The Sports Psychology Podcast

In this sports psychology podcast , Dr. Cohn helps an athlete by explaining how to build composure and confidence and take his shots when the opportunity arrives. Here is the question, Dr. Cohn answers in this episode: MURRAY: I feel my decision-making in matches isn't where it should be I know I can shoot the ball from anywhere in the 45 on either foot but I lack composure also how can I improve...

In this sports psychology podcast , Dr. Cohn helps an athlete on knowing what to do in post games to improve confidence. Here is the question, Dr. Cohn answers in this episode: JACK: Do you have any tips or a program for "Post game (win or lost) assessment? How to evaluate your performance. I'm trying to identify what good parts and the bad parts of my game that needs to improve. Dr. Patrick Cohn...

In this sports psychology podcast , Dr. Cohn helps parents understand proper guidance for a young and intense athlete in the right manner. Here is the question, Dr. Cohn answers in this episode: Missy: I have a 13-year-old daughter, Soccer is her passion. She is super motivated, dedicated, and passionate. How to make sure I am guiding this intense young athlete in the right manner... she's so driv...

In this sports psychology podcast, Dr. Patrick Cohn interviews a former swimmer and now a mental advocate Kimberly Karducci. They discuss mental health issues and how to best manage the toughest moments of elite competitions. They also talked about her reasons for becoming a mental health advocate and her inspirations in writing her book entitled 'The I of the Tiger". Dr. Patrick Cohn is a master...

In this sports psychology podcast , Dr. Cohn helps parents understand when their athletes should quit sports. Here is the question, Dr. Cohn answers in this episode: JESSICA: My son was so excited for football and ready to play. But he already wants to quit…badly, The coaches are pretty hard on them. I don't know what to do. I don't want him to quit in the face of challenges, but he's not happy. I...

In this sports psychology video, Dr. Cohn helps athletes improve their mental game for sports. Learn how to get your mindset right when you compete so you can perform your best. In this podcast, you learn about how athletes place expectations on themselves and also feel them from parents and others. Dr. Cohn answers a question from an athlete who is struggling with expectations from others.  Dr. P...

In this sports psychology podcast, Dr. Patrick Cohn interviews former Team Canada Junior National Snowboarder. They discuss social approval for athletes in today's world of social media. How expectations from others and social media can impact athletes' mindset and performance. Natalie Allport is a former Team Canada snowboarder, CrossFit athlete, content creator, and mental health advocate for at...

In this week's podcast, Dr. Cohn interviews long-time friend, Dr. Bob Winters, an internationally renowned mental coach, Author and professional speaker.  Known as "Dr. Bob",  he helps world-class athletes, collegiate players and teams, juniors, and individuals attain confidence and achieve new levels of athletic and business excellence. Dr. Patrick Cohn is a master mental game coach who works wit...

In this week's podcast, Dr. Cohn interviews Dr. John Yeager about how coaches can improve team dynamics by understanding how to improve atheltes' Confidence, Hope, Optimism, and Team resilience. Dr. Yeager abd Dr. Cohn discuss about how athletes can build resilience in sports. The Coaching Zone Book emphasizes the importance of "coach self- management" – self-awareness and self-regulation through...

Are you or your athletes struggling to get to the next level of play? Many times, an athletes' mental game is preventing them from outpacing other players with equal physical abilities.  In this week's podcast, Dr. Cohn speaks with Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, a former professional tennis player who now is the director of a health and wellness nonprofit that helps people overcome difficult injuries. ...

Do you or your athletes tend to worry too much about what others think of your performance? As mental game experts, we know that athletes often get preoccupied with what we have termed "outcome thinking," and tend to play too safely or cautiously as a result. While it is good to want to be a successful player, when athletes get too wrapped up in being perfect or never making mistakes, their confid...

Are you an athlete who struggles to maintain a healthy balance between your daily life and your role as an athlete? Many athletes feel a lot of pressure to reach high achievements in their sport and, as a result, lack a healthy balance between their sport and other hobbies that they enjoy.  When there is too much pressure on sports, many athletes begin to struggle with outcome thinking and can bec...

