|
|
|
Basics Of Golf Swing Instruction…Go With Exercises
Golf swing instruction starts with an understanding of the different segments of the golf swing. Understanding the golf swing segments will give anybody a firm foundation to learn all the tricks of the trade from others and thus be able to...
Fly Fishing For Fun
Fly fishing is very different than fishing with a lure or worm type baits. The fly fisherman uses a artificial fly consisting of bites of feathers, foam, hide, fur, yarn, and other materials to be tried on to a hook that make it appealing to the...
FootPower for Golf
Although the ankle is the most injured body part of an athlete, very little is ever done to strengthen the stabilizing muscles that prevent rolling in and out. Golfers are no exception in neglecting ankle strengthening. They seldom sprain their...
How to Unleash Your True Golf Potential (Part 1)
Time and time again we see today’s golfers out on the driving range trying to better their game. Whether it’s working their short game or driving the long ball, hours upon hours are spent on trying to master proper technique in order to take...
The One Piece Takeaway In Your Golf Swing (pt. 1)
One conscious move for your backswing? Wow! Do you mean that a main part of my backswing can be done with one simple movement? Read on to learn some needed understanding of how this can be achieved. For your short iron hits your backswing is not...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
How Sports Psychology Can Improve Performance
Mental Game Coaching is that the segment of sports psychology that concentrates specifically on helping athletes break through the mental barriers that are keeping them from performing up to their peak potential. By focusing on the mental skills needed to be successful in any sporting competition, mental game coaching seeks to achieve the overall goal of performance improvement.
Sports Psychology is about improving your attitude and mental game skills to help you perform your best by identifying limiting beliefs and embracing a healthier philosophy about your sport. Below is a list of the top ten ways that you can benefit from sports psychology:
1. Improve focus and deal with distractions. Many athletes have the ability to concentrate, but often their focus is displaced on the wrong areas such as when a batter thinks “I need to get a hit” while in the batter’s box, which is a result-oriented focus. Much of my instruction on focus deals with helping athlete to stay focused on the present moment and let go of results.
2. Grow confidence in athletes who have doubts. Doubt is the opposite of confidence. If you maintain many doubts prior to or during your performance, this indicates low self-confidence or at least you are sabotaging what confidence you had at the start of the competition. Confidence is what I call a core mental game skill because of its importance and relationship to other mental skills.
3. Develop coping skills to deal with setbacks and errors. Emotional control is a prerequisite to getting into the zone. Athletes with very high and strict expectations, have trouble dealing with minor errors that are a natural part of sports. It’s important to address these expectations and also help athletes stay composed under pressure and when they commit errors or become frustrated.
4. Find the right zone of intensity for your sport. I use intensity in a broad sense to identify the level of arousal or mental activation that is necessary for each person to perform his or her best. This will vary from person to person and from sport to sport. Feeling “up” and positively charged is critical, but not getting overly excited is also important. You have to tread a fine line between being excited to complete, but not getting over-excited.
5. Help teams develop communication skills and cohesion. A major part of sports psychology and mental training is helping teams improve cohesion and communication. The more a team works as a unit, the better the results for all involved.
6. To instill a healthy belief system and identify irrational thoughts. One of the areas I pride myself on is helping athlete identify ineffective beliefs and attitudes such as comfort zones and negative self-labels that hold them back from performing well. These core unhealthy beliefs must be identified and replaced with a new way of thinking. Unhealthy or irrational beliefs will keep you stuck no matter how much you practice or hard you try.
7. Improve or balance motivation for optimal performance.
It’s important to look at your level of motivation and just why you are motivated to play your sport. Some motivators are better in the long-term than others. Athletes who are extrinsically motivated often play for the wrong reasons, such as the athlete who only participates in sports because of a parent. I work with athlete to help them adopt a healthy level of motivation and be motivated for the right reasons.
8. Develop confidence post-injury. Some athletes find themselves fully prepared physically to get back into competition and practice, but mentally some scars remain. Injury can hurt confidence, generate doubt during competition, and cause a lack of focus. I help athletes mentally heal from injuries and deal with the fear of re-injury.
9. To develop game-specific strategies and game plans. All great coaches employ game plans, race strategies, and course management skills to help athletes mentally prepare for competition. This is an area beyond developing basic mental skills in which a mental coach helps athletes and teams. This is very important in sports such as golf, racing, and many team sports.
10. To identify and enter the “zone” more often. This incorporates everything I do in the mental side of sports. The overall aim is to help athletes enter the zone by developing foundational mental skills that can help athletes enter the zone more frequently. It’s impossible to play in the zone everyday, but you can set the conditions for it to happen more often.
