Why do athletes–who seem to be in complete control during competition–choke? What is performance anxiety and how does it affect athletes’ ability to perform under pressure? A new website at Sports Performance Anxiety Coach, created by sports psychology expert, Dr. Patrick Cohn, helps athletes learn mental strategies to overcome performance anxiety and choking in competition. The new website, “Sports Performance Anxiety Coach,” offers, articles, tips, and videos to improve athletes’ performance under pressure.
Professional athletes are human too and sometimes choke from the stress of competition and sports performance anxiety. Throughout history, you’ll find many examples of top athletes (and teams) who choked under the pressure of competition and lost; competitions that seemed to be in their grasp. For example, Rory McIlroy squandered a 4-stroke lead in the final round of the 2011 Masters. Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal in the AFC Championship that would have helped the Baltimore Ravens earn a spot in the 2012 Super Bowl. Jean Van de Velde had a three-stoke lead on the final hole of the 1999 British Open disappear with a triple-bogey. Many top-level athletes can unravel during crunch-time due to the pressure and expectations of winning.
What’s interesting about these historic chokes in sports is that these athletes missed a shot or kick that they’ve executed thousands of times in practice successfully. What causes top athletes to miss opportunities that are usually routine to execute?
Orlando Sports Psychology Expert Dr. Patrick Cohn says that athletes are not perfect and can feel the pressure to be great and win. “Choking and performance anxiety are often associated with a fear of failure for athletes. It’s ironic that athletes who want to win badly are the ones that worry the most about failing,” said Cohn, who has worked as a mental game coach for many top athletes including PGA Tour Pros, NASCAR drivers, and professional Motocross racers since 1991 and is the owner of a sports psychology educational firm Peak Performance Sports, LLC in Orlando, FL. “Choking in sports is a reaction to perceived pressure athletes feel about being successful or winning when they are think others expect them to be great.”
Visit Sports Performance Anxiety Coach for more details…
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
For All Athletes – Learn Confidence-Boosting Techniques!
D you have a negative self-image of yourself as an athlete that stifles confidence?
No matter ow positive you try to be, are you unable to shake the doubt that rushes into your head when you size up your competition?
Have you labeled yourself as a loser, poor closer, or mediocre athlete and these labels keep you stuck in a rut of self-pity and indecision?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, check out The Confident Athlete!
The Confident Athlete CD and workbook program is a 14-day plan for ultimate self-confidence. This program is ideal for any athlete or coach that wants to discover proven confidence-boosting techniques guaranteed to drastically build self-confidence and improve sports performance.
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
Check out all of the products in The Confident Athlete Series!
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)
“I am a ASP world qualifying professional surfer and after beginning the ‘The Confident Athlete’ I had an almost instant change in attitude about my own surfing ability and my mindset going into competition. By using the Confident Athlete strategies, my confidence has done a complete 180 degrees. I won a local pro/am a few weeks back, and just had my best result of the year in one the last big events on the world circuit this last week in Brazil! It is my secret weapon!”
~Shaun Burrell, Professional Surfer (Listen to his success story)
For Young Athletes and Parents – Learn More About How to Help Kids Improve Confidence Quickly!
We’ve got a great program for you called “The Confident Sports Kid: A 7-Day Plan for Building Ultimate Self-Confidence.”
The Confident Sports Kid is a 7-day program for sports parents and kids to boost young athlete’s performance, happiness and success… in sports and life!
The Confident Sports Kid is two programs in one. There’s a manual and CD for parents/coaches, and a workbook/CD for young athletes.
Packed with mental strategies that you and your kids can start using immediately, this program teaches your athletes how to identify confidence busters, proactively deal with them, manage expectations that undermine confidence, and mentally prepare to stay confident when faced with adversity.
What’s more, our program teaches you, as sports parents and coaches, how you may be hurting your kids’ confidence and gives you instructions for changing your behavior in ways that will improve your athletes’ performance, confidence and enjoyment.
Learn more about one of our most popular CD programs in The Confident Sports Kid Series…
The Confident Sports Kid: A 7-Day Plan for Building Ultimate Self-Confidence
Check out all of our products in The Confident Sports Kid Series!
What are parents and coaches saying about our program?
“I appreciate the advice to parents as to how to help your child become more mentally resilient to bullying in sports. The specific advice and scenarios are extremely helpful for any child on a team and very helpful in guiding parents, coaches and administrators in how to deal with bullying in sports. I cannot thank you enough for your input, and I am so reassured to know that there are people like you who are writing articles and doing interviews on such timely and important matters.”
~Julie Goot
“Dr. Patrick Cohn and Lisa Cohn are to be congratulated! Together, they offer a wealth of knowledge, information, and practical mental tools for sports parents on the substantial “mental game” challenges and pressures facing today’s young athletes.”
~Marc D. Anderson, LCSW, MGCP, Mental Game Coach
For Mental Coaches – 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.
For mental coaches, this system is ideal for between session education.
For sports coaches, you’ll be able to conduct 15 team seminars using the workbook system.
In the Athlete’s Mental Edge workbook system, you receive 15 easy-to-read, practical Mental Edge Workbooks on PDF, as well as 16 coaches’ game plan MP3 audio files.
Athlete’s Mental Edge Workbook System
What are 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
“I am impressed with the willingness and openness of Dr. Cohn to share all of his assets (intellectual, products, etc.) with the MGCP students. You have developed an incredible model/package for mental training. Even though we are paying for your service, you are passing on a legacy built on your contribution to the world of sports. Thank you for that.”
~Tony Melito, MGCP
I definitely agree with Dr. Cohn’s opinion based on association with a fear of failure. It could also be assumed that athletes take themselves out of the game. Not physically, but mentally. Their mind can tend to wander. How does this happen? Well if an athlete is so into the game, but out of nowhere starts missing shots that are easily made in the past, or struggling with technique or whatever may be happening, they have started to lose focus. The anxiety level usually rises to a level that is not in line with their ability to control their focus. Now the game is on the line, but their anxiety level has been increased, and their focus has decrease and then the results are usually not where the athlete wants them. You must keep your focus and if you start to see the signs of being taken out of the game mentally, you must slow down and clear your mind. Mental preparation before games helps limit these situations. But as we are all human, losing focus and increasing anxiety is inevitable, but we can train and learn how to cope with it in all instances.