Elizabeth Lombardo photography by Lisa Sciascia
Feeling pressure to get into their top college, an athlete’s uncontrolled stress negatively impacts them, on and off the field.
A hockey player excels during practice but plays significantly worse during heated competitions.
A basketball player misses an easy layup. For the rest of the game, their shoots are impulsive misses.
A golfer gets “the yips” and shoots 15 plus higher than usual, tournament after tournament. The less-than-stellar performance continues despite meeting with the golf coach to get pointers.
A gymnast worries how their coach will react to a shaky landing. Their performance is well below their potential for the rest of the meet.
An athlete gets injured and falls into a funk because their identity, purpose and community feel like they have been taken away.
All of these are real-life examples of athletes with whom I have worked. That is, this is how they came into EleVive. They left with the skills to cultivate greater resilience, experience healthy confidence, better control their stress, and consistently operate from a place of peak performance.
It goes without saying that serious athletes will spend hours upon hours physically practicing skills, running drills, and playing games. What they often neglect is addressing their mindset. And yet, mindset, what you say to yourself, impacts not only how you feel but also how you perform. In fact, mindset is the pivotal factor in how an athlete functions.
Optimizing your mindset is the secret ingredient to competing at one’s highest potential. Ironically, most athletes are never taught the strategies and skills to do just that.
We would never expect a tennis player to just “know” how to have a great serve. They receive coaching on the mechanics of a strong serve and practice it repeatedly.
So why do we often neglect training our athletes on the crucial skills of cultivating their mental game? If you genuinely want your athlete to excel and continue to enjoy the game, then it is vital that they learn how to optimize their mindset. And that is exactly what our coaches at EleVive help athletes achieve.
Our motto at EleVive is “Elevate your mindset; thrive in life.” At EleVive we use a proprietary approach to sports psychology called Neuro-Regenerative TrainingTM, which I developed from my training in psychical therapy, clinical psychology, neuroscience and peak performance, as well as my work with clients for over two decades. Our coaches teach athletes the specific skills to take control of their minds so they work for, rather than against, them.
How can sports psychology help your athlete excel? Here are the top six ways:
- Control stress: High levels of stress, which I call the psychological Red Zone, interfere with peak performance. Learning real-life skills to control stress helps athletes flourish, even during the most stressful of competitions.
- Optimize their self-talk: What you say to yourself impacts how you feel and function. Thoughts like “I messed up; I am a failure” lead to poorer performance. The remedy is not to repeat superficial but rather to use scientific principles of neuroplasticity to rewire the athlete’s brain, so self-talk is constructive, not destructive.
- Enhance resilience: Perseverance, despite what is happening during and outside competition, is key to peak performance. Resilience is a skill that, with the proper training and practice, your athlete can achieve for use in their sport and in every other facet of their lives.
- Develop healthy self-confidence: Believing in oneself, independent of the last play(s) helps athletes excel. At EleVive, athletes learn how to cultivate healthy self-confidence.
- Getting and staying in “The Zone”: Peak performance happens when athletes operate from The Zone, or a state of flow. Learning the skills to get into and stay in The Zone will help your athlete thrive.
- Recover from injuries: Sports psychology techniques can help an injured athlete better heal, more effectively cope and speed up their return to their sport.
You and your athletes are investing significant time and energy into their sport. Why not give them the edge over their competition?
Contact EleVive today by visiting elevive.com.
