The Benefits of Mental Training
Many athletes feel too much pressure in sports and it affects their ability to take practice to competition.
Maintaining a certain weight, dealing with early success, navigating through performance droughts, and staying motivated during long training sessions are some of the challenges athletes face.
In addition, competing consistently during long seasons, managing media attention and resolving coach-athlete conflicts are other issues athletes face.
You can’t just improve your physical game today. If you want to reach your potential, it’s absolutely necessary to prepare your mind for the mental rigors of sports.
“Getting the mind right” is the reason so many athletes–from junior to Olympic athletes–seek the help of sport psychology professionals.
Mental training helps you cope with pressure, improve focus, stay composed and perform consistently in competition.
Are you satisfied with your mental game and performance currently?
If mental training is your weakest link, it will be hard to raise the level of your consistency and performance–given your skills level.
Let’s see sport psychology in action…
Jockey Mario Gutierrez had a tremendous year in 2012 with seven major wins but since then, Gutierrez hit a dry spell.
Gutierrez made the decision that he needed to do something more than take care of his body to prepare for races, so he started working with Camilla Henderson, a sports performance consultant in the United Kingdom.
Henderson had to, first, dispel the myths about sport psychology and highlight the benefits of mental training.
HENDERSON: “I think quite often jockeys are not aware of what sports psychology actually is. It’s perceived as a bit of a taboo. They might think, ‘Oh, he’s seeing a sports psychologist, he’s got a problem.’ It’s not about a mental disorder… It should be described more in terms of helping athletes obtain their optimal [performance] and become the best they can be.”
The mental training produced great results for Gutierrez with a win at the 2016 Kentucky Derby and a third place finish at the 2016 Preakness Stakes.
GUTIERREZ: “It’s not about mantras or anything, it’s about building confidence to help you to navigate what’s to come. Everything’s in the mind. Mentally, it’s like going to the gym with a trainer – a trainer helps prepare your body, and [the sports psychologist] helps prepare my mind.”
Gutierrez plans to continue his mental training throughout his career.
And mental training is not about fixing your faults or providing a cure to what ails you. Mental training is an ongoing process of learning to understand your mind’s influence on your performance and improving each year.
I have athletes return often for tune up sessions so they can stay on top of their mental game.
Tips for Mental Preparation:
Your performance depends greatly on how confident you feel when you start a competition. When you feel prepared, you start the competition feeling competent and confident.
The more prepared you feel, the more confidence you can have. However, that’s only one part feeling confident…
You also want to have proactive confidence.
Proactive confidence is the idea of fueling your confidence prior to competition with:
1. A belief in your abilities and strengths
2. Positive self-talk
3. Positive mental rehearsal
Don’t wait until you perform well in the moment (in the opening moments of competition) to feel confident. How many years have your been training and competing? That’s how many years you have worked on your confidence!
You deserve to feel confident. Don’t take a back seat approach to confidence!
The Confident Athlete CD and workbook program can help you learn how to be more proactive with your confidence:
Learn How to Forget Past Mistakes And Be Confident in The Present!
Learn How to Forget Past Mistakes And Be Confident in The Present!The Confident Athlete CD program helps athletes learn powerful pregame routines to stay calm, focused, and poised in competition.
Learn more about one of our most popular CD programs in The Confident Athlete Series…
The Confident Athlete: A 14-Day Plan For Ultimate Self-Confidence
What are customers saying?
“I first purchased The Confident Athlete to see how the program went and immediately saw results. I then purchased the rest of the confident athlete series and have noticed a dramatic improvement in my level of play or should I say consistency. I currently play NCAA Division 1 baseball for Lamar University, and even my coaches have noticed a change in the way that I approach the game. My attitude and confidence at the plate.”
~Tylor Prudhomme
(Listen to his success story)
Add More Value To Your Mental Training Programs!
This workbook series was designed for coaches and mental coaches to use with their athletes. The Athlete’s Mental Edge workbooks complement your existing mental training program. Each of the 15 workbooks in the Athlete’s Mental Edge System teaches your athletes a specific mental skill to improve their performance.
Athlete’s Mental Edge Workbook System
What are mental coaches saying?
“I am really pleased with the Athlete’s Mental Edge workbooks – they are fitting in really well with my coaching! I find they offer a great framework for doing workshop sessions. I have also used the workbooks with a few individual athletes – for the younger ones (12 and under). They are giving a good structure and framework to our sessions. The workbooks have worked well with all of them!”
~Kerri Morgan, Mental Game Coach
Boost Your Self-Confidence And Focus With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
Master mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn can help you overcome your 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?
“Dr. Cohn. I am thrilled! Thank you so much for the help! My recent competition was so much better and like when I used to perform well! Our talk really helped to take away the negative self-talk and anxiety! I look forward to my next competition and our next talk.”
~Kim Kolloff, state and national Jumper Competitor