Athletes Audio

Calm Down TESTER

Bob K — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:16:34 +0000

Here’s an AWESOME Athlete’s Audio exercise to get you calm and ready to play in 3 minutes. Perfect for the day of the game, right before you step on the field, at halftime, or in the changeover.

Winning is in your Head. We put it in your Headphones.

Personal Highlight Reel

Bob K — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:16:22 +0000

Here’s an AWESOME Athlete’s Audio exercise to get you remembering your best performances in 3 minutes. It’ll be easier to produce the ideal execution today after seeing yourself do it here. Perfect for the day of the game, right before you step on the field, at halftime, or in the changeover.

Winning is in your Head. We put it in your Headphones.

Mechanics TESTER

Bob K — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:13:58 +0000

Here’s an AWESOME Athlete’s Audio exercise to get you focused on your perfect mechanics and ready to play in 3 minutes. Perfect for the day of the game, right before you step on the field, at halftime, or in the changeover.

Winning is in your Head. We put it in your Headphones.

Athletes, what do you REALLY believe about yourself? [VIDEO]

Bob K — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:43:10 +0000

Adrienne Langelier | Belief Systems

Sport Psychologist Adrienne Langelier (@alangelier) out of The Woodlands TX joins us in our mental training expert interview series, hot on the heels of the @HoustonMarathon with some thoughts about self belief, and self talk for athletes.

Your own self-belief is the key to successful life-change, achievement, contentment, and happiness. Adrienne and I open up a conversation about how to stack the deck in your favor by changing your beliefs.

She’s an elite runner herself, sponsored by Brooks and Powerbar, and her mental training chops will speak for themselves. She’s also just started writing for WomenTalkSports.com where a bunch of our friends (@SportPsycher, @Ingridium, and @AnnGaff) are already changing the world for women’s sports.

The doom-loop of poor communication in a team. [VIDEO]

Bob K — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:24:55 +0000

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PhD Sport Psych Jared Wood joins us today to talk about the importance of communication with teammates, and the mental benefits of talking in practice, competition, even in the weight room.

Jared was a collegiate football player before earning his Phd, and has extensive experience with golfers, football players, and athletes of all stripes.

He’s @woodjared on twitter, and he’s writing a book called ‘It’s Only Cold on One Sideline”.

Set Goals, Not Resolutions

Bob K — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:36:21 +0000

This article originally posted on Active.com.

By Cindra Kamphoff (our Athlete’s Audio running psychology expert)

There are many benefits to setting goals. Goals direct your focus and attention. They help you remain persistent in the face of adversity. They increase your self-confidence and help you develop problem-solving strategies. They help you train smarter and harder. The bottom line is that when you set effective goals, they help you perform up to your potential.

Research conducted within sport psychology suggests that the world’s best athletes have clear, simple and targeted daily goals. They know what they want to accomplish each day and each workout. They know how their daily goals connect to their long-term goals, plans and dreams.

The start of the New Year is a good time to think about what you want to accomplish in the coming months. Perhaps you have already committed to a New Year’s resolution, which is a good start.

However, resolutions tend to be all or nothing. Black or white. We usually focus on what we don’t want to do rather than what we do want. And we don’t usually plan out how to sustain that resolution for a whole year. Perhaps that’s why only eight percent of people who make a New Year’s resolution actually keep it.

Instead of resolutions, set goals. Dedicate the time and effort toward setting and evaluating your goals and think of what you could accomplish.

Here are some tips to help you be all you can be:

1. Set specific, but challenging goals.

If your goals are detailed and measurable, they are more likely to improve your performance than vague or “do-your-best” goals. Also, to keep your motivation high, goals should be set that are just beyond your reach, but not far beyond your reach.

2. Set multiple goals.

An ideal number is three. More gives you too much to focus on, but only one can put too much pressure on you. A runner who only focuses on qualifying for the Boston Marathon, for example, may feel too much pressure before and during the competition.

3. Ink it, don’t just think it.

People are more successful if they write down their goals. A study of Harvard alumni suggests that the three percent of alumni who wrote down their goals at graduation made more money combined 30 years later than the 97 percent who did not.

4. Frame your goals positively instead of negatively.

Rather than saying what you don’t want to do, write what you do want. Changing “I will avoid eating sweets this year” to “I will eat one small piece of chocolate once a week” has a dramatic impact on your focus and motivation. It allows you to think about the chocolate you can enjoy, not chocolate you can’t have.

5. Plan out what you are going to do weekly or daily.

This is incredibly important and a step that most people miss. We tend to think about our goals, but don’t write a plan that includes short-term daily or weekly goals. Someone who is trying to lose a certain amount of weight this year should break that total into smaller monthly goals.

6. Include a plan to adjust your goals.

Many of us think that when you set a goal you can’t change it. But life sometimes gets in the way. You may get injured during training, and may have to readjust your goals.

7. Ask someone to sign your plan.

This person can help hold you accountable for your goals and support you in the process. Think carefully about who you choose. It should be someone who can be honest with you when the going gets tough.

Spend some time reflecting on what you want to accomplish today. Use this opportunity to reflect on what you accomplished last year and look toward the next. Then set goals instead of making resolutions. This increases your chance for success and keep you motivated and focused for the year to come.

