5 Reasons Ski Racers Don’t Do Mental Training
Over the many years that I’ve been working in the field of sport psychology, I have championed the benefits of mental training for our sport to thousands of ski racers. This work has ranged from talks to junior programs to ongoing consulting with individual athletes and teams. As many of you know from my dozens […]
Read More3 Goals for Playing Your Best on Game Day
Defining success in sports is a difficult task. When I ask most athletes and coaches how they define success, it is usually in terms of results, whether wins, rankings, or times. Though, admittedly, results are the ultimate determinant of success, I have found that a preoccupation with them can both interfere with achieving those results […]
Read MoreTaylor Interviewed for Article on the Power of Mental Imagery
I was recently interviewed for an article that explores the benefits of mental imagery for sports performance and injury rehabilitation. Some interesting research shows how imagery isn’t just a mental experience, but can actually help muscles stay active following an injury.
Read More3 Goals for Skiing Your Best on Race Day
Defining success in ski racing is a difficult task. When I ask most racers and coaches how they define success, it is usually in terms of results, whether place, points, rankings, or qualifying quotas. Though, admittedly, results are the ultimate determinant of success, I have found that a preoccupation with them can both interfere with achieving those results and can produce feelings of disappointment and frustration (or worse).
One problem is that focusing on results can actually prevent you from getting the results you want for two reasons. First, if you’re focusing on results before a race, you’re not focusing on what you need to do to get those results. Second, focusing on results, specifically, the possibility of bad results, is what causes you to get nervous before races which will only hurt your skiing.
Another problem with ski racing is that your efforts don’t always lead directly to the results you want because you can’t control everything in a race. In other words, “S&%# Happens” in ski racing that can derail your best efforts.
To help demonstrate this point, let’s compare success and failure in our sport to success and failure in school. Let’s say you have an exam coming up. If you study hard and are well prepared, assuming the test is fair, the chances of your doing well are very high, say, over 95%. Why? Because there are few external variables that can prevent you from doing well.
Read More3 Essential Mindsets for Athletic Success
In this article, I’m going to talk about “mindset,” which I consider to be an essential contributor to athletic success and a mental area that has only come to light in my work with elite athletes during the past three years. This topic is also where professional and Olympic athletes offer wonderful examples in which […]
Read MoreFrom Good Skiing to Fast Skiing
I saw a very different Mikaela Shiffrin win (in a tie with Anna Fenninger) the first World Cup race of the 2014-15 season and claim her first World Cup GS victory. What I saw in Mikaela’s skiing was not good. “What?,” you say, “She just won a World Cup race and you’re saying that it […]
Read MoreSki Racers, Get Up to Speed for This Season: A Review
Hopefully, you’ve spent the summer getting ready for this winter of racing. If so, you should be stronger, better technically, and more mentally prepared than ever before. You’re now entering the final stage of preparations for the upcoming race season with a final period of conditioning followed by getting back on snow and tuning up […]
Read MoreTaylor’s Latest Book Just Published
I’m pleased to announce the publication of my 14th book, Practice Development in Sport and Performance Psychology. Along with a team of experienced authors, I provide a foundation of knowledge and skills necessary to establish and maintain a consulting business in sport and performance psychology. Says Kate Hays, Ph.D., Past president, APA Division of Sport & Exercise Psychology, “This […]
Read MoreWhy Isn’t Mental Training Treated the Same as Physical and Technical Training?
Not long ago, I completed what has turned out to be a three-week international tour of sport psychology. During my trips, I have worked with athletes and coaches from the U.S., Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia in Argentina, California, Oregon, and Switzerland. One question that has emerged during my travels involves the role of mental preparation in athletic development. But before I get to that question, let me provide some back story.
Whenever I speak to athletes and coaches, I ask them how important the mind is to sport success. With few exceptions, the response is that the mind is as or more important than the physical and technical side of sports. I am obviously biased given my work in sport psychology, so I won’t take a position on which I believe is more important. But I will say that the mind is an essential piece of the sport performance puzzle.
Consider the top-10 athletes, male or female, in any sport. Are they all gifted? Yes. Are they all in exceptional physical condition? Yes. Are they all technically sound? Yes. Do they all have the best equipment? Yes. So, on game day, what separates the best from those who are close, but can’t quite get to the top? All of these other factors being equal, it must be what goes on in their minds.
Read MoreThe Power of Self-talk (“You” is Better Than “I”)
An interesting article discussing research that demonstrates the benefits of self-talk and the difference between using second person (“You can do it”) and first person (“I can do it”). Hint: second person is better.
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