Sport visualization skills, the ability to create mental images of a perfect athletic performance in your mind, are extremely powerful tools for helping individuals achieve their athletic best. Legendary sports figures use it because it helps them win, and these are their proven techniques for personal training.
The author aims to help athletes learn to sharpen their mental focus, relax ther bodies, visualize successful performance, think positively, and control their emotions during training or when facing important competitions. The book covers all these psychological skills and more.
It has long been known that almost all elite athletes use imagery and that most sport psychologists apply imagery in working with athletes. But most material on the subject has been, to this point, relegated to single chapters in books, to journal articles, or to conference proceedings. Now Imagery in Sport addresses the breadth of what researchers and practitioners in sport psychology know about the topic, and it treats each issue in depth, considering current theories and research on imagery and its application in sport. The reference also addresses future directions in research and practice for imagery in sport. In doing so, Imagery in Sport provides the most comprehensive look at the state of imagery and its uses in sport today. The authors take readers step by step through understanding, investigating, applying, and advancing imagery in sport. The text includes the following: -Sample scripts, preperformance suggestions, and sport-specific and site-specific tips -Presentation and critical analysis of 10 well-known theoretical frameworks for understanding imagery -A full chapter devoted to understanding and successfully using the available measures of imagery in sport, including how to administer imagery-ability measures Imagery in Sport takes complex theories and presents them clearly, using examples from everyday sport contexts. The book helps readers become familiar with the current knowledge about the topic and learn to view it with a critical eye. And it provides practicing sport psychologists with guidelines and strategies for using imagery to help athletes improve their performances.
A Mental Toughness Playbook for Athletes, Parents, and Coaches In sports, and in life, mental toughness matters-even more than raw talent and skill. But young athletes can't develop it, and master other vital aspects of the "inner game," on their own. Coaches and parents play a vital role as well. In The Mental Training Guide for Elite Athletes, David Angeron speaks to all three audiences. He draws on his expertise as a sport psychology coach and his background as a college athlete and baseball scout to help readers overcome the fear, doubt, and negativity that derail players and teams. In This Book You Will Learn: - The fundamentals of the "Mental Master Method" - How personality type plays into athletic excellence - How to develop traits like work ethic, grit, and desire - Why tools like visualization and imagery and deep breathing help "weaponize" pressure and supercharge your game - How positive energy can change the trajectory of a losing season In The Mental Training Guide for Elite Athletes, Angeron will teach you the routines and exercises that great athletes use to take their performance to the next level-whether "next level" for you means making the team for the first time, or moving up to varsity, or being offered your first professional contract. When you practice these regularly and incorporate them into your life, you will be able to set and exceed goals and eventually reach your true potential. Packed with self-assessments, exercises, and engaging examples, this book is a must-read for athletes who want to transform their game- and coaches and parents who guide and support them on the journey.
A leading sports psychologist and a veteran sports writer examine the new mental training techniques of Russian and Eastern European athletes and detail exercises that allow everyone to benefit from those techniques.
Praise for Mind Gym "Believing in yourself is paramount to success for any athlete. Gary's lessons and David's writing provide examples of the importance of the mental game." --Ben Crenshaw, two-time Masters champion and former Ryder Cup captain "Mind Gym hits a home run. If you want to build mental muscle for the major leagues, read this book." --Ken Griffey Jr., Major League Baseball MVP "I read Mind Gym on my way to the Sydney Olympics and really got a lot out of it. Gary has important lessons to teach, and you'll find the exercises fun and beneficial." --Jason Kidd, NBA All-Star and Olympic gold-medal winner In Mind Gym, noted sports psychology consultant Gary Mack explains how your mind influences your performance on the field or on the court as much as your physical skill does, if not more so. Through forty accessible lessons and inspirational anecdotes from prominent athletes--many of whom he has worked with--you will learn the same techniques and exercises Mack uses to help elite athletes build mental "muscle." Mind Gym will give you the "head edge" over the competition.
The Brave Athlete solves the 13 most common mental conundrums athletes face in their everyday training and in races. You don’t have one brainyou have three; your ancient Chimp brain that keeps you alive, your modern Professor brain that navigates the civilized world, and your Computer brain that accesses your memories and runs your habits (good and bad). They fight for control all the time and that’s when bad things happen; you get crazy nervous before a race, you choke under pressure, you quit when the going gets tough, you make dumb mistakes, you worry about how you look. What if you could stop the thoughts and feelings you don’t want? What if you could feel confident, suffer like a hero, and handle any stress? You can. The Brave Athlete from Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson will help you take control of your brain so you can train harder, race faster, and better enjoy your sport. Dr. Marshall is a sport psychology expert who trains the brains of elite professional athletes. Paterson is a three-time world champion triathlete and coach. Together, they offer this innovative, brain training guide that is the first to draw from both clinical science and real-world experience with athletes. That means you won’t find outdated “positive self-talk” or visualization gimmicks here. No, the set of cutting-edge mental skills revealed in The Brave Athlete actually work because they challenge the source of the thoughts and feelings you don’t want. The Brave Athlete is packed with practical, evidence-based solutions to the most common mental challenges athletes face. Which of these sound like you? Why do I have thoughts and feelings I don’t want? I wish I felt more like an athlete. I don’t think I can. I don’t achieve my goals. Other athletes seem tougher, happier, and more badass than me. I feel fat. I don’t cope well with injury. People are worried about how much I exercise. I don’t like leaving my comfort zone. When the going gets tough, the tough leave me behind. I need to harden the f*ck up. I keep screwing up. I don’t handle pressure well. With The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion, you can solve these problems to become mentally strong and make your brain your most powerful asset.
Athletes and coaches have long sought a sport psych training manual they can really use. The Mental Athlete is exactly that - a conditionality manual for the mind to assess inner strengths and weaknesses, gain confidence and reduce fear of failure, improve sport-related thought processes, initiate positive changes on the court and field, and respond more effectively to challenges in the competitive arena.
Much too often, the mental aspect of sport performance is overlooked. While all top athletes are in outstanding physical condition and technically exceptional, mental preparation is often what separates the best from the rest. This is just as true for young athletes as it is for pros and Olympians. And even though relatively few athletes will ever reach the top of their sport, the attitudes and life lessons learned from mental training—such as motivation, confidence, focus, perseverance, and resilience—will serve them well in all aspects of their lives. In Train Your Mind for Athletic Success: Mental Preparation to Achieve Your Sports Goals, Dr. Jim Taylor uses his own elite athletic experience and decades of working with some of the world’s best athletes to provide competitors of every ability with insights, practical exercises, and tools they can use to be mentally prepared when it really counts. His Prime Sport System explores the attitudes that lay the foundation for athletic success, the mental obstacles that can hold athletes back, the preparations they must take, the mental muscles they should strengthen, and the mental tools they need to fine tune their competitive performances. Most importantly, Dr. Taylor shows athletes practical strategies they can use to become mentally strong so they can perform their best when it matters most. Train Your Mind for Athletic Success goes well beyond the typical mental skills that are discussed in other mental training books. Readers will not only learn why mental preparation is so important to athletic success, but also where they personally are in each area thanks to brief mental assessments in each section of the book. In addition, each chapter includes exercises to show athletes how to incorporate mental training directly into their overall sport training regimen. The most comprehensive and in-depth book on mental preparation for athletes available, Train Your Mind for Athletic Success is an essential read for athletes, coaches, and parents.