Who am I outside of sports?

Adolescence into young adulthood is a period of questioning, including “who do I want to be?” and “who am I?” During this time, between pre-teen and young adulthood, life is riddled with decisions regarding paths and roles. Young people may find themselves identifying as a ”kid,” a “student,” and/or as a “friend” during this time. Some pursue sports, music, [...]

Sport Retirement: What happens when the game’s over? 

Like it or not, all sport careers eventually end. Age, injury, family decisions, or other factors will determine how your competitive athletic career will end or be adapted. Like many athletes, especially elites, you may feel that the transition is abrupt. Your life and identity may revolve around sport. Your loss may cause emotional, financial, or personal challenges that [...]

Anxiety and Sport

Exercise can help modulate stress and anxiety but being an athlete does not necessarily prevent mental health concerns. Anxiety Disorders are some of the most common mental health concerns for elite athletes. Specifically, student-athletes have additional stressors such as staying on top of classwork and grades. Luckily in recent years, elite level athletes have been open about seeking treatment. [...]

Smoke and Mirrors: Tips for female athletes seeing body image more clearly

While the benefits of sport participation (academic success, physical fitness, learning critical life skills, etc.) often lend to overall mental and physical well-being, it’s important to recognize some of the struggles athletes experience when living, performing, and competing under heightened expectations from themselves or others. Body image is one concept that tends to have a more negative connotation in [...]

Simple & Effective Practices for Performance Enhancement

Below are some of the mental skills practices that we regularly train for resilience and performance. They can be used in isolation or integrated as you hone the skills! Paced Breathing There is much research that supports the impact our breath has on our ability to perform. Practicing paced breathing regularly (per the guidance of a biofeedback expert such [...]

The Gift of Imperfection

For simplicity purposes we could just say “nobody’s perfect” and leave it at that... but we all know there’s more to it than a catchy little phrase. When it comes to our children, we all want to see them accomplish great achievements. It’s also understandable for us to feel for them when they aren’t “perfect” ... when they aren’t [...]

Coping High Achievers (CHA!) During COVID-19

Group Starts online on Tuesday/Wednesday (Dates TBD), 2020 @ 7pm (A virtual group for athletes and other peak performers, feeling the brunt of missed opportunities, milestones, or achievements)   For driven kids and young adults, the current COVID-19 crisis has been hard, between abrupt endings, uncertainty about the future, strained relationships, and more. It is important to give voice [...]

Crossing the Sport Career Finish Line

Like it or not, all sport careers eventually end. Age, injury, family decisions, or other factors will determine how your competitive athletic career will end or be adapted. Like many athletes, especially elites, you may feel that the transition is abrupt. Your life and identity may revolve around sport. Your loss may cause emotional, financial, or personal challenges that [...]

Growing Up Well-Rounded: Developing a Multidimensional Identity

“Who am I?” “Who do I want to be?” These are questions commonly asked by adolescents as they work to form their self-identity. Between pre-teen and young adulthood, life is riddled with decisions regarding paths and roles. Young people may find themselves identifying as a “kid”, “a student”, and a “friend” during this time. Some pursue sports, music, or [...]

Letting Athletes Take Charge

Taking ownership over training, development, and performance can help athletes feel more in control, boosting their enjoyment and motivation. For athletes to feel more in control, it requires cooperation with parents, coaches, and trainers, sometimes sharing ideas (once) and sitting back while young athletes make what may feel like good or bad choices... resisting urges to intervene. Obstacles to [...]

Physical Injury, Mental Pain

Emotional pain from your injury will typically heal once rehab is complete. When emotional changes trickle into life outside of sport, lasting beyond rehab, you may be showing signs of greater mental health concerns. If you’re struggling with mental health issues post-injury, you are not alone. Frances Altick, a professional and NCAA tennis champion struggled with intense depression, anxiety, [...]

Mental Imagery and Injury: Using your mind to heal your body

You’ve probably heard of mental imagery for performance training. This well-researched technique enhances performance by “practicing” technical skills (in the mind’s eye) and simulating environments to boost familiarity in specific contexts (e.g., a soccer field in France, a sailing venue in Tokyo, or a basketball court in the next town over). Imagery also improves motivation, reduces competitive anxiety, and [...]

Emotions: The Mental “Ouch” from Injury

Athletic injuries can take a toll, not just on the body, but also on the psyche. For some athletes, their identity revolves around their sport; being injured can lead to feeling lost and big questions such as “Who am I?” Why are your emotional reactions to injury important? The body is attached to the brain and the heart. In [...]

Mapping a Path to Success: an Anecdote in Goal-Setting

Heading Towards Accomplishment? Let’s say you want to drive to Rehoboth Beach or somewhere else for a fun weekend get-away.  Without finding Rehoboth on a map or with GPS, most of us would not know the best route. The sheer desire to go to the beach will not take us there; but the map or GPS that helps us [...]

2018-10-26T16:56:42+00:00By |Life, Other, Performance, Swimming|

Train your Brain: What is “mental toughness”?

“Baseball is 90% mental and 10% physical.” Most athletes, and even casual sports fans, have heard this famous Yogi Berra quote at one point or another. As a former swimmer, somebody who competed in an individual sport for the entirety of their athletic career, I think the numbers are closer to 99.9% mental and 0.1% physical. My swimming [...]

2021-04-23T16:47:29+00:00By |Career, Life, Performance, Swimming|