Services for Individuals

Confidence is the belief that tasks can be accomplished - that the correct execution of actions will lead to a desired result. Confidence is increased with an understanding of competence (capable of doing), autonomy (ability to do it alone and make decisions), and collectiveness (being part of something greater - whether that be a team or as a representative of your sport).

Almost every mental skill begins with awareness. If we are unaware of our goals, we do not have direction. If we are unaware of where to focus our attention we make mistakes. If we are unaware of self-talk that is negative, we self-defeat. If we are unaware of images of re-injuring ourselves after returning to play, we create our own downsfall. Awareness is the key to change and understanding of the power of mental skills.

Imagery is the process of creating or recreating experiences of successful performance in the mind, using all of the senses, for mind and body training. Since imagery is an internal process of the mind-body, there are only theories as to why imagery works. Basically, imagery “tricks” your body into believing it is actually doing what you imagine. In other words, imagery works because the body does not distinguish between images and real events.

Self-talk is not an inner dialogue of our or someone else’s voice, or at least not always. Self-talk can take the form of an image, a feeling, a statement, a single word, and many other things. Self-talk tells us about our beliefs and the power of our minds. Ultimately, we get what we tell ourselves we will – we constantly create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The combination of self-talk, imagery, focus and especially goal setting will have a heavy influence on our intensity in training and performance. Using arousal regulation we are able to motivate ourselves to sustain the process of short-term goal achievements that will result in attaining our desired outcome and long-term goals.

The sport culture reinforces aggressiveness. Assertiveness is aggressive performance at the right degree of intensity, respecting the competition in order to overcome it. Assertiveness teaches athletes to perform using their skills and drive but without making errors that could cost them in penalties.

How we talk about our performance, whether we show up to training early, what we say about our teammates and coaches, the eye contact we make when learning, and our posture when we are in uniform - all of this communicates what we, our team, our desires, and our selves represent in the order of our priorities and values. Effective communication can bring any group (a team, a staff, an organization) to the top of their game, efficiently and successfully.

Focus is the athlete’s ability to sustain attention on an immediate task and remain prepared to react spontaneously with controlled intensity. Focusing attention works by the athlete ignoring or suppressing what is not important while enhancing or highlighting what is. In this filtering process, the athlete is more capable of reacting to the most important parts of their environment.

The process of setting goals helps you choose WHERE you want to go in life and HOW you are going to get there. By setting goals and measuring their achievement, you are able to see what you have done and what you are capable of doing. Moreover, properly set goals are motivating and the process of achieving them will build your self-confidence quickly.

There is no better mental skill than relaxation for recovering from performance. Similarly, when confronted with significant pressure, we need the ability to calm ourselves and perform in the fashion that we train. In this way we avoid performing with tight muscles caused by stress and anxiety, which can change the form of the body in undesirable ways.

As much as relaxation after a competition, we usually want to be as awake and alert as necessary before a competition. Every athlete is different. Some athletes enjoy bouncing off the walls to prepare themselves to perform at their best, while other athletes perform better when they listen to music and prepare themselves to do what they know they do best.