Brain In The Game Sport Mind Coaching Podcast

Why do athletes choke under pressure? And why would a coach also choke under pressure?  In fact, the reason a coach chokes and the reason an athlete chokes are exactly the same, and a normal part of being human. And that's a disconnect between what we're looking to achieve, and how much we trust it. In this episode we explore: why some athletes go to compete and get performance amnesia a...

Building Athlete Confidence: The Role of Coaches Coaching is a challenging occupation, and coaches can struggle to understand their role and responsibilities. The reality is that coaches can make or break an athlete's confidence, whether they try to shift the responsibility or not. In this podcast episode 80 of Brain in the Game, we highlight the importance of understanding the role of a coach in:...

Athletes, learn how to put into practice a successful framework to maintain momentum, in order to continue making progress, even if you face setbacks? In podcast episode 79 we explore momentum, confidence and snowballs. We look at three of the most important strategies of an athlete's sustainability, from their motivation to their momentum, to building their effective and robust confidence framewo...

Mental Performance can sometimes be mistakenly used as a paracetamol, to be “only used in the case of emergency”. However, when built into your daily training it can catapult you into a world of high performance and optimal control in and out of the competitive arena.  In this episode, we look at: the importance of building effective Mental Performance training in to your preparation how this...

Australian Wallaby captain, Michael Hooper is the most capped Australian rugby union captain in Wallaby history. Michael has made 118 International appearances and has won the coveted John Eales Medal for a record fourth time. At the age of 22, Michael became one of the youngest test captains and has spent the last eight years forging his on- and off-field dominance. In this episode of Brain in th...

Selection vs Growth – What is the right option?   In episode #76 we unpack the conundrum all athletes experience, “Do I focus on selection, or do I focus on growth?”   We will look at the anxiety that can be caused when an athlete is split between growing their skillset or remaining focused just on selection whilst in performance season.   We will also walk through the three key asp...

Building a Successful Team Culture –⁠ How to get your team to fire on cue Much is made of the importance of a team culture when it comes to success – it is often touted as the secret sauce to a team’s results. In fact, Sir Alex Ferguson, former Manchester United Football Manager (soccer) would often cite his team dynamic as their secret. There have been a number of examples of when this has worked...

Cycle of Performance – W hen is the right time to improve, to perform, or to recover? By taking a deep look at the typical yearly cycle most athletes traditionally follow, we uncover the hidden mental and emotional minefield athletes unknowingly put themselves through every year: The pre-season The start of season The mid- to back-end of season End of season, and The (much-awaited) post-seaso...

Where you choose to focus your emotions will dictate the quality and consistency of your performance In this episode of Brain in the Game, we look closely at the importance of our emotions when learning and retaining new skills, and importantly, our how emotions can help or hinder the consistency of our performance. Listen in to learn how to implement two simple but effective techniques that...

Sustainable Performance –⁠ 4 Key Frames to Optimise Our Own Unique Characteristics How to set sustainable objectives and goals, and 4 Key Frames necessary to consistently perform successfully. PLUS A limited time special offer for our podcast listeners with our FREE video series: The Performance Framework - see here for details. In the previous episode ( Episode #71 ) of Brain in the Game we looke...

Good intentions are not good enough. "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." –⁠ James Clear, Atomic Habits Statistically, they say the third Monday of the new year is mentally one of our darkest days for modern society, as we realise those New Years' resolutions we made (with all good intentions) have already slipped. Our plans of glory fly out the...

Why are mental blocks such an issue for athletes? Almost every coach will understand the frustration and pain that comes from an athlete being mentally and emotionally paralysed by a mental block. That uncharacteristic derailing and shuddering halt of a normally calm, in control and capable athlete by what can only be described as an irrational FEAR –⁠ be it a block around a specific skill, a venu...

The Blame Game –⁠ Whose fault was it, really? Whose fault was it, really? When things are going well and athletes are winning, people love to take the credit. However, when things fall over, those same people are very quick to play the "Blame Game". "It wasn’t my fault... they didn’t give me the right information... I couldn’t do my job... they distracted me." etc etc etc… The reality is...

