Sports Psychology Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT DOES A SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY CONSULTANT DO?

A sports psychology consultant can:

• Simply put, I work with athletes to ensure that their sport experiences help them develop or transform into healthy, fulfilled and empowered people who also have sport outcomes that match capabilities.
• Assist athletes in achieving competitive goals by identifying and gaining a deeper understanding of mental strengths and optimizing their use specifically in new situations. We also look for and create opportunities to improve mental habits and implement strategies to enhance performance and the quality of the sport experience.
• Educate, explore, implement evidence-based sports psychology techniques tailored to the specific needs of the athlete including personality, training environment and values and beliefs.
• Provide athletes with a comprehensive mental fitness regime that may include: goal setting, focusing, attentional control, emotional activation, emotional deactivation, pressure management, emotional control, energy management, visualization, self-talk, mental pacing, etc.

Here are some examples of areas of your game that can be improved by working with a sports psychology consultant:

• Improve performance consistency
• Create effective practice habits
• Improve communication skills
• Enhance motivation
• Fine tune focus
• Gain ability to perform in pressure situations
• Overcome mental blocks
• Establish a sense of control in training and competitive situations
• Identify burnout and reconnect to personal meaning

WHAT IS SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY?

Consider this question:

How much of your sport performance do you feel is impacted and changed by your attitude, approach, vibe and how you think?

50%, 75%, 90%?

Most athletes believe about 50-90% of what they do on the playing field is affected by their attitude.

Now, consider about how much time you spend strengthening your attitude?

0%, 5%, 10%?

We all tend to know that our attitude is important we don’t spend much time working on it. Probably, because it’s difficult to know exactly how to work on it!  Sports psychology tells you how.

The field of sports psychology helps athletes enhance their sports performance through strengthening of their attitudes. By examining personal and environmental factors that impact performance, a sports psychology consultant can assist athletes to develop and implement techniques to improve the way an athlete feels, thinks, and ultimately performs. Athlete’s perceptions, thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, expectations, and emotions create mental agility that in turn supports and enhances physical capabilities. Becoming as mentally fit as you are physically, can play a vital role in helping perform to capability while enjoying the process.