Ashley, who is a young skater, sought my help to overcome some tough mental game challenges, such as perfectionism and focusing too much on results….
Her mother enrolled her in my 2010 summer mental game coaching special. Like many skaters I’ve worked with over the years, Ashley was trying to be too perfect with her skills and was very self-critical.
Helping perfectionists get the most out of their talent can be tricky because they have to let go of many ineffective beliefs they hold tightly to. Some of these include:
* Thinking they must be perfect to be successful
* Never feeling they’re good enough because of super high expectations
* Getting angry quickly when they don’t perform up to their expectations
* Lack of self-confidence because of their self-critical behaviors
After we uncover these beliefs and work to overcome them, the next challenge is to help my students focus on execution instead of results or scores.
When helping perfectionist athletes improve in competition, I teach them to:
* Focus on execution or the process instead of results
* Perform with greater confidence in their ability
* Have greater trust in their skills instead of try too hard
* Replace expectations with more manageable goals
* Have more self-acceptance instead of self-ridicule
To finish the story about Ashley, we meet via the phone for six short sessions to accomplish these goals.
I was ecstatic when Ashley’s mother sent me an email last week, which that sums up what we accomplished:
“Ashley wanted me to let you know that she placed very well at her competition this past weekend, thanks to you! She won the short program and the long, and had her personal best.”
“She now looks at her competitions like ice shows and has fun. It is really nice to see her thoroughly enjoying the skate. She is very focused and very confident. We definitely attribute this to you.”
~Brenda, Sports Parent
I have to admit, my students don’t usually make such dramatic improvements so fast. So I was very pleased as I love to see my students succeed.
Personal mental game coaching is more powerful than any generic sports psychology program you can do.
Now, reading sports psychology books and listening to CDs is a great start to mental training, but personal coaching takes it to another level…
With one-on-one coaching, I can help you identify specific mental game barriers and work to improve these quickly.
But don’t get me wrong… mental coaching is not always about “fixing” problems for athletes. Sometimes, athletes want to learn how to improve their performance by using their mind more effectively.
Your Mental Game Coach,
Dr. Patrick Cohn
Boost Your Self-Confidence With Mental Game Coaching!
Master mental game coach, Dr. Patrick Cohn, can help you or your athlete(s), ages 12 and up, overcome mental game issues with personal coaching.
You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
What are our students saying?
“WOW!!! What a week I had. I was able to perform with a confidence that allowed my style to shine through–no more entering the arena with that “deer in the headlights” look or feeling. I stopped evaluating myself while I was performing, and I actually left the arena after my patterns feeling like I had experienced a lot of fun. Thank you so much.”
~Julia Dreyer, National Champion Equestrian