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

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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.

 

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TX Coaches – Mental Skills Coaching Workshop [VIDEO]

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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 4th 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!

Asking for help in a tough sports environment

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Robert Price of Elite Minds in DC visits with the Athlete’s Audio today to talk about the stigma that plagues athletes (and people in general) when it comes to asking for help.

Especially in the world of football, which may not be the most, shall I say, ‘sensitive’ environment…and one where the best skill players may not touch the ball but 4-7 times a game.

You’ve got to be ready, focused, calm, and confident to play your best, and Robert can help.

Robert’s consulting practice is Elite Minds

Elite Minds has worked with a wide variety of athletes in various settings. They have counseled collegiate and professional kickers, amateur tennis players, golfers of all levels, basketball players, gymnasts, hockey players, lacrosse, soccer, ice skating, field hockey, track, and many other recreational athletes. Their most recent work has been with the TEST Sports Clubs, TEST Football Academy, Athletes Edge, Chicago Bears, New York Giants, New Jersey Nets.

Robert Price has received Master’s degrees from both University of Maryland in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Psychology and Johns Hopkins University in Clinical Community Counseling. Mr. Price also holds a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University, where he majored in Psychology and Learning Behavior Disorders. He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh prior to transferring to Hampton University. He is a trained teacher by trade and has worked with people in numerous capacities. He is a member of North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSA), Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), and American Counseling Association (ACA). He is a licensed clinical professional counselor in the state of Maryland, Washington DC and is a National Certified Counselor granted by the National Board of Certified Counselors, Inc.

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Psychology of Running (It’s more than one foot in front of the other…)

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Sure, to run effectively in marathons, 5k’s, and fun runs requires great fitness, and efficient mechanics…but what of the mental demands of running?  There are many mental training skills that come into play in these running events, and who better to help us understand them than a Sport Psychology professional who’s also an accomplished runner herself.

Welcome Cindra Kamphoff to the Athlete’s Audio Academy, where we improve the mental game of athletes across sports, disciplines, skill levels, and across the world.

Cindra is a professor at Minnesota State, Mankato, and has extensive experience running marathons.  She’s also focused her entire Sport Psychology consulting practice specifically on runners, www.yourrunnersedge.com.

Cindra S. Kamphoff, Ph.D., is a Certified Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. She is also a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Sport Psychology Registry which approves practitioners to work with Olympic athletes and national teams. She specializes in the psychology of running and marathoning.  She received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and her B.S. from the University of Northern Iowa. Her dissertation received the 2006 NASPE Sport and Exercise Psychology Academy Dissertation Award, and she recently received the Dorothy Harris Memorial Award through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

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Not just golf…EVERY SPORT is not a game of perfect…Dr Patrick Cohn

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If you search Sport Psychology on google, on YouTube, or just about anywhere, the first FEW entries that will come up in your search are the brainchildren of Dr. Patrick Cohn, our guest today on the Athlete’s Audio Academy.

Dr Cohn has been among the world’s most visible and celebrated Sport Psychology professionals in the world for over 20 years, and we discuss the topic of perfectionism in sports.

He blogs regularly, and hosts a website that’s a fantastic resource for athletes, parents, and coaches at peaksports.com, and his YouTube Channel, Mindset for Sports is also a fantastic resource for all athletes, parents, and coaches.

Dr. Cohn is the president and founder of Peak Performance Sports in Orlando, Florida. Experts in the field of sports psychology consider him the leading authority on mental skills for entering the zone and pre-performance routines, largely based upon his extensive research. He is a mentor to many in the field of sports psychology and provides performance enhancement skills through mental game coaching for individual and team athletes.

He has consulted with high profile teams such as the Miami Dolphins, NASCAR winners, NHL Players, National Motocross Champions, and PGA Tour professional golfers.

Dr Cohn is a leading provider of electronic, online, and CD programs to help athletes coaches and parents, and he’s also frequently quoted in major publications, and you can read all of those here!

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Do you make worse decisions as the day goes on?

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A great deal of research has gone into the idea of decision fatigue, and Sport Psychologist Dr. Michelle Cleere (of ShareCare.com and DrMichelleCleere.com) is with us on the Athlete’s Audio Academy to talk about it.

The impetus for our conversation was an article in the New York Times measuring a number of different fields, and the impact that time of day, and number of previous decisions had on outcomes.  There’s another factor that contributes to the quality of your decision, too…but you have to watch to find out!

Dr Cleere has joined us before to talk about the difference between Sport Psychology, and Exercise Psychology, and she’s a practiced expert in both.

Dr. Michelle Cleere is a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in breaking emotional patterns that hold people from achieving their physical goals; whether the motivation is to get healthier or beat the competition.

