Sports Performance Psychology can be a powerful and effective way to improve an athlete’s performance and increase motivation and enjoyment. It can also provide significant improvements in cognition that carry over outside the field of play. Sports psychology has been proven to work, and while it is always uniquely tailored to the individual, there is a formal protocol that I usually follow:
Collecting a Sports Performance History
I start by taking a history in the sport of choice:
- How long have they been playing, and when do they seem to play best? What have been the performance highlights and the opposite?
- When did they have their best game or performance? Their worst? When did they experience “Athletic Flow“?
- What logistics led to that event regarding sleep, diet, practices, etc.?
- How confident did the athlete feel right before the performance and leading up to the performance? What anxieties were there?
- What were they thinking about during the performance? How would an observer have described their behavior?
- What did coaches say or do?
- Outside of sports, how was s/he feeling emotionally during that time?
Overall, I’m looking for the trajectory of the athlete’s career so far – when (and if possible, why) have there been jumps or drops in performance? It’s important to know where things are and how they got there.
Then, I look beyond sports and get a more general developmental history of the athlete in areas such as school, social life, and home. As mentioned, effective sports performance psychology therapy can positively impact other areas, and the converse is also true – happiness and contentment outside of athletics can help performance.
Sports Performance Psychology Plan
After collecting the history, we will work together to build the sports performance psychology plan. What might peak performance look like? How are things going now? What goals has the athlete set for performance, and what timelines are in place? As with history, I also look at other areas where performance is important. For high school and college athletes, how is school going? How is s/he feeling socially? What other activities are there, and how are they going? Finally, we begin to piece together the story of the student athlete’s journey so far in a way that emphasizes the positive and hopeful aspects of what the future could bring. We have explored the past and present, and the next step moves to the future.
I carefully combine objective and subjective data to craft the plan. We must come to some highly tangible and measurable data points to tell what is working. It is also important for the athlete to see clear improvement that enhances confidence. I also pay close attention to improvements in less measurable areas, such as confidence, enjoyment, and motivation. These factors carry over outside of sports.
If you think it would be helpful, I can also connect with coaches and teachers during this phase – they may have insights or ideas that would be helpful. It might also help us get a sense of the style and approach of the coach or teacher in a way that could guide the plan.
Sports Performance Psychology for Teams
I can also provide these services for teams, using many of the same techniques but also working on team chemistry, communication, and roles. In these cases, coaches play an integral role in the design and implementation of the work. These services can be delivered to teams who play a team sport and individuals who compete as part of a team but in individual events. Often, the homework given to team sports participants involves doing something together. Given that sports performance psychology for teams requires full buy-in, I am happy to meet with athletes or parents ahead of time to go over the likely course of treatment.
Sports Performance Psychology Treatment
After collecting information and building a treatment plan, it is time for the actual sports performance psychology therapy to begin. I teach many different techniques designed to help the athlete perform their best. These techniques include:
- Goal setting: Helping athletes set realistic and achievable performance goals.
- Visualization: Teaching athletes to rehearse their actions and performance mentally.
- Self-talk: Encouraging positive self-talk and managing negative thoughts.
- Concentration and focus: Enhancing an athlete’s ability to concentrate during competition.
- Stress management: Teaching strategies to cope with performance anxiety and pressure.
- Emotional control: Helping athletes manage their emotions, such as anger or frustration, during competition.
- Motivation: Maintaining and boosting an athlete’s motivation and commitment to training and competition.
The type and combination of techniques used will depend on what the athlete prefers and thinks will work and what I believe is the best fit, given my experience. This planning is always done in collaboration with you!
Sports Performance Psychology Homework
Often, during this phase, we might give a homework assignment related to an upcoming competition – what we want the athlete to remember about what they were thinking or feeling during certain phases of competition, for example. After a while, this homework shifts into how the athlete will use techniques learned in sessions during competition. As time passes, therapy changes and evolves as the athlete sees improvement or gets stuck.
We will often add new goals to replace those that were reached. Eventually, therapy may move to less often or as needed. Still, usually, top athletes maintain contact and connection with a psychologist throughout their career, especially after they see the power and effectiveness of sports performance psychology!
Out treatment together may involve reviewing film or a live broadcast, 24/7 phone support when needed for a boost before an athletic competition, and 24/7 phone support after a competition should there be aspects of the competition that would best be discussed as soon as possible.
Enhanced Services
Like all my My clinical specialties, sports performance psychology can include help outside the scheduled weekly sessions. If you feel it would help, we can plan to connect right before a competition to go over the techniques you’ve learned and how to institute them most effectively at the moment. We can also connect right afterward if it would be helpful to go over things before you forget some of the details of your thoughts and feelings during the competition.
Our extra work might include looking at film or connecting with coaches, and can also be combined with my college admissions services if you are in high school and hope to be a student-athlete. It can also be combined with general therapy services.
Sports Performance Psychology Expected Outcomes
The methods I use with athletes and coaches are well-established and proven scientifically through well-run research. There should be meaningful and measurable changes in performance and related changes in motivation and enjoyment. We will set specific goals and realistic timelines that enable us to assess the effectiveness of each intervention as we go. Sports performance psychology treatment can be valuable for athletes and teams seeking a competitive edge. You can read an example of Sports Psychotherapy on my blog.
Sports Performance Psychology is individually tailored to the athlete, the sport, and the current level of performance. We can also decide on the frequency with which we will meet, the likely duration of services, and whether any general therapy services will be mixed in. I would be happy to talk to you about your goals and what therapy might consist of. For more information about sports performance psychology and to sign up for a free consultation, visit my Sports Psychology Specialty page.
