Sports psychology certification articles for mental performance coaches and graduates of the MGCP certification program.
What is the Cause of Fear of Failure? Summary: Fear of failure causes many athletes to underperform in competition despite strong practice performances. Fear creates anxiety, tension, and overthinking, leading to mistakes and playing too cautiously. Common fears include embarrassment, disappointing parents or coaches, or losing respect from teammates. To help athletes, coaches should guide them to identify the root …
Mental Health in Youth Sports: Helping Kids Embrace Sports Psychology Mental health for young athletes is more critical than ever. Young athletes face intense pressure to perform, fear of failure, and stress from competition. These challenges can erode confidence, increase anxiety, and even push kids to quit sports. As a mental coach or sports coach, you have a unique opportunity …
Athletes Who Train When They Compete Often in our work, athletes get stuck in a training or practice mindset, which means they don’t stop “working” during competition. They train when competing… Why is this a problem when athletes train during competition? The purpose of training is to develop confidence in skills and repetition provides confidence. Competition is a time to …
Learn a Proven System for Mental Game Coaching Do you want a career in mental skills coaching with athletes? In this Careers in Sports Psychology video, Dr. Cohn explains his path to a career in sports mental coaching with athletes. He explains his background as an athlete, coach, and later mental coach. He studied with Dr. Ken Ravizza and Dr. …
Mental Coach Survey Says Why do some athletes and coaches not embrace mental training? What can you do as a mental coach to help them adopt mental coaching as part of their regular training? First, here’s what my mental coach survey says about why athletes don’t embrace mental training: 1. They don’t understand how mental training can help (54%) 2. …
How Observation Helps Mental Coaches I had the pleasure to interview my friend and mentor, Dr. Ken Ravizza a few years ago as we were preparing for the Peaksports bookcamp… I asked him who influenced him the most in his career. Back when Ken started teaching, sports psychology didn’t exit, but he was influenced by authors, such as Eleanor Mathini, …