Cindra Kamphoff, Ph.D., operates The Runner’s Edge, one of the only sport psychology practices focused on runners in the U.S. She teaches unique mental strategies to help runners transform their running and their lives. She does this through one-on-one sessions via Skype or the phone, workshops, and talks at marathons and other races. Follow her at yourrunnersedge.com and facebook.com/therunnersedge.

What if….I fail?? What if…I let my team down? Competitive Anxiety with Dr Haley Perlus. [VIDEO]

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:09:30 +0000

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Competitive Ski racer, and bi-national Sport Psychology consultant Dr Haley Perlus joins the Athlete’s Audio Academy to discuss the idea of competitive anxiety….those nervous feelings that creep in at crunch time, or when you feel pressure.

We’re focusing that conversation on skiing (since that’s Dr. Perlus’ background), but the ideas that we discuss will be relevant to any athlete.

Haley is a doctor of sport and exercise psychology. She is an expert at empowering individuals to achieve peak performance. A former elite athlete, Whistler Cup Alpine Ski Racing Champion, Coach, group fitness instructor, and fitness trainer, Haley has devoted her life to sport and exercise and understands the difficulty of overcoming performance blocks so that people can consistently perform to the best of their ability.

She’s also the creator of the Ultimate Achievement Journal, Daily inspiration or Peak Fitness Results.

Coaches, you just want your team to play better, right?? [VIDEO]

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:11:43 +0000

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I’ll admit it. I hated school. I could never understand how any of it was going to apply to my real life. But I wanted to learn new stuff. So my teachers had to figure out a way to serve up the new stuff in a way that I could see how it was going to be applicable.

I had to ‘eat my peas…without knowing I was eating my peas’

I’m sure that’s how a lot of athletic coaches feel about incorporating mental skills training into their work with individuals and teams. They’re interested in anything that will help their teams win, but are either not sure where to start, or don’t know how to incorporate the brain-work into their coaching.

Enter Larry Lauer, whose resume is as long as your arm:

Director of Coaching Education and Development – Institute for the Study of Youth Sports / Michigan State University
Mental Performance Consultant, USA Hockey National Team Development Program
An Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Certified Consultant and listed in the United States Olympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry, 2008-2012,
Larry was named one of the 100 Most Influential Sport Educators in America by the Institute for International Sport.
Author of an article that every parent should read on ‘Who’s coaching our Kids‘.

He’s kind of a big deal, and his passion is helping Coaches understand the mental skills. If you coach kids of any age, and ability level, Larry is someone you should know. You can connect with Sport Psychology Pro Larry Lauer here and here, and read his blogs on Tennis, and Hockey.

He’s here today on the Athlete’s Audio Academy to talk about some of the language that Sport Psychology professionals can use to help coaches understand the mental skills.

TX Coaches – Mental Skills Coaching Workshop [VIDEO]

admin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 03:32:02 +0000

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CALLING ALL COACHES!! High School. College. Youth. Amateur. Wouldn’t you love to learn the mental side of the game from the Pros? The Mental Coaches for multiple world champions? If it’s your passion to develop excellence in young people, you won’t have a better chance this year to learn how to incorporate mental skills into your work.

On December 4^th in Colleyville, TX, Coach Aaron Weintraub is bringing together the largest, and best collection of mental training talent in North America for a 1 day summit, The Mental Skills Coaching Workshop’.

He joins us on the Athlete’s Audio Academy to discuss the workshop, and the impact that coaches can have when they correctly apply mental skills with their teams.

Onto the event: How’s this for a ‘Murderers Row’ of knowledgeable speakers?

Brian Cain, Mental Training Expert and Coach

Trevor Moawad, Director of Mental Conditioning at IMG Academies

Bob Tewksbury, Mental Coach of the Boston Red Sox

Aaron Weintraub, College coach, Author, Mental Coach

The details are available at CoachTraub.com. The topics that will be covered include:

‘The language players don’t understand but coaches always use’

‘Self-Talk; the key to unleashing personal power’

‘Winning the mental game at practice’

‘Teaching the power of imagery’

‘Developing pre-performance routines for consistency’

And there will be a number of panel discussions where you, and other coaches will have a chance to ask these great mental conditioning experts about the issues affecting your team, and how to create a winning mind in your players.

If you’re not able to attend this great workshop, post-seminar materials will be available via DVD, contact Aaron for more information.

You can also RSVP via Facebook, or download the registration form.

See you there!

There is no such thing as MO (mentum)

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 05:11:33 +0000

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Super-enthusiastic Brian Levenson, MA, Sport Psychology holds the theory that there is no such thing as momentum for great athletes. (Only for sportscasters, and armchair QB’s)

Great athletes, by contrast are present in the moment, and focused on things that they can control.
Brian has some tips for athletes to avoid the idea of momentum, and do the things that the pros do when they’re playing on this weeks edition of the Athlete’s Audio Academy.

Brian Levenson is a mental training consultant based in the Washington D.C. area. Born and raised in the D.C. suburbs, Brian moved to San Francisco to get his M.A. in Sport Psychology. Brian has worked with athletes in a wide range of sports, including basketball, tennis, and golf.