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

December 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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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.

 

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

December 2, 2011 By
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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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Asking for help in a tough sports environment

October 31, 2011 By
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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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Do you make worse decisions as the day goes on?

September 18, 2011 By
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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

September 18, 2011 By
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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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If you’re thinking negatively, you might as well punch yourself in the face.

August 15, 2011 By
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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Have you ever been in the zone?? What did it feel like (and how do you get back?!)

June 27, 2011 By
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Or what does it feel like when you’re on FIRE?  What would it be like to be able to get into that space more often?

Meet super-energetic, and engaging Justin Su’a, of Su’a Sport Psychology, a consultancy in Utah, focusing on improving and improving mental skills, and performance.  Justin consults with NFL Teams, Major League, and College Baseball players, youth athletes, even competitors on Dancing with the Stars!

Justin shares with us some of the mindsets that can help young athletes (and their parents) and performers overcome thinking that’s holding them back from their best performance, and we discuss the misconception that an athlete has to have something wrong with them to benefit from Sport Psychology.

…and that many of the things that will benefit you on the field are things that will help throughout life.

Justin is also a prolific social media voice for Sport Psychology.  You can get additional mental skills training tips and information on his facebook page, and he regularly posts quick tips on twitter.

Here’s Justin’s bio.

Justin Su’a, MS is a Sport Psychology Consultant specializing in peak performance and confidence enhancement. He is also a key-note speaker and CEO of Su’a Sport Psychology, LLC.  He uses mental skills training to teach NFL athletes, university teams, elite dancers and other individuals how to think and perform at a high level.  Justin is a former All-American baseball pitcher from BYU and is one of the Sport Psychology Consultants on staff for the Sports Agency Corporation based out of Miami, Florida. He is a member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and the official Sport Psychology Consultant for the American Samoa National Olympic teams and athletes. He received his Masters Degree from the University of Utah in the Psycho-Social Aspects of Sport with an interest in the nature of peak performance.

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NFL Hall of Famers give back to youth athletes.

August 27, 2010 By
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So…you’re a High School senior, and a pretty good football player.  You’re trying to figure out about where to go to college….how to make it at the next level…

Who would you MOST like to turn to for advice?  How about a member of the NFL Hall of Fame.

Imagine getting advice on dealing with the media from Howie Long.

….Or envision Jerry Rice jumping out of his seat to meet you.

…Or Michael Irvin looking you dead in the eye, and talking about leaving a legacy with what you do.

Intimidating ideas, right?  But if you can introduce yourself to these men, and hold a conversation, you can lead the huddle.

Allow me to introduce you to Dr Casey Cooper, Director of the Legacy Leadership Project, which pairs up NFL Hall of Famers with deserving young people from Southern California (and your city too, soon….we hope!).

The LLP offers life skills mentoring, and a fantastic development opportunity to HS athletes in Orange County, but plans to expand to other major US cities, and the four major sports.

Dr Cooper brought two HS athletes out to Canton, OH for the recent NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and is able to provide the boys an introduction, and forum for conversation with the best of the best that the NFL has ever produced.  Players like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Warren Moon, Steve Young, Jack Youngblood.

And the conversation never turned to football!

The program exists to show the young men these gladiators as people first, and get them thinking about their life after football.

Dr Cooper, and the Hall of Famers do all of this as a giveback opportunity, to leave a legacy of development for young people, and they’re willing to give you the entire blueprint to get a Legacy Leadership Project started in your city.

You can reach her here for more information.

Dr Cooper received her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern California. During her graduate work, Dr. Casey designed an approved Sports Psychology specialization in collaboration with the Kinesiology Department. To date, Dr. Casey is the only clinician to graduate from USC with this unique combination of coursework and training. Therefore, she is able to treat a wide range of athletic and family issues utilizing general and specialized techniques to maximize her client’s goals.

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