Sports psychology certification articles for mental performance coaches and graduates of the MGCP program.
Is an Advanced Degree Needed to Be a Mental Coach? Article Summary: No. You do not need an advanced degree to become a mental performance coach through the MGCP pathway. The MGCP program was designed for coaches, therapists, sport professionals, and others who want practical training in mental performance coaching without completing a master’s or Ph.D. degree. If you already …
A mental performance coach helps athletes improve the mental skills that directly affect performance, such as confidence, focus, emotional control, goal setting, preparation, and handling pressure. A sports psychologist is a licensed psychologist who has specialized training in psychology and can address both performance concerns and clinical mental health issues, depending on their credentials and scope of practice. In simple …
If you are a sports psychologist in training, sports coach, life coach, therapist or psychologist, learn a complete system for teaching mental skills to athletes! Learn Peak Performance Sports proven mental coaching system for helping athletes succeed! In this mental coach mentor video, Dr. Cohn teaches you his philosophy for doing mental performance coaching with athletes via the MGCP sport …
Tips for Mental Performance Coaches Article Summary: Playing time issues challenge athletes at an identity level, not just an emotional one. Helping athletes who sit the bench requires addressing identity, confidence, and emotional control, not just motivation. When minutes disappear, many athletes feel replaceable and rejected. As a mental performance coach, your job is to help athletes separate self-worth from …
A Guide for Mental Performance Coaches Article Summary: Over controlling or snowplow sports parents raise pressure and reduce enjoyment for young athletes. You see the effects in fear of mistakes, tension, and sideline dependence. As a mental performance coach, you must manage parents with clear roles, communication rules, and boundaries. When you do, athletes play freer and develop stronger mental …
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 bootcamp… I asked him who influenced him the most in his career. Back when Ken started teaching, sports psychology didn’t exist, but he was influenced by authors, such as Eleanor Mathini, …
Tracking Mental Skills Improvement How do you track your athletes’ improvement and quantifying the effectiveness of mental training? One problem with mental coaching is measuring the effectiveness of your programs with your athletes… You have to rely on self-reports from athletes unless you can use some solid statistical evidence for improvement. A problem with self-reports is that they’re not always …
Help Athletes Commit to Mental Training One of the keys to success for any coach, particularly a mental coach, is the ability to help athletes stay committed to their training. Factors That Hurt Commitment for Athletes 4 Ways to Help your Athletes Stay Committed Learn A Mental Training System Your Athletes Will Stay Committed To: With the right system, your …
Gaining Credibility as a Mental Coach I know first-hand that it’s hard to promote yourself as a mental coach. Personally, I was not trained in business acumen when studying sports psychology in school. And who has the time to promote and advertise their business? Based on my survey with mental coaches, here are the top 5 challenges for mental coaches …
Helping Athletes Improve Consistency A current MGCP student asked the following question: “When an athlete says he lacks consistency in his game, do you investigate this by drilling down to find out more or assume it must be due to a focus/concentration issue?” When athletes perform inconsistently, it’s not always due to a lack of focus. However, coaches and parents …
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 …
How to Improve Credibility As a Mental Coach I just finished reviewing a video of Ken Ravizza speaking at the 2017 AASP conference on gaining entry with teams… Ken said that you must know the culture and history of the team. Is it a winning team? Do they have a losing history? Have there been a lot of coaching changes? …
How to Find the Teachable Moment How can you convince potential clients that it is worthwhile for them to spend time and money working with a mental coach to improve their game? This is a question an MGCP asked recently…. My answer: It’s hard to “convince” athletes and coaches they need mental game coaching unless they see a need for …