Insight

The formula for Performance is defined as: Performance = Potential – Interference. One of the greatest personal dilemmas that interferes with optimal performance and negates an athlete’s true potential in their sport is performance anxiety. Last year, performance anxiety was the number one reason athletes and their parents visited my office.  This form of anxiety […]

One of my favourite sayings is, “If you can train your body you can train your brain.”  For me, this phrase sums up what we do as sport psychologists.  It was once believed that the brain could not be trained or changed; in other words, you were stuck with the brain you were born with. […]

Sleeping is an everyday ritual that is essential to our daily lives; without the right amount of sleep we are unable to function effectively.  From a very early age we begin to form sleeping habits and patterns.  These are the habits that we will take through to our adolescent and adult years so it essential […]

As mentioned in an earlier blog, I attended The Sport Performance Summit in mid November in London.  One of the workshops that I attended focused on the relevance and use of psychological assessments in sport. Whilst there is definitely not a ‘one size fits all approach’ it’s worth debating the use and relevance of psychological […]

It is generally accepted that children are naturally physically active.  If you watch children in a park or in a playground they typically enjoy running, climbing, swinging, jumping – being able to challenge their physical abilities whilst having fun.  What you may not realise is that these natural physical abilities and what we class as […]

No matter your skill level as a player – beginner, league player, or professional, there is one mental phenomenon that we all fight from time to time on the course.  This phenomenon is the subtle but destructive change in our experience from enjoying the round and playing freely with little thought or tension, to a […]

I attended The Sport Performance Summit in London at the Emirates Stadium last week and over the two days there were many pieces of information that have stimulated new thought and action as well as information that consolidated our current thought and action. Many of the attendees and content presenters were members of the ‘team […]

Effectively using simple strategies to respond positively to mistakes on the course can save you a lot of shots. Developing a positive response to mistakes often requires more than just redirecting your attention and “forgetting about it.” Some players respond best with thought changing strategies while others find action based strategies more effective, particularly if […]

Not enough has been written by those in the sports industry (me included) about the support that is required for all of us who support the athletes to perform at their best on and off the track.  Sport psychologists tend to work primarily with the athlete directly, and therefore the marketing of sport psychology services […]

There has been a lot of discussion in both the media and around the school gates about the increased pressures that youths are facing in their school, family, and social lives.  The youth of today are experiencing increasing amounts of stress as their worlds are more demanding than ever before.  This is due to the […]