Applied sport psychology focuses on performance enhancement. What we have learned is that having the physical talent to perform is not enough. For performers to reach their true potential, they need to have the mental edge, too. 

Who Uses Sport Psychology?

You might be tempted to think that sport psychology is meant for elite athletes only; however, there are so many more groups who can benefit from the principles of applied sport psychology. In fact, according to the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), sport psychology services are used by groups including:

• Athletes
• Exercisers (or those wanting to become exercisers)
• Military, police, and firefighters
• Performance artists (musicians, dancers), and 
• Business executives

What If I’m an Athlete, But I Wouldn’t be Considered Elite?

The beauty of applied sport psychology is that it can be used by any sport performer at any level. The amazing team of mental conditioning professionals at IMG Academy in Brandenton, FL work with athletes as young as 6th grade. In my own work with athletes, I’ve provided sport psychology consulting to athletes from the following age groups and sports:

• Middle school soccer
• High school football
• High school golf
• High school soccer
• High school barrel racing
• Collegiate softball
• Collegiate football
• Collegiate golf
• Competitive swimming
• Competitive bowling
• Super Senior (aged 70+) tennis

I hope what you’re seeing is that sport psychology is for anyone who wants it, regardless of their competitive level.

Is Sport Psychology Right for Me?

So maybe you’re convinced that just about anyone can benefit from sport psychology and now you’re wondering if it’s right for you or your athletes. Let’s look at some questions you might ask yourself:

• Do you or your athletes perform better in practice than in competition? 
• Do you or your athletes have trouble staying focused?
• Do you or your athletes lack confidence during practice or games?
• Are you looking for a mental edge?
• Have you lost motivation or confidence after an injury?
• Are you looking for a way to improve your sport experience?
• Are you struggling to find consistency in your performances?
• Are you hoping to make it to the next level but you’re not sure if you’re ready for the added pressure?

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, then performance enhancement might be exactly what you’re looking for. Let’s talk!

What To Expect

Mental performance consulting looks different depending on the consultant you work with, but in general you can expect us to focus on what it takes to help you consistently perform your best AND for us to focus on how you can perform successfully in life in general. 

Typically, we will start by talking about what it is you hope to get out of consulting. We will spend some time discussing your strengths and identify which aspects of your mental performance you think need the most work. This might be something like better performance, more confidence, improved concentration, managing your emotions both inside and/or outside of sport, recovering from an injury, dealing with burnout, deciding whether it’s time to retire from sport. I think you might be seeing that the list could go on and on. 

Once we’ve identified your goals for our work together, we’re going to come up with an individualized plan on how to get there. Although there are some skills that are pretty generic (for example, the strategies for goal setting are pretty consistent), each person has unique goals and will take their own road to accomplish those goals. This process will involve some education, some trial-and-error practice, and finally some application. 

You already know that practice leads to better performance – you’ve learned that in your sport. The same is true for mental skills. We will come up with a plan for you to practice the mental skills and will identify ways to assess whether they’re working by looking at things like performance and other factors. Using the information we gain we will continue to build toward your goals.

What’s Next?

Although there is so much to sport psychology than just what is written here, I hope you’ve got a good understanding of some of the basics. If you think you might want to do some mental performance work of your own, please reach out! Schedule your free 15-minute consultation today and let’s see if we are a good fit!

1. Lay out my clothes the night before. A quick Google search tells me it was Benjamin Franklin who said, essentially, that failing to prepare is preparing to fail. One of the reasons I have become committed to working out in the very early morning is that I know there are very few things that can pop up unexpectedly that would prevent me from working out. There are some days when I am getting ready in the morning that just about any excuse would prevent me from actually going to the gym. Having to comb through my drawers to find the right clothes is definitely one of those things that could easily become an excuse when one more hour of sleep sounds so enticing. So, in my efforts to prepare and avoid “failure,” I remove the searching for clothes as an excuse. I lay out my gym clothes and shoes in the bathroom before I go to bed so I have one less reason to skip my workout. At 4am, anything helps!

2. Get out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off. I will admit this was a tough one, but it’s also really important. When you are setting your alarm for the morning, try creating a “when-then” statement for yourself. Something as simple as “when my alarm goes off in the morning, I will get up right away” will do the trick. It may even help to choose an alarm tone that is different than any other alarm tones you already use. Why does this help? It’s pretty simple, actually. These statements are called implementation intentions. Implementation intentions help us turn our motivation (which you already have at least a little of or you wouldn’t be reading this) into specific action. Researchers have shown time and again that having a specific plan will greatly increase the chances that you will actually do the planned behavior. Making a small change from “I will wake up early to exercise” to “I will wake up as soon as my alarm goes off” means your exercise is much more likely to happen. But what if I’m not really ready to start an exercise program yet? That’s fine, too! It doesn’t hurt to start the habit of waking up at the time when you will exercise before you actually start exercising. In fact, it will make it that much easier for you when you ARE ready.

3. Use my social connections to build in some accountability. When I first started working out at 5am I knew one woman (vaguely) from work. After a month or so, I knew most of the people who came in at 5am. When my family and I moved two years later? I cried on my last day the gym because it felt like I was leaving my family behind. These connections took time to develop, so don’t expect to show up on the first day and already have a social network (although that’s awesome if you do!), but take steps to get to know the people who are there. There were so many days when I would wake up and think to myself “maybe I’ll skip today.” This thought was almost always followed by something like “but if I don’t go, I’ll miss Cindy’s birthday” or “I won’t see Ashley for another few weeks if I’m not there today.” Whether they knew it or not, my social connections were often my last line of defense on days when I just didn’t want to go to the gym. Having a social support system that encourages exercise has been found to increase exercise behavior in adults, regardless of race, sex, or work status. Maybe you don’t feel comfortable introducing yourself to everyone on your first day at the gym, but maybe decide to say hello to one person who has been there almost every time you’ve been after a week or so. Even if these relationships don’t develop into close friendships, you’ll be surprised at how helpful they are at getting you to the gym on the days you don’t want to go.

If you’ve made it this far, you might be thinking to yourself “this is fine, but there is no way I will ever be a morning exerciser,” and that’s okay! I think these tips still apply. Prefer to exercise after work? Or maybe during your lunch break? Pack your bag the night before and set an alarm on your phone that signals to you that your workday is done (at least for the time being) and it’s time to get to the gym. More importantly than any of these tips, though, is to find something you enjoy doing. Nobody is going to stick to an exercise program when they don’t like the exercise. Hate running? Awesome – don’t run! Find a pickup basketball game or schedule some time on the pickleball court if that’s more your style. Go for a brisk walk on your lunch break or sign up for a yoga class. Find something that you enjoy then use these tips to get it done! If you think you might still need some help getting started or sticking with an exercise routine, please don’t hesitate to schedule your free 15-minute consultation. Let’s see if we are a good fit!