Sport Psychology Blog

If you're like me, you've probably dreamed about becoming a professional athlete. This is a great dream to have in life. Who wouldn't want to play the sport that they love for a living!? While I've never been a professional athlete myself, I have learned from others what it takes to reach your full potential and play sports at the highest levels. So I'd love to help others by offering some of my best tips for becoming a professional athlete. While every sport is different, I believe these tips can be applied by all athletes. I hope you find them helpful! Tips for young athletes and parents: Play many sports as a kid . One of the most common mistakes parents make is pressuring (or forcing) their kids to specialize in a single sport at a very young age. While early specialization may seem like the best way to help your kids become professionals, it actually does more harm than good. Having your kids play many sports  helps set them up for long-term success. Help find

Rebound: Training Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries by Carrie Cheadle and Cindy Kuzma is a book that all athletes can greatly benefit from, since injuries are a universal aspect of sports. Unfortunately, every serious athlete will have to deal with injuries at some point in their career. And no matter if it's a career threatening injury, or just a minor injury, all injuries come with mental and emotional challenges. This is why it can be so helpful for athletes to read this book, which is a comprehensive guide to mental rehab that greatly complements physical rehab and helps maximize the chances of athletes bouncing back strong from injuries . Here are the top lessons I've learned from this book. First, it's important to understand the emotional impact that injuries can have on athletes. For many athletes, their injury may feel like a major setback. Without being able to train and perform, they may lose hope in their ability to achieve their dreams, as

The better you practice, the better you perform. This is why I like to give advice on how to practice better. For today's post, I want to talk about three types of practice: One-on-one teaching Repetitive training Game simulation The first type of practice is what I call  "one-on-one teaching."   This is where you slow practice down and focus on the small details of the fundamentals . This is the type of practice you need to correct flaws in your technique and raise your game to the next level from a technical standpoint. Although  one-on-one teaching usually requires a coach that gives you specific and immediate feedback/instructions, sometimes you're able to coach yourself while working on your fundamentals.  The second type of practice, which I call  "repetitive training," is pretty self-explanatory. This is where you complete many repetitions in order to increase your muscle memory and master your skills. However, this doesn't mean just mindlessly

One of my biggest pet peeves is hearing coaches and sports commentators talk about how great athletes are “born” with certain traits. These people may say things such as “when it comes to great leadership, you either have it or you don’t, and this guy has it.” I’ve heard similar statements regarding traits such as throwing accuracy, strength, speed, coordination, mental toughness, and feel for the game. While there is certainly some truth to these statements, their overall message is false. I agree that genetics play a role in athletic development, but to say that you can’t teach leadership, mental toughness, or any other skill or trait (besides height) is completely false. Just because learning certain skills comes easier for naturally talented athletes doesn’t mean they don't have to work very hard to become a pro. And just because learning certain skills may be more challenging for some athletes doesn’t mean they can’t train hard to master these skills. There are thousands of ex