Are you an athlete who struggles with fear of failure in competition? Many athletes spend too much time dwelling on their mistakes, feeling that past mistakes define their future play. When too much pressure is placed on winning, rather than on improvement, sports can start feeling like work rather than fun, especially for sports kids. Dr. Cohn speaks with basketball Coaches Jim Huber and Charlie...

Do you struggle with negative body language when you compete?  Often times there are certain triggers that lead to your negative body language. Athletes need to be aware of what they are doing to exhibit this negative body language. You don't want to show your opponents that you have a negative mindset. Become aware of what you are doing and create a new positive focal point to remind yourself to...

Do you look like a star in practice, but choke up in competition? Does your performance feel tight, controlled, or lack of freedom when you compete? Many hard-working athletes who get lots of confidence from practice get in their own way (mentally) when they compete… Why do athletes tense up and lose trust in their skills when they compete? Many athletes I work with continue "training" when they c...

Christie Pearce Rampone is a two-time Women's World Cup champion and eight-year captain of the US Women's National Soccer Team. She's co-authored a new book with neuropsychologist and fellow sports mom Dr. Kristine Keane… BE ALL IN: Raising Kids for Success in Sports and Life which offers practical, real world advice on how to handle the pressures felt by youth athletes, parents, and coaches today...

Do you ever get butterflies in your stomach before you compete called pregame jitters? Do you get really nervous before the start of a big match or game and can't relax after the game starts? Most athletes have felt the negative effects of pressure during their athletic career. Even the best athletes feel pressure before a big game, but they know how to channel the pressure into positive intensity...

Do you or your athletes only focus on  mistakes  after competition? Do you criticize your  performance  instead of learn from it? Or do you disqualify the positive? Perfectionist athletes can be extremely hard on themselves after they compete, which hurts their confidence. These athletes focus on the  mistakes , mishaps, bad plays, and what they SHOULD have done better. To grow confidence, athlete...

One of the qualities of perfectionist athletes is the fact that they judge their performance extremely harshly. They are very self-critical. Very high level perfectionists want their performance to look good and feel good in order to get the desired results. When they don't get these results they feel they aren't performing up to their expectations. To perform better in competition, perfectionists...

One of the biggest challenges for perfectionists is the lack of trust in their skills… Lack of trust in skills is the reason  perfectionists  tend to under perform in competition–compared to practice. Perfectionism leads to: –Over thinking –Stuck in a practice mindset –Worry about what others think –Outcome and aftermath thinking –Anxiety, tentative play, and indecision All of these prevent the  p...

Perfectionist athletes often worry too much about what others (coaches, teammates, parents) think about their performance. We call this  social approval  fears in our work. This is not only a huge distraction for athletes, but also a source of pressure to perform up to others' expectations. This is the number one reason athletes cripple themselves with  fear of failure . Worrying about what others...

Dr. Patrick Cohn interviews Dr. Joe Havlick on the use of mindfulness to help athletes and performers succeed. Joe has a Ph. D. in Sport Psychology and works with performers and athletes of many ages, sports, and careers. Joe has a practice of meditation that he offers to all of his clients. Dr. Cohn and Dr. Havlick discuss how the qualities of being a great human being apply to helping athletes a...

In this Mental Training podcast, you learn why perfectionist athletes partake in irrational thinking. In this case "all or none thinking" and how to prevent it. One of the characteristics of perfectionists is that they view their performance as black or white, good or bad, with no shades of gray in between. This leads to athletes judging their performance harshly when they don't perform up to thei...

This week Dr. Cohn speaks with Brenley Shapiro for The Sports Psychology Podcast. Shapiro is the founder of Heads Up High Performance in Toronto. She's a Sport Psychology, Performance Consultant and Certified Sports Vision Trainer. She's the first female Mental Performance Consultant for the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL, as well as the OHL for the Peteborough Petes. Brenley has been in practice for...