PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT

THE SPORT PSYCHOLOGY EXPERIENCE

Mike Margolies

Sport Psychology Consulting the last 30 years

Soccer coach for 35 years

Educational Services- Our Program

SPC provides a service which melds mind and body into an optimal relationship. Working closely with athletes, coaches and parents, programs are specifically designed for the athletes’ age, competitive level and personal needs.

Who is the program for?

SPC’s educational program is for healthy athletes who are striving for excellence in their sport. There is no magic answer- just sound mental training to optimize athletic performance.

Why Mental Training? Top level athletes spend hours working on

their skills, on fitness or on speed training. At some point we have to ask, am I doing everything from a mental point of view possible to help insure my success?

Mental Training is this missing component. At every level, a major determining factor between success and failure involves how we mentally prepare for competition.

Learning how to be successful as well as how to cope with failure are the mental building blocks needed to reach for your potential.

Sport Psychology ConsultantsTheMental-Game.com

An Educational Experience……… dedicated to an athletes’ long-term understanding of how best to perform to their potential.

Skills such as relaxation, concentration, coping behavior and imagery rehearsal can be taught. This is why SPC takes an Educational Approach to working with athletes.

Mental Skills Training Mental skills are the same as physical

skills in that they can be taught, learned and practised.

Performance can be radically improved by employing psychological skills training.

Mental Skills Training Programs can focus on one or more

principles, depending on which areas need improvement, and these might include: - goal setting- arousal- mental rehearsal - confidence building- concentration

Mental Skills Training It is best if psychological skills become

automatic via overlearning That athletes make them an integral

part of their training That skills are practised to replicate real

game scenarios

Every action begins first with a thought.

Every result originates from an action.

Attitude

What is Attitude?

Where does it come from?Do you have the Fury?Do you have passion?

The Mind

Conscious

Sub-conscious

The Mind

1. Sub-conscious mind never sleeps

2. Your mind is like the soil

3. Your mind can only hold one thought at a time

4. Your mind will move your body in the direction of your dominant thought

5. Your mind cannot distinguish between what’s real and imaginary

Mental Toughness What is it? How do you develop it? It may not be what you think it is!

Mental Toughness -in a nut shell

Based on research rather than invention mental toughness may be defined from simple to complex

Starting with simple

PPR- Perseverance Persistence Resilience

Mental Toughness (More Complex)

1. Unshakable self-belief in your ability to achieve your competition goals.

2. Unshakable self-belief that you possess unique qualities and abilities that make you better than your opponents.

3. Insatiable desire and internalized motives to succeed.

4. Bouncing back from performance set-backs as a result of increased determination to succeed.

5. Thriving on the pressure of competition. 6. Accepting that competition anxiety is

inevitable and knowing that you can cope with it.

Mental Toughness 7. Not being adversely affected by others’ good

and bad performances. 8. Remaining fully-focused in the face of personal

life distractions. 9. Switching a sport focus on and off as required. 10. Remaining fully focused on the task at hand in

the face of competition-specific distractions. 11. Pushing back the boundaries of physical and

emotional pain, while still maintaining technique and effort under distress (in training and competition).

12. Regaining psychological control following unexpected, uncontrollable events (competition

specific).

Mental Toughness- more simply 1. Sense of urgency without panic. 2. Wanting the responsibility when the

game is on the line. 3. Ability to respond positively to

criticism. 4. Establish the will to work to win. 5. Self-motivated 6. Having a never quit attitude. 7. Having a killer instinct.

GOAL SETTING Has been shown to increase work

output by up to 40-50% Goals need to be set for both training

and competitions

GOAL SETTING There are three types of sporting goals: Outcome goals focus on end result, times,

finishing place or medals Performance goals focus on comparing

present performance levels with those attained previously, and are independent of other competitors

Process goals focus on actions such as physical movements and game strategies that athletes must execute during a game in order to maximise their performance

GOAL SETTINGShort-term goals: continually provide a more manageable

focus point for athletes act as the stepping stones for

achieving long-term goals bring about improved performances

GOAL SETTING The acronym SMARTER is an effective way

of goal setting:Specific – clear goalsMeasurable – assess progressAction based– Do somethingResearch Based- Realistic – achievable Time bound – within a time frameExciting – challenged, inspired, rewardedRecorded – written down- yes you can use a

computer

GOAL SETTING The importance of belief is really

important- So tie in as many senses as you can Ask yourself- When I reach my goal it will Taste Like? Look Like? Feel Like? Smell Like? Sound Like? When you attach a sense it is more

real!

