How can Other People Influence your Mental Game?
An athlete’s mental game can be heavily influenced by the behavior of parents and coaches. That’s why I prefer to work very closely with my students’ parents and, when I can, coaches.
A case in point: I received an email from a parent after her daughter completed “The Confident Athlete” and “The Fearless Athlete” programs. She said the programs fit her daughter’s to the letter:
“My daughter is a senior in High School and plays soccer. After listening to ‘The Confident Athlete’ and ‘The Fearless Athlete’ audio programs, they appear to have her pegged. In fact, to quote my daughter, she said, ‘I could be the poster child for fear of failure.'”
However, this parent came to the conclusion that part of the problem was the coach. Her coach instilled a fear of making mistakes:
“Her soccer coach is not a real nurturing type of coach and in fact I think this is what has caused her to become afraid to make mistakes. Should we let him know we have identified that she lacks confidence and is afraid to make mistakes? Or is this something that we need to work on by ourselves?” asks the parent.
Good questions and you might already know my answer…
One option is to work on your mental game without directly involving the coach. And you should reap improvements because the mental game is very individual to each person.
However, in some cases, mental coaching I do with athletes is undone by negative coaches who instill fear in athletes or tear down athletes confidence–without even knowing it.
The best option is to inform the coach and ask the coach to make positive changes. Many good coaches look after the well-being, health, and want their athletes to have a positive mindset.
If my daughter has a problem with a coach, I certainly address it–probably more aggressively than other parents would.
However, as much you try, some coaches are not going to change their coaching style to accommodate a parent or athlete’s request.
In this case, athletes must learn coping strategies to deal with adversity and be more resilient to outside influences.
First, they have to learn how to stay confident when not performing perfectly.
Second, they must let go of the fear of mistakes.
Third, they need to trust in their ability even when they know what might happen if they failure or lose.
These three objectives are the ones athletes and coaches learn in “The Fearless Athlete” CD and workbook program…
In “The Fearless Athlete,” I help athletes overcome three common mental game challenges: fear of failure, perfectionism, and lack of trust.
All three mental game challenges are interconnected. Perfectionists, who worked extremely hard and want to perform perfectly often have fear of failure when they compete.
And fear of failure causes athletes to perform tentatively, afraid to make mistakes. When athletes are afraid to make mistakes, they lack of trust in their skills.
If you (or your athletes) want to overcome perfectionism, fear of failure, and lack of trust in one program. I suggest you check out “The Fearless Athlete” CD and workbook program:
Your Mental Game Coach,
Dr. Patrick Cohn
p.s. Are you a member of Peaksports Network? If so, you can grab your copy of “The Fearless Athlete” CD and workbook program at 30 percent off. Get the details here:
The Confident Athlete Workbook Program
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Mental Game Keys to Take Your Practice to Competition
- Coach: Support Your Athlete’s Mental Game
- Your Mental Game and Performance Slumps
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The Confident Athlete
“The Confident Athlete” consists of 2 audio programs that include 14 days of confidence fueling exercises and a simple to follow workbook that guides you through the 14 days, helps you apply the strategies, and customizes the exercises to your personal needs.
Let me help you put a stop to the confidence leak. You can learn to have greater levels of confidence in competition than you do in practice by identifying the specific ways you undermine your own confidence and how to convert your practice confidence into COMPETITIVE CONFIDENCE.
“The Confident Athlete” is a ground-breaking system to teach you how to think like a champion and have ultimate self-confidence every time you step on the playing field, court, track, or course. The confident athletes was developed for any athlete – junior to professional –that wants to gain confidence. However, coaches and sports parents can learn how to teach others to perform with ultimate confidence. Use my program if you want to bust a slump or just wanting higher or more consistent levels of self-confidence.