Counterpoint: Winning Does Not Make an Athlete Better

Measuring progress by wins and losses is a mistake. If an athlete is undefeated against easy competition that doesn’t make that athlete better than an athlete who has a losing record against the best competition in the nation. In fact, it’s far more likely the athlete with the losing record is superior to the undefeated […]

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The #1 Reason Why Positive Self-Talk is Critical for Elite Athletes

All athletes talk to themselves. Sports psychologist call this “self-talk”. Some athletes use self-talk in a way that helps them, which is positive self-talk. Others use it in a way that hurts them, which is negative self-talk. In the bigger scheme of things, it may appear that this idea of talking to oneself is quite […]

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New Research Suggests How Athletes Can Increase Pain Tolerance

As a mental skills coach, I always teach clients that managing the pain of fatigue in sports is 100% mental. Yes, of course there is a physical component to pain. However, there is no question that an athlete’s ability to endure the stress of pain changes as their mindset changes. To that end, athletes must […]

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