Do I fit the selectors' mould, or do I create my own style? Who are you playing for? It’s an age-old conundrum for elite and professional athletes. “Do I change who I am and how I play to fit the mould of the selectors current criteria, OR do I back my own unique skills and become the player I know I can be?” And the answer isn’t ‘immediately' that simple – surprisingly. In this episode of Brain i...

Building Sustainable Self-Belief – Self-belief is a system, not a feeling Believe it or not, athletes –⁠ more than others –⁠ tend to suffer with low self-esteem and low self-belief. This sounds bizarre when you think just how cocky they can appear on the outside. That is, until you understand the 24/7 public scrutiny they are constantly under today, expected to always be “available”. Beyond t...

Four steps to Beat Mental Fatigue Every athlete gets fatigued. Heck! We train hard, we push ourselves to the limits and beyond –⁠ so it’s no surprise we become physically fatigued. However, there is a BIG difference between physical fatigue and mental fatigue . One is sore muscles and dwindling energy. The other can have a catastrophic impact on our ability to function, process and perform. I...

The three steps to effective performance preparation  The second in our series of podcasts on the global tour, this week coming from Dublin. As the internal and external pressures of performing becomes imminent we can be influenced to begin to doubt our own ability to perform when it counts. This all too common phenomena can seriously inhibit our performance potential. In this episode I discu...

The Perils of Diving for the Line –⁠ Taking Your Eye off the Ball A message from Tokyo:  As the end of many athletes seasons approaches and we begin to think about putting our feet up for a few weeks well earned rest, we can “almost” be forgiven for taking our eye off the ball and thinking about getting to the end, making that last ditch attempt at finishing on a high. However that flippant m...

Control your Performance –⁠ Control what you can control, let go of what you cannot Our sense of “Control” or at the very least our sense of taking steps in “controlling” our environment, our preparation and our performance is a core “Need” as an athlete, we need to know what we are doing is the best that we can, be it a new skill or competing for our country at the highest level. We “need” to kno...

Five Steps To Handling Big Competition Pressure –⁠ How To Value Every Performance As we settle into the 2016 Rio Olympics and we are consumed by the spectacle that is the summer games, we turn our focus to the best of the best, those flawless performances, smashed world and olympic records and the apparent super-human performances of these athletes. Lets take a closer look at how to get to th...

Controlling your Performance Outcomes with a Three-Legged Stool –⁠ Effectively managing your thoughts, feelings and actions Download Your Own CBT Triangle: This one comes with a free download too! When things don’t go the way you planned with your performance, what triggers it for you? I mean, what REALLY triggers it for you, specifically? Is it a negative thought that grows from a passi...

Recognising your Performance Patterns –⁠ Understanding how your behavioural patterns influence your performance, your mindset, your choices and your outcomes From our earliest moments, humans are hardwired to recognise patterns – our parents faces, objects in the trees, even animals in the clouds. However, can you accurately recognise those key patterns that make the difference between a good...

Athletes and Emotions –⁠ The deep connection between our emotions and our performance What are you feeding your emotional monster? Keeping an athletes attitude on track is more about the words we choose to use rather than their desire to perform. The daily volatility of our emotions and our emotional perspectives can heavily influence the quality of our performance way beyond our physical or techn...

Why Some Competitive Athletes Start Slow –⁠ A good start can lead to a great finish In this episode we look at why some competitive athletes adopt the strategy of starting slowly, in hope of building into their performance, and why that actually works AGAINST you more often than work FOR you. Many athletes do not start their competition performances the way they would have imagined when training,...

Successful Professional Athletes Learn To Build A Life On The Road –⁠ How to travel the world and perform without wanting to kill your teammates       When you finally make it and leap into the world of international competition, becoming an athlete traveling nationally and globally for your sport and your country, it can become apparent very quickly that what you did to get th...