I will add that sport psychology may not be appropriate for every athlete. Not every person who plays a sport wants to “improve performance.” Sport psychology is probably not for recreation athletes who participate for the social component of a sport or do not spend time working on technique or fitness to improve performance. Young athletes whose parents want them to see a sports psychologist are not good candidate either. It’s very important that the athlete desires to improve his or her mental game without having the motive to satisfy a parent. Similarly, an athlete who sees a mental game expert only to satisfy a coach is not going to fully benefit from mental training.
Sports Psychology does apply to a wide variety of serious athletes. Most of my students (junior, high school, college, and professional athletes) are highly committed to excellence and seeing how far they can go in sports. They love competition and testing themselves against the best in their sport. They understand the importance of a positive attitude and mental toughness. These athletes want every possible advantage they can get including the mental edge over the competition.
About the Author
Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is a master mental game coach who works with athletes of all levels including amateur and professionals. Visit Peaksports.com to gain access to over 500 exclusive mental game articles, audio programs, and interviews with athletes and coaches to enhance your athletic potential: www.peaksports.com/membership or call 888-742-7225.
|
|
|
|
|
| Welcome to Golf.com |
| Tournament golf coverage plus sections for courses and travel, instruction, site membership services and promotional offers. |
| www.golf.com |
|
| PGATOUR.com - |
| The exclusive home of PGA TOUR live scoring, and the most complete coverage of the best golfers in the world. Get news, tournament coverage, stats, ... |
| www.golfweb.com |
|
| GOLFONLINE |
| Golf, golf, and more golf. If you can't get enough of it, come to GOLFONLINE.com to find the latest golf news, stats, travel guides, golf equipment test ... |
| www.golfonline.com |
|
| PGA.com :: Home |
| Get golf information, golf tournament updates and golf news from the official site of the PGA of America. |
| www.pga.com |
|
| TheGolfChannel.com - Golf's Home Page |
| Golf news, features and commentary, tournament coverage, statistics and schedules, video clips, television listings, promotions and a shopping portal. |
| www.thegolfchannel.com |
|
| PGATOUR.com - |
| Tournament: World Golf Championships-Barbados World Cup ... Learn why the golf community is a better place today than it was yesterday. ... |
| www.pgatour.com |
|
| Golf Digest: The #1 Golf Publication! |
| Central hub including archived content and information for the magazines Golf Digest, Golf for Women, Golf World and Golf World Business. |
| www.golfdigest.com |
|
| Golf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| A golf school is often associated with a course or club. ... A golf hole is traditionally either a par three, four, or five. A few par six holes now exist, ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| United States Golf Association |
| The ruling body of golf in the US. |
| www.usga.org |
|
| ESPN.com - Golf Index |
| The latest golf scores, golf news, and leaderboards, all at ESPN.com. |
| sports.espn.go.com |
|
| BBC SPORT | Golf |
| Golf - Player and tournament news, articles and analysis, including video and audio news clips. |
| news.bbc.co.uk |
|
| About.com Golf - Free Golf Tips, Club Reviews, FAQs, History, News ... |
| A compendium of information and resources on golf, including an extensive directory of recommended links. |
| golf.about.com |
|
| Golf.com | Coursefinder |
| Data on more than 20000 golf courses. Search the database by course name, city, state, or country. |
| www.golfcourse.com |
|
| Golf - The Enquirer |
| Jim Flick is one of the leading figures in golf instruction over the last 30 ... With origins that may be as ancient as Rome, golf is a fascinating and ... |
| www.cincinnati.com |
|
| SI.com - Golf |
| Latest golf and PGA news, golf and PGA analysis, golf and PGA commentary, golf and PGA scores, golf and PGA tee times, golf instruction from SI.com. |
| sportsillustrated.cnn.com |
|
| World Golf - Golf courses from around the world |
| Golf courses from around the world plus course reviews, golf travel, articles and reference pages. |
| www.worldgolf.com |
|
| Detroit News Online | Golf |
| Golf great helps GM introduce new crossover in L.A.; vehicle is set to hit showrooms in June. ... Nedbank Golf Challenge - 11/29/06 - Read Story ... |
| detnews.com |
|
| Callaway Golf |
| Manufactures golf balls and the Big Bertha line of clubs. Site includes virtual tours of the company's factories. |
| www.callawaygolf.com |
|
| Ladies Professional Golf Association |
| Features results of LPGA, womens golf, player interviews, golf merchandise, youth golf programs, a database listing more than 1100 teaching professionals ... |
| www.lpga.com |
|
| Golf . Sign On San Diego . com > San Diego Golf Guide : Courses ... |
| Complete guide to San Diego Golf Courses. Search by name, location or price range. Find San Diego driving ranges, golfing retailers, golf vacation packages, ... |
| www.signonsandiego.com |
|
|