Players practice for a long time hoping that their improved skills will be transferred onto the court or course. We see golf players spending hours on the driving range hitting ball after ball; or, basketball players practicing one free throw after another. With repetition, they notice an improvement on their shot skills. They leave the range or the court feeling over confident and looking forward to their chance to show their sharper skill. When they …
Reports show that the potential long term effects of recurring concussions lead to cognitive and neurological disability. Concussion is attracting more attention as of late as the numbers keep increasing yearly. Data indicates that 350,000 sport-related cases were reported in 2012; almost a third of these cases took place during practice. Although football is the leading sport with reported concussions (47%), athletes practicing soccer, lacrosse, basketball, cheerleading and baseball are equally experiencing concerning numbers. Although …
Visualization is one of the most common mental strategies used by top athletes to help them achieve their top performance. Visualization, also called imagery, intends to mentally rehearse the performance-like atmosphere by using the athlete’s five senses to pretend he is performing in real time. It is known that pretending to be executing a performance while in training by imagining its success becomes registered in the brain as if it were taking place in real …
All the roads lead to the same outcome. Highly confident athletes are more likely to be successful. Numerous studies have been done to study the traits commonly shared by highly achieving athletes and the common denominator is confidence. The question is, how do we build confidence? According to Jean Williams, there are four areas we need to pay attention to: interaction of thoughts and performance; cultivation of self-awareness; optimism; reaching for excellence. It is crucial …
We have seen top athletes achieving fantastic goals while others who possess equal physical and technical talents fall short of becoming successful. Is it nature or nurture? This is a million dollar question whose answer will be forever debated. What most coaches agree on, however, is that elite athletes have developed a rigorous process that helps them remain focused at the time when they need to perform. One of the main characteristics elite athletes share …
