Mental Toughness is plain and simple- never giving up no matter what. In my Personality Psychology class, we learned that Character is revealed during difficult times, not easy times. This may make intuitive sense to many people, but there is also a good amount of scientific research to support this idea. You just can’t ever…
DetailsStop approaching your sport as a spectator! Players play, coaches coach, administrators administrate, and there can be no overlap in between. When we competed at the National Duals in college, Coach Zeke Jones reminded us, “We are here to compete, not as spectators.” In between rounds we didn’t stick around to watch Iowa vs Oklahoma…
DetailsSome athletes call it “the Zone” others call it “Flow,” scholars call it “the Ideal Peak Performance State (IPPS).” The feeling that you cannot miss, where time and accuracy seem to be moving and acting at your command. All good athletes and performers know this feeling. When you compete, the idea is to be in…
DetailsIn competition, focus is best spent on the present moment- on actions. Thinking about past successes or failures will distract you from your mission. Your mission is whatever you have to do right now, not a few moments ago, not a few seconds from now, much less the end of the competition- but right NOW.…
DetailsImagine yourself as a dot in the center of a circle. The circle represents your comfort zone. The walls of the circle represents your personal threshold- your personal limit. In the middle, you are well within your comfort zone. This is where most people choose to remain- never pushing the envelop or risking failure or…
DetailsCoaches and parents must recognize if the wrestler is struggling mentally, then consult a mindset expert to fix the problem. Here’s the eyeball test: The 5 Signs its a Mindset Problem 1. Looks like a different wrestler in practice and a match 2. Not attempting many moves in a match 3. Difficulty sleeping the night before a…
DetailsPre-Competition 1. I don’t care who I go against, I want everyone. I go after the tougher opponent. I live for the challenge. The best defense is a good offense right? Same thing with your mindset. If you seek the challenge and look for tougher opponents, you’re not worried about competing against someone good. You…
DetailsImagine driving a high performance car, say a Lamborghini, on a race track. You start the car and you begin to drive. You give it more gas,You shift the gears, Your speed climbs. You feel your car moving faster and faster until all of a sudden…you hit a plateau. Your speed remains constant well below…
DetailsWhy are people lazy? Again, we must go back to motivation. The root word in motivation is motive. To understand any behavior or attitude, you must first consider the two basic human motives. When you boil it all down the two human motives are (1) Avoid Pain (2) Gain Pleasure. Your mind links pleasure and/or…
DetailsTo sum up Sport/Performance Psychology in a 3 word sentence- Pull the trigger! This is analogous to the Nike slogan of “Just Do It.” However, I like “pull the trigger” because it commands the most attention and includes a sense of urgency. When it comes right down to it, you are faced with one major…
Details