed to help athletes stay mentally tough. All athletes can tune up on their mental game. Mental training is also a good review for mentally tough young athletes. “My teammates or coach would think I am weak if I needed mental training.” Mental training is not a weakness, but a chance to improve young athletes’ mental game and performance. […]
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16
Dec
2010
Momentum in Sports
Momentum plays a critical role in your team’s success. When your team has momentum, you feel like everything going for you. For example, your team can’t make a bad play or miss a shot on goal. You play fearlessly. Momentum keeps your team’s confidence high and helps your players find the zone. However, momentum doesn’t always go your way. Sometimes, your team can lose momentum after experiencing a setback such as the referee making a bad call or the other team making a key play. When this happens, it can be difficult to regain your momentum. When your team […]
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13
Dec
2010
Playing Beyond Your Comfort Zone
We received the following question from an athlete: “What do you think happens when you have the upper hand and still lose the game, and you know you are beating yourself?” Many athletes don’t perform their best when they have a big lead because they play within their comfort zone. What is a comfort zone? A comfort zone based on how you expect to perform. Comfort zones are challenging when you are playing better than expected. What do you think is happening with my mental focus?” When performing inside your comfort zone you will likely play tentatively to avoid […]
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09
Dec
2010
Focus on Your Game, not Others
Many athletes worry too much about other peoples opinions of their performance. For example, you may worry too much about what your coach thinks about your batting technique or about performing well to gain respect from teammates. Worrying too much about others opinions of your game can affect your focus and hurt your confidences. More often than not you are making assumptions about others opinions of your game. When you make assumptions about what others might be thinking about your game, you engage in “mind reading.” You don’t really know what others are thinking about you. Mind reading is just a […]
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06
Dec
2010
How to Get the Most Out of Your At-bats
“What was I thinking?” you mutter in frustration after striking out with the bat on your shoulders. You lost your focus temporarily and it cost you the at-bat. Most players at times, lose focus, blank-out, get distracted, or are too stressed to concentrate. Even the greatest players in the world have trouble concentrating under pressure. Outcomes and winning are stressed in a result oriented society, making it difficult to focus on what really matters—sticking to the task and focusing on only execution. The goal in baseball is to win, score runs, and get hits. This is obvious. If you dwell too much […]
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01
Dec
2010
Do You Play With a Fear of Failure?
Fear of failure is a common issue in the field of sport psychology. Fear of failure is characterized by high expectations, a strong desire to success (and not fail), anxiety or tension, worrying too much about results or outcomes, social approval issues or worrying too much about what others think, and performing with a serious, controlled mindset. Baseball players and other athletes contact me every day saying that they can’t get out of their own way during games – that their mental game is holding them back. Why would you want to sabotage your own success and prevent yourself […]
Read moreWhat every athlete must know to achieve peak performance in competition! Free Report Includes: Characteristics of the zone and peak performance. What prevents athletes from tapping into the zone. Mental game strategies for getting in the zone. A comprehensive checklist to help athletes achieve peak performance. Please enter your name, primary email, and role in sports below to receive access to our 100% FREE mental game report : Name Email Sport
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