IMAGERY Athletes can attain optimal arousal and

concentration levels by trying to imagine themselves performing skills before actually doing them

This is known as - mental rehearsal- mental imagery- visualisation- hypnosis

IMAGERY Effective imagery involves a lot more than

simply “seeing” how a performance should be executed

It calls on as many senses as possible during the rehearsal stage, typically:* kinaesthetic* auditory* visual* even smell & taste

IMAGERYImagery improves performance by:

Improving neural pathways between the brain and the muscles

Providing a mental template of rehearsed sequences

Enabling athletes to prepare for a range of events and eventualities

Working in conjunction with other psychological skills

Allowing athletes to pre-experience the achievement of goals that build confidence

SIMULATION Is carried out by making the physical

training environment as similar as possible to the game setting

Thoughts are actually taken through to the physical application stage

AROUSAL or Level of Activation

The relationship between arousal and performance is commonly referred to as the “inverted-U” hypothesis

It is possible to experience situations of: * under-arousal* optimal arousal (in the “zone”)* over-arousal

ArousalLevel of arousal changes

based on: Skill Situation Activity Gross motor or fine motor skill

AROUSALArousal reduction techniques include:

Controlled breathing Progressive muscular relaxation Biofeedback Stress-inoculation training (SIT) Listening to calming music Using routines

AROUSAL

AROUSALArousal promotion techniques include:

Rapid breathing Acting energetically Positive talk Energising imagery Pre-game workout

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Choking – a situation where performance deteriorates because a heightened sense of pressure or importance is placed on an upcoming event or actionOften caused by:

Negative self-talk Thinking about past performances Thinking about the future Environmental distractions Muscle tension Fatigue

CONCENTRATION (Attentional Focus)

Consists of three parts:1. Focusing on relevant environmental

cues2. Maintaining attention focus over time3. Having awareness of the situation

CONCENTRATION (Focus)There are four types of focus:1. Broad-internal focus – on thoughts and

feelings2. Broad-external focus – outwards on

opponent’s actions3. Narrow-internal focus – thoughts and

mentally rehearse upcoming movements

4. Narrow-external focus – on very few external cues

CONCENTRATION (Focus)Concentration can be improved by:

Use of cue words Selective attention training Routines Over-learning Confidence

CONFIDENCE Confidence levels and performance

attainment closely reflect the inverted-U shape demonstrated by the arousal theory

It is possible to lack confidence Be over-confident Be in “the zone”

CONFIDENCE Confidence levels remain high if

athletes feel that they are adequately trained to succeed in the activity being undertaken – both physically and psychologically

Knowing what to expect by having practised many physical and mental scenarios, and knowing how to respond to them, removes uncertainty and ensures optimal performance levels

Building Unwavering Self- Confidence

Use words wisely

Believe

Set internal achievement mechanisms

Focus on the Positive

Celebrate success

On Confidence- Fair Warning From Darwin-

Ignorance begets confidence more than it does knowledge

From the Oracle of Delphi Know Thyself

The critical factor: Constant Reliable Feedback

The major problem- Occasional Delayed Ambiguous Feedback

Overconfidence Most people overestimate their

performance Discrepancy between perception and

reality Over placement: people tend to place

themselves higher or with more skill than reality

Information Deficit- lack of real information

Performance ill defined- no measureable goals

Overconfidence- a positive note Adaptive function- The one positive

especially at early stages of development is that overconfidence leads to optimism to take on new challenges

5 Rules for Success

If you can’t name it, you can’t claim it. Set Goals

Success requires direct action.

Success is always preceded by discomfort or failure.

You, and only you, are responsible for what you get.

Have Passion for what you do.

THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS-SUCCESS IS BUT A THOUGHT AWAY WHEN TURNED INTO ACTIONS

~ The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we

could become. ~Ω

~ Most people have so much more potential than where they are right now ~

Ω~ Success or Failure is dependent

on one thing ~YOUΩ

~ Are you the player you want to become? ~

(425) 241-6539margolies@TheMental-Game.com