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You are here: Home / Mental Coach Articles / Athletes Using Routines or Superstitions?

Athletes Using Routines or Superstitions?

November 12, 2018 By Patrick Cohn Leave a Comment

sports psychology certification

Use Preshot Routines to Improve Consistency

I was asked the following question by a recent MGCP graduate about routines…

“How do you explain, in concrete words to athletes, how a preshot routine helps performance versus superstitions?”

Do your athletes have to eat the exact same meal for good luck prior to competition like Wade Boggs did?

Do you athletes have to wear their lucky white shoes or shirt or socks in competition?

Superstitions are behaviors or rituals athletes repeat prior competition in the hope of bringing good luck.

Most superstitions are irrational and not based in reality or science.

They give athletes a sense of luck, but some athletes and coaches would say that superstitions also give them confidence and belief.

Most superstitions are just habits that have no scientific research to back up the claim that they actually work.

On the other hand, preshot routines are overt and covert behaviors athletes perform prior to a self-paced skill.

For example, preshot routines are used to prepare for a golf shot, basketball free throw, field goal, pitch, race motto, dive, gymnastics routine, or any other sports tasks.

The purpose of routines is to help athletes be focused, confident, make good decisions, and trust their skills.

Unlike superstitions, routines help improve consistency in performance for athletes. They are based on science and not on good luck or over generalizations.

When superstitions fail to work, athletes tend to discard their rituals and look for something else to bring them luck.

What’s wrong with taking “luck” into competition? Don’t your athletes feel more confident when lucky?

The problem is that athletes have no control over luck. Superstitions are a false association to something that’s worked for them in the past to bring about good performances.

You instead want to encourage your athletes to buy into routines, not superstitions or rituals. The problem is that athletes are a superstitious group in general.

Preshot Routines Are:

  • Based on science, not luck.
  • Useful for helping athletes organize their thinking.
  • Great for mental preparation in stop and go sports.
  • Needed to enhance consistency of performance.
  • An excellent way to integrate mental skills into performance.

In the MGCP program, we discuss how athletes can integrate mental skills into their performance by using routines. This makes mental training more concrete for athletes and less abstract.

Anytime you can apply mental skills to performance in practice or games, you are helping your athletes improve the usefulness of mental training.


What’s Included in The Sports Psychology Certification Course

  • The MGCP 20-chapter workbook including exercises to teach you how to identify mental game challenges and obstacles that influence performance; develop mental skills individual and team members; and improve teamwork and communication.
  • MGCP Summaries, outlines and flow charts to help you understand the over mental coaching process and the phases of mental coaching taught by Dr. Cohn.
  • Examples of mental imagery programs (hockey, dog handling, and golf) including how to create imagery scripts and audio programs for your athletes.
  • A series of sports psychology e-books on goal setting, confidence, focus, pregame and pre-shot routines.
  • Use of Dr. Cohn’s Athlete’s Mental Aptitude Profile (AMAP) and GMAP (golfer’s version), to help you identify an athlete’s or team’s mental game strengths and weaknesses.
  • Use of the Team Cohesion Aptitude Profile (TCAP) to assess team cohesion; and a sports parent’s profile to use with sports parents.
  • Examples of pre-seminar questionnaires to use before you give a seminar to a group to help you identify mental game challenges and areas to teach..
  • Over 160 mental game coaching “handouts” or one-page summaries and worksheets you can use to help you stay organized during sessions and as summaries for your student or team.
  • 15 real-life case studies focusing on a different challenge in sports psychology and Dr. Cohn’s solution to each. You understand the real-life issues with athletes and how to address their mental game barriers.

Apply for sports psychology certification today!


Filed Under: Mental Coach Articles, Sports Psychology Certification Tagged With: MGCP Certification Course, Preshot Routines

MGCP - Sports Psychology Certification Course

  1. The MGCP 20-chapter workbook including exercises to teach you how to identify mental game challenges and obstacles that influence performance; develop mental skills individual and team members; and improve teamwork and communication.
  2. The Athlete's Mental Edge workbook system to help you stay organized and accelerate your athletes learning and progress with mental skills.
  3. 12+ Real-life video and audio case studies to accelerate your learning of mental game coaching.
  4. MGCP Summaries, outlines and flow charts to help you understand the over mental coaching process and the phases of mental coaching taught by Dr. Cohn.
  5. Examples of mental imagery programs (hockey, dog handling, and golf) including how to create imagery scripts and audio programs for your athletes.
  6. A series of sports psychology e-books on goal setting, confidence, focus, pregame and preshot routines.
  7. Use of Dr. Cohn’s Athlete’s Mental Aptitude Profile (AMAP) and several sport-specific versions to help you identify an athlete’s or team’s mental game strengths and weaknesses.
  8. Use of the Team Cohesion Aptitude Profile (TCAP) to assess team cohesion; and a sports parent’s profile to use with sports parents.
  9. Examples of pre-seminar questionnaires to use before you give a seminar to a group to help you identify mental game challenges and areas to teach.
  10. How to do team mental game assessments efficiently using an online assessment tool.
  11. Over 160 mental game coaching “handouts” or one-page summaries and worksheets you can use to help you stay organized during sessions and as summaries for your student or team.
  12. 18 real-life case studies focusing on a different challenge in sports psychology and Dr. Cohn’s solution to each. You understand the real-life issues with athletes and how to address their mental game barriers.

Apply for sports psychology certification today!

Resources for Mental Game Coaches

Please browse our programs for mental game coaches and sports psychology professionals below. With the purchase of each program, you can upgrade to the Self-Paced Course or the Full MGCP Certification Course. Contact us at Peak Performance Sports, LLC for more details: 888-742-7225

AMAP Assessment System

The AMAP System licenses to you our exclusive mental game assessment. You learn how how to easily identify your athletes’ mental game challenges, what mental game issues to look, and how to do a summary of the AMAP. The AMAP has several purposes beyond its use as an assessment tool.

BUY NOW

OR READ MORE

Mental Game Assessments

Athlete's Mental Edge Workbooks

The Athlete’s Mental Edge workbook system 2.0 is designed for both mental coaches and sports team coaches. And no matter if you are a 20-year mental coach veteran or just starting your career as a mental coach, you’ll love the simplicity of the workbooks, and your athletes will appreciate your organization.

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OR READ MORE

Workbooks for Mental Coaches

Mental Coaches' Playbook

The Mental Coach's Playbook is a tool for mental coaches to help them improve efficiency and success as a mental game coach working with sports parents and their young athletes. Learn the top issues for young athletes and their parents. Learn how to be more successful when working with young athletes. Digital Download Only.

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Working with Sports Parents

Improving Credibility for Mental Coaches

This program helps new and experienced mental coaches gain credibility in your field of expertise. In “Improving Credibility,” sports psychology professionals learn how to get organized with your business documents, how to harness social proof from athletes and coaches, and learn the top tactics to improve your credibility as a mental coach.

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OR READ MORE

Mental Coach Credibility Program

Call 888-742-7225 for More Information

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