Leadership behaviour

Athletes like Christine Sinclair, Sydney Crosby or Willie O’Ree have exceptional skills; but what distinguishes them as leaders is their behaviour. Great work ethic, showing care for teammates, being accountable, acting in ways that reinforce positive team norms – these are examples of behaviours that help athletes emerge as leaders within a team.

Self-compassion and mental toughness

Research shows self-compassionate athletes rehabilitating from injury tend to be more mentally tough, perceive having more coping resources, and experience less self-criticism. In fact, self-compassion might allow injured athletes to access a healthier version of mental toughness, characterized by acceptance and wise actions, as opposed to a mental toughness characterized by making poor decisions to…

Self-Compassion in Sport 101

If you have been involved in the coaching or administrative side of competitive sport, chances are you have seen athletes experience emotionally difficult setbacks. These setbacks can range from devastating performance failures (e.g., “choking” during an important competition), to facing harsh, negative evaluations by others (e.g., spectators, teammates, competitors, parents) and/or themselves (the self-critic is…

Perception of effort

Perception of effort – the conscious sensation of how hard, heavy, and strenuous a physical task is – is the ultimate determinant of endurance performance. Goal-setting, motivation, and self-talk are mental skills athletes can use to engage their minds to support performance before and during arduous endurance tasks.

Solution-Focused Mindset

Is focusing on the negatives of the COVID-19 pandemic increasing your stress and decreasing your motivation? Adopting a solution-focused mindset means challenging yourself to find new and better ways to cope with the current realities. Research shows this shift in mindset can increase self-confidence and promote a positive mood.

“If it Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix it:” Managing Subgroups in Sport

This blog is the final installment in a series in collaboration with Queen’s University. As an assignment to build knowledge mobilization skills, Dr. Luc Martin, Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, tasked students in his third year team dynamics course to write a SIRC blog. The top five were submitted to and published by…

Leadership Learning Strategies

Being the most skilled athlete or possessing the most experience in a group does not make us good at leadership – we need to learn it. In the latest SIRCuit, Cari Din, leadership learning facilitator and teaching faculty member at the University of Calgary, shares her top four leadership learning strategies.

Mind over COVID? Mental health tips for coaches, athletes, and sport administrators

During epidemics, the number of people whose mental health is affected tends to be greater than the number of people affected by the infection. Past tragedies have shown that the mental health implications can last longer and have greater prevalence than the epidemic itself and that the psychosocial and economic impacts can be incalculable if…

Want to Win? Focus on Communication

This blog is the third installment in a series in collaboration with Queen’s University. As an assignment to build knowledge mobilization skills, Dr. Luc Martin, Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, tasked students in his third year team dynamics course to write a SIRC blog. The top five were submitted to SIRC, and will…

Creativity in Sport

New research is examining how creativity can influence decision-making in sport. Analysis of professional and semi-professional soccer players revealed higher-creative players made quicker tactical decisions on the field, and displayed an enhanced focus that prevented them from missing key information during the game.