There is an interesting relationship between Emotion, Memory and Confidence. Research clearly tells us that strong emotions create more vivid, long-lasting memories. Athletes need to have mistake amnesia and remember their successes. Our mental and physical practice also affects our memories. If what we remember is positive, our confidence will be higher. We then know [...]
As a high-performance athlete, it's important to call upon strength and toughness in a moment's notice. Here are some great examples of self-talk you can use to get yourself in the right state of mind, and right away. I love competition The bigger the tournament, the more comfortable I feel In any situation, I turn [...]
I'm just a few days away from competition again, and I must admit I'm getting excited! At this weekend's National Qualifier in Colorado I only have 2 other people in my bracket, so essentially all I would have to do is weigh in and I will have qualified without competing. I have had a couple [...]
Dear Tiger: We want you back. Plain and simple. You did some some bad things - no argument there. But we believe it's better if you're playing golf. It's obviously better for you and for the fans and for general interest in the game. But it's also better for all the non-golf people you help [...]
As a competing athlete, you've been taught the rules of your sport, strategies on how to win, and how to get fit and strong. So I would ask you, how much do you practice your mental skills? We find the most common answer is: "I don't." As a result, many athletes begin to break down [...]
This week was a relaxing week since I just fought. The interesting thing is I usually take the week after a tournament completely off. However, I found myself staying in the training pattern of visualizing every day. I was already focusing on the next goal of U-24 National Team Trials in early April. Then I [...]
You wouldn't expect to peak as an athlete if you didn't master the technical elements of your sport. You wouldn't expect to reach your potential if you only gave a half-hearted effort to maximizing your fitness and movement. The same applies with your mental skills development. It may be true that some sports champions are [...]
I think sometimes when you hear the story of an athlete that struggled and eventually succeeded it sometimes seems out of reach so I hope that others can gain perspective from my story. Anyway, update for this week. We have had the week off of games for a November break and have the weekend off [...]
Sometimes I hate it when I have to take my own advice. If you have been following these, then you will know that this past Saturday I was competing at the US Open, in Las Vegas. You will also know that my last blog was about controlling things that I can, and forgetting the rest. [...]
Dr. Robert Weinberg, who is one of the most renowned Sports Psychology researchers in the country and author of the #1 college textbook in the industry, "Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology," describes mental training simply as “a systematic and consistent practice of mental skills.” And I want to emphasize “systematic and consistent” because, unfortunately, [...]