Sports Psychology Articles for Athletes and Performers

How This Pro Manages Criticism

How This Pro Manages Criticism

Mental Toughness When being Criticized Mental toughness is often seen as a physical triumph over adversity. For example, a football player who returns to action in the fourth quarter after limping off the field earlier in the game. Or a gymnast who gets back up on the balance beam to complete her routine after a hard fall. However, … Sport Psychology Article…

Mindset for Playing in Tough Conditions

Mindset for Playing in Tough Conditions

Facing the Worst Conditions in a Competition Were you able to concentrate on competing, or did the weather or arena mentally affect your performance? Wind, rain, snow, excessive heat, frigid temperatures, and glaring sun can affect playing surfaces and competition conditions. It is challenging to be your best when weather conditions are not optimal. But why do some … Sport Psychology Article…

How a Mental Reset Can Improve Your Game

Embrace Team Competition

The Best Way to Turn your Performance Around Every athlete experiences rough spots or slumps, which causes periods of under performance.  Many times, those athletes get in trouble when they focus on their most recent disappointing results. Many athletes fall into the trap of being mentally “nearsighted.” That is, they are consumed by their recent bad results or … Sport Psychology Article…

Routines vs Superstitions for Athletes 

Routines vs Superstitions for Athletes 

The Differences Between Superstitions and Routines? A superstition can be irrational because it’s based on luck. Another way of putting it is when athletes believe they will achieve positive results by engaging in a random act. Examples of athlete superstitions include: * MLB pitcher Steve Kline never washed his hat for fear of washing away his luck. *NHL … Sport Psychology Article…

Do You Have Fun When Competing?

Mindset for Losing

Does Performance Pressure Outweigh Competing? Do you have fun competing in games or tournaments? Do you enjoy exploring your potential or does competition make your feel stressed? Sports are enjoyable for many reasons. You may have fun in practice. You might have a lot of friends on your team. You might like to master skills… Nevertheless, the tricky … Sport Psychology Article…

How to Recover Like the Pros After Losses

How to Reach for Your Athletic Potential

Do you Feel Demoralized After a Bad Game? It’s one thing to have a bad game, but a disastrous game can be mentally deflating.  Even worse are consecutive horrible games. When you have back-to-back disastrous performances, those are the times you want to call it quits. For instance, how would you feel if you were a gymnast who … Sport Psychology Article…