Do you feel dread about performing? Do you feel stage fright before a presentation or anxiety before the big game or test? Athletes and students often experience performance anxiety. The anxiety not only influences their performance, but it can also … Continue reading
Worried about your mathematics test or football game against your biggest rival? What is the best way to prepare for the event? Here are three tips for performing your best on the big day. 1. Get a good night’s sleep. Make … Continue reading
Teaching Children and Adolescents to Manage Mistakes We want our children and teenagers to perform well, and so do they. However, the pressure of perfectionism can lead to the fear of making mistakes. When there is so much pressure to … Continue reading
When students and athletes consult with me, I always ask about their sleep because sleep is a big part of our lives and is instrumental to our performing well. We all know what it’s like when we haven’t slept well … Continue reading
Many athletes ask about focus and getting in “the zone.” Getting in the zone means being in the moment, and being in the moment means that you are not thinking about what’s happened in the past, and you are not … Continue reading
About six months ago, I adopted Zoe, a Portuguese Water Dog (see photo below). I knew that having a pet is a lot of responsibility, but there are many health benefits to pet ownership as well. Zoe has been my … Continue reading
It is the things that we cannot control in life that can be the most frustrating. You may feel frustrated with a teammate on the sport field, someone with whom you work, or a loved one. When there is not a … Continue reading
How do you make positive thinking work for you? Gabriele Oettingen, of New York University and the University of Hamburg has been researching positive thinking and motivation. In her book, Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation, she states that … Continue reading
Excessive stress, injury, being burnt out, along with other negative aspects of youth sport can be avoided. Here are some simple ways to avoid putting too much stress on athletes and creating problems. The thrill should be competition, not winning. … Continue reading
There are many benefits of a young child’s involvement in sport. Through sports, children learn physical skills, gain an appreciation of physical fitness, and grow emotionally and socially. Learning Physical Skills Young athletes learn both fundamental motor skills and sport-specific … Continue reading
Many parents come to me with questions about their children’s involvement in sports. When should children start sports? What sports should they do? When should sports get competitive? Expert Frank Eksten of the Franciscan Sports Medicine Institute in Indiana answers these … Continue reading
I recently read “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol Dweck. In the book, the researcher shows us how we can learn to our full potential by developing a “growth mindset.” People with a growth mindset take on challenges … Continue reading
The ski season is almost over, and many of us are celebrating the good times we had on the slopes. The end of the season is a great time to rejoice in the good times that you had, reflect, and … Continue reading
A pre-game speech can influence athletes’ performances and motivate them. A well-produced pre-game speech motivates athletes because it directs their thoughts appropriately, often from distraction to focus, from anxiousness to excitement. So what makes a pre-game speech a good one? … Continue reading