With a PhD in Clinical Psychology and an MA in Sports Psychology, Dr. Michelle is one of the leading experts in exercise and sports psychology. She serves on the faculty of JFK University, works with Doctor Oz and has written for Triathlete Magazine and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She is also the author of: The Experience of Participating in a Triathlon: from the perspective of two women and Shifting Gears: How Women Triathletes Balance Life with Sport.

Dr Cleere’s Twitter & Facebook

 

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Different kinds of goals for different stages of sports performance

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Our second visit with Sport Psychology pro Angus Mugford of the IMG Academies (Here’s the first).  Angus works with a team of Mental Conditioning Coaches @IMGAcademies under the direction of Travis Moawad.

Angus has got some ideas here on goal setting, to contrast two previous interviews with Josh Lifrak, and Rob Bell. We discuss outcome goals (the big ‘WHY’), process goals, and performance goals for sports.  It turns out everyone’s right on their perspective!

He is the Head of the IMG Academies Mental Conditioning Division, managing a staff of 9 consultants and developing programs for junior and professional athletes and coaches. Through his understanding and application of skills, Angus trains athletes in group and individual settings, across a wide range of sports and consulting with NCAA Division 1 programs, athletes from the WTA and ATP tour, NFL and NBA.

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‘Train to Trust’ and the Tour de You | KC Wilder

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A Sport Psychology book for kids, (called Tour de You) using cycling as the theme hit the stands in the last year, and KC Wilder, PhD, knows both ends of that spectrum….the cycling, and the Sport Psychology.

She’s a PhD in Sport Psychology from Virginia, and a National champion cyclist.

Today, on the Athlete’s Audio Academy, it’s KC’s second visit, (first one’s here) and we discuss the idea of ‘Training to Trust’. That is, planning, preparing, and practicing in your training sessions so that you can just let it flow, and trust in your skills when the flag drops.

kcwilderco.com is her website, and she has articles, and additional information about her book there.

K.C. began her career with a 1989 Brown University bachelor’s degree in organizational behavior and management. She then focused on sport psychology, earning masters and doctoral degrees in that field from the University of Virginia. Her own athletic career is distinguished, with All-American cycling honors at UVA, a top twenty U.S. professional cycling ranking, two national Master’s championships, and a top ten finish in the Masters World Track championships among her numerous accomplishments.

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Wait…I have to (gulp) WORK OUT?? | Exercise Psych w/ Dr Michelle Cleere

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Many of the guests that we visit with on the Athlete’s Audio Academy are Sport Psychologists or Mental Conditioning Coaches, and primarily focus their work with athletes, helping them improve their performance.  Get better, faster, stronger, and more focused, and calm.

But what if you’re thinking about getting healthier, or maybe just heard from your doctor “You need to start exercising…or you may be at serious risk of disease or death”?

Oh, God…now I have to go to the (gulp) gym??  Worse….do I have to hire a trainer??

Intimidation factor = RED ALERT!

Getting your mind around working out is really the specialty of an Exercise Psychologist, and a great one is our guest today.  Meet Dr. Michelle Cleere.

Dr. Cleere is a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in breaking emotional patterns that hold people from achieving their physical goals; whether the motivation is to get healthier or beat the competition.

She is a contributor, blogger, and resource at ShareCare.com, and works with Dr. Oz. She’s also a Certified USA Triathlon Level I Coach, NASM-CPT, and regularly contributes articles to USA Triathlon, and AmateurEndurance.com

With a PhD in Clinical Psychology and an MA in Sports Psychology, Dr. Michelle is one of the leading experts in exercise and sports psychology. She has written for Triathlete Magazine and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She is also the author of: The Experience of Participating in a Triathlon: from the perspective of two women and Shifting Gears: How Women Triathletes Balance Life with Sport.

Dr Cleere works with new exercisers, emotional eating, weight management, athletes, coaches, and trainers, and can be found at DrMichelleCleere.com or on FaceBook, and Twitter.

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If you’re thinking negatively, you might as well punch yourself in the face.

Dr. Taryn Morgan | IMG Academies

Dr Taryn Morgan, PhD, of IMG Academies (and the business manager of two previous guests!) joins the Athlete’s Audio Academy today to talk some Mental Skills Conditioning.

Dr. Morgan outlines the basics of mental skills in a concise, easy to understand, and friendly manner. (Oh, and she’s DR. Morgan…so you know that she knows her stuff).  She was also a collegiate Tennis, and Volleyball athlete, of some repute, too.  She’s been there.  Done that.  Bought the T-Shirt.  Used it to wash her car.

Taryn has consulted with numerous junior, collegiate, and professional/Olympic athletes and teams. She has been the mental conditioning consultant for Texas A&M Women’s Soccer, University of Tennessee Women’s Soccer, Rowing and Swimming/Diving, Maryville College Volleyball, the Southeast Florida Figure Skating Club (including Amanda Evora, Olympic Pairs skater) in addition to all of the IMG sports.

 

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