When does a routine become a habit?
As an athlete, taking some time off from your sport is an essential part of the training process. After a long season your body needs time to recover. Getting away from your sport for a while also helps rejuvenate that passion and fire to compete and train again. When you return to training, the first…
Is momentum important to the outcome of a match?
Fans, coaches, players and play-by-play announcers love to use the word momentum to describe the turning point of a game or a match. Gaining momentum is thought of as a positive outcome while losing momentum is the opposite. This is more evident during a 7 game series where one team can erase a 3-0 series…
Optimal performance in a trusting frame of mind
Athletes practice and train to be able to duplicate what they have learned from these sessions come match time. Being instinctive during a game allows for consistency and proper execution. To be able to compete at your best, an athlete’s trust in the skills learned and developed during practice can lead to better performances and…
The effectiveness of a pre-competition routine
Athletes train to be able to perform with confidence during competition. They prepare both physically and mentally for all sceneries but there are situations that athletes cannot control on competition day such as weather, the venue or their opponents. Sometimes the unexpected can happen creating unwanted stresses. One way to help ensure athletes feel they…
Flow State: In the zone for optimal sports performance!
For basketball fans and sports enthusiasts this is a great time of year. March Madness is upon us. In tournaments such as this, when the outcome of a single game determines who plays on and who goes home, a single player hitting their peak can make all the difference. When an athlete can seem to…
Improving your game
Is your short game in golf hindering your ability to close out games? Are your competitors dropping you on hills during races? In any competition, an athlete wants to go in well prepared in order to be able to accomplish his or her goals. However, some of us neglect to identify and correct our weaknesses…
Can motivation be developed?
by Trent Weir Algonquin College Sport Business Management Intern Kieran Behan made his first Olympic appearance at the 2012 London Games as the first gymnast from Ireland to qualify based on his results. While it’s an impressive feat, it is only part of the story. As a young boy, Kieran suffered two major injuries, as…
Performance Anxiety
It is the dying seconds of a basketball game. Your team is down. Making the next basket would lift your team to victory. What do you do? Some players live for the high-pressure moments and want the ball in their hands, since the game is on the line. Others struggle under the pressure and may…
Mental Skills for Coaches
Coaches are the driving force in developing young athletes from amateurs into great professional athletes. They help instill the fundamentals of a sport, implement training programs and cultivate the understanding and knowledge of a sport in athletes. Coaches need to have a lot of skills in order to nurture young athletes who may have the…