How do you apply the mental game lessons I teach to competition? I receive this question quite often from both athletes and coaches who struggle with the application of the mental game.
Your ultimate success with mental game improvement lies in your ability to transfer the concepts I teach you to competition. For many athletes and coaches, this is a huge stumbling block.
When it comes to the mental game, learning sports psychology strategies is much different than applying and using them in competition consistently…
I know you can easily understand the basic mental game skill of how to refocus when distracted, for example. However, can you do it when the pressure is on and emotions are elevated in competition?
What prevents you from taking the lessons I teach into competition? Bad habits. Bad habits are hard to break. Just like the physical game, mental skills must be well learned and assimilated for you to use them in competition.
What are some strategies for helping you apply mental game lessons to competition?
One way to take what you learn about the mental game to competition is to integrate my lessons in to your regular pregame warm-up routine.
I’m sure you have a specific warm-up routine that you use to prepare yourself for competition. Most athletes do. If you don’t have a warm up routine, you need one.
But more importantly the warm-up routine is also a time to hone your focus, boost your confidence, and prepare to trust in your learned skills from practice. So the warm-up routine is an ideal time to apply your mental game strategies.
For example, if you’ve been following my tips you know that I’m an advocate of eliminating expectations that cause pressure and undermine confidence when they’re not achieved.
As part of your pregame routine, you’ll want to check in with yourself and note any expectations you’re feeling about the upcoming performance or competition. The next step is to replace these expectations with smaller more manageable objectives.
For example, perfectionist golfers expect a hit perfect shots. This expectation is not healthy for confidence. Instead, I suggest to my students that they focus on small objectives such as to pick good targets and have full trust in their swing.
Thus I want you to look at your warm-up routine as a mini mental preparation routine in which you get your game face on, are focused, confident, and ready to play freely without the shackles of over control.
You want more information on pregame mental preparation?
We just posted new sport specific pregame mental preparation guides for athletes at Peaksports Network, my online mental training system.
Become a Subscriber today and download these for free along with hundreds of pages of e-books, interviews, and teleclasses to improve your mental game.
Note: New members who join Peaksports Network in April get a 20-minute live one-on-one mental coaching session with me.
Demo my online mental training program today:
Online Mental Training Program
Your Mental Game Coach,
Dr. Patrick Cohn
p.s. If you’re already a member of my online mental training system at Peaksports Network, you can download the sport-specific pregame mental preparation guides here:
Peaksports Network: Sport-Specific Mental Preparation Guides
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