Visit our Blog on Substack!

This is a sample of a post housed on Substack. Check it out!

Did you know the average college student-athlete is spending anywhere from 28 - 33 hours a week in athletic-related activities? These include:

• Practice 
• Film review
• Recovery / treatment 
• Strength & conditioning / supplemental workouts
• Competitions (anywhere from 4 - 9 hours on game day)

From this list, it is clear that time spent training and taking care of the physical body is a significant priority. But more often than not, every training regimen is missing something important.

As an expert in sport psychology, I like to ask athletes who are new to mindset training, “what percentage of your sport is mental?”

I’ve received answers anywhere from 50% to 90% (!) which I follow-up with, “OK then, what would you say is the percentage breakdown for how much time you currently train your physical and mental fitness?”

…Hmm (light bulb!)

You may be one of the many athletes who hasn’t been told how to train your mindset in your sport and therefore, you aren’t spending much time on it. 

Great news, you’re in the right place!

Mental training is the practice of techniques and psychological frameworks that allow your mind to work for, and with you, instead of against you.

There are several mental skills you can start to use in your training and physical conditioning to  improve how well you respond to challenges, cope with stress, and  recover from setbacks.

Without mental skills, you may find yourself struggling, performing below your potential, and feeling frustrated about your current abilities. I like to conceptualize this as your level of mental fitness.

You may have a low degree of mental fitness if… 

1. You find your sport becoming less enjoyable 
2. Your emotions often overwhelm you at practices / games
3. You often feel discouraged by your goals instead of feeling motivated
4. The pressure to perform is causing nervousness, silly mistakes, and poor concentration
5. Your practice does not translate well to your performance resulting in low confidence, under-performing, and a fear of failure
   

Your mind is a muscle,  and it can be intentionally trained! In fact, it is believed that what  separates the top athletes in the country from other competitors is  their mental resilience. 

Still skeptical? Let’s check out the science!

According to research, mental skills training: 

• Reduces competitive anxiety and increases self-confidence
• Improves concentration, coping with failure, and reduces the impact of emotions on performance 
• Reduces the risk of sport injury by promoting resilience and athletes’ ability to cope with stress

Sounds like the complete package, right? Let’s get some mental reps in!

This  is a simple exercise to build an awareness of your emotional state.  When you improve your ability to label your feelings, you can feel more  informed and understanding of yourself. Over time, you will also notice  patterns in your emotional state which is important for learning how to respond instead of react in moments of adversity in your sport.

Click here to learn how

As the coach, you can help athletes recognize their emotional state without feeling ashamed when negative emotions inevitably pop up...

Click here to read more!