Demystifying Mental Toughness

Why do athletes work with a Sports Psychologist? One of the biggest reasons is that they struggle to transfer their skills from training to competitive situations.  Which provides the topic for today’s episode of the Demystifying Mental Toughness podcast. Former professional basketball player and author Dre Baldwin goes on to tell me his thoughts on why athletes can struggle to compete as well as they practice.  We also share some useful ideas and strategies to help you. Enjoy tuning in! Key Takeaways include: Getting used to trusting your skills in live uncontrolled situations is crucial for success. Understanding that you must respond instinctively to the randomness that sport throws at you is important too. You will get beaten and fail often, this is ok, you’ll survive and will learn as a result. Any amount of thinking is overthinking when you are performing.    Fear of trying to be perfect breeds tension and causes your rhythm and timing to go out of sync.  Consider the key ingredients of a great performance, aspects that are within your control and strive to repeat them time and again. Connect with Dre Baldwin: Instagram YouTube Website Connect with David Charlton: Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Helpful Podcast Episodes Ep 039: John Fletcher – How to Develop Fearless Athletes Ep088: Dre Baldwin – How To Play As Well As You Practice Ep093: Dan Abrahams – How to Overcome Mental Blocks in Football Ep209: Felix Lehmann - How To Create Better Decision Makers On The Football Pitch Ep221: Jeremy Snape - How To Use Pre Performance Routines When The Pressure Is On #BITESIZE

Cricket is a unique sport where despite being a team sport it can also be argued to be an individual sport.  One of the biggest challenges is batting and dealing with the aftermath of low scores and the walk of shame.  In this BITE-SIZED episode, Tom Jones, a highly qualified youth cricket coach and owner of Cricket Coach 365 and I discuss mental toughness when batting and offer you advice on how to deal with the pressures that you will likely face. Key Learning Points: As a batter the walk to and from the wicket can be difficult for youngsters especially when they haven’t performed well. The ability to come to recognise that you will fail more than you will succeed can help you. When batting understanding what is within your control and what is outside of your control is useful. The closest parallel to batting when you get out, is missing a penalty in football, in a penalty shootout. Catastrophizing as a batter when you perform poorly is very easy – why not ask yourself the question how can I have a positive influence on the rest of the game? Connect with Tom Jones LinkedIn Instagram Website Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Relevant podcasts with a focus in cricket Ep072: Tom Jones – Mastering the Mental Side of Cricket Ep091: Jarrod Leathem – How to Transfer Your Cricket Skills to Matches Ep221: Jeremy Snape – How To Use Pre Performance Routines When The Pressure Is On #BITESIZE Relevant podcasts to help you deal with pressure Ep169: Professor Adam Nicholls - How To Perform Under Pressure Close To Your Best #BITESIZE Ep219: Brian Hemmings - Golfers: How To Improve Your Putting With A Quiet Eye Approach #BITESIZE Ep224: Aaron Walsh – How To Help Professional Rugby Players Perform Better Under Pressure #BITESIZE For More Resources for Cricketers Blog - Make Bowling Simple by Avoiding these 3 Common Mental Game Errors Blog - Being an Intelligent Batsman can be a Problem Blog - Batting with a Quiet Mind

Penny Mallory was the first woman to drive in the world rally championships.  On her way to do so she showed immense commitment to her craft and made lots of sacrifices in pursuit of success.  In this bite-sized episode she goes on to share her secrets and the mentality that took her to the top of her sport. Enjoy tuning in! Key Takeaways: Ambition requires personal sacrifices. Taking risks are necessary to achieve your dreams. There is often a price to pay for committing yourself to your craft. If you set aside 10 minutes each day to work on a particular area in 5 years you would accumulate over 304 hours worth of practice. Where do you waste time when you don’t need to? How do you stay energised and refreshed? Connect with Penny Mallory LinkedIn Website Penny’s Book - World Class Thinking, World Class Behaviour: Adopt a winning mindset to get what you want Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Useful Podcast Episodes To Improve Your Commitment Levels Ep037: Penny Mallory – World Class Thinking, World Class Behaviour Ep042: Mark Bennett MBE – Characteristics of High Performance Athletes Ep138: Nick Littlehales – Why do the Mentally Tough see Sleep and Recovery as Important Ep214: Ellen McDermott – How To Create Helpful Eating Habits To Benefit Your Sport Performance Ep215: Fenwick Ridley – How Ice Swimming And Cold Immersion Can Help You Take Control Of Your Destiny

Do you ever believe you are your thoughts? Do you often take your thoughts way too seriously?  If so you’ll enjoy today's podcast episode as my guest, Keagen Hadley author of Torn: Overcoming the Psychological Challenges Post-ACL Injury talks about using Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a potentially helpful solution.  Specifically we discuss cognitive defusion as a way to help you create distance from your thoughts. Key Learning Points: Cognitive Fusion is concerned with the mess our thoughts in relation to our identity can have where our thoughts can often dominate our reality. Examples include; “I am broken”, “I am rubbish…” Mastering cognitive defusion can help you create distance from your thoughts and see things from a fresh perspective. Cognitive defusion goes on to promote psychological flexibility and empowers you to relate to your situation and thought processes with greater openness and adaptability.  One approach you could take to help you is to smile at yourself and your situation as it can help you make peace and shift your perspective. When you perform and see red mist, slowing down, taking a slow walk can also be a useful way to take the sting out of the situation.  Connect with Keagan Hadley LinkedIn Website BOOK: Torn Overcoming Psychological Challenges Post ACL Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn To Listen to the Full Podcast Episodes Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness Ep124: Dr Keagan Hadley – Long Term Injuries: How to Confront Difficult Thoughts and Emotions Ep205: Dr Carl Bescoby – Rehabilitation And Returning To Sport: How To Support Injured Athletes Ep235: Trevor Jones - How To Use ACT To Improve Your Coaching In Sport #BITESIZE Ep236: Dr James Hegarty - How To Use ACT and Mindfulness When You’ve Got Lots Of Time To Think #BITESIZE

In different sports such as golf and cricket, athletes can be placed in situations where they have a lot of thinking time. Too much thinking time for some!  Due to their high level of motivation, focus of attention, fatigue, emotions and many other factors this thinking time can create havoc in their minds. As a result, indecision, fear and self-doubt can take over. In today’s episode, Dr James Hegarty, co-author of the book ACT in Sport: Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment shares some ideas on how athletes can help themselves so that they don’t view this thinking time as a negative and are effective in how they get mentally ready. Psychological flexibility is at the heart of our discussion.    Key Learning Points: All athletes can get caught out thinking ahead predicting future events. As humans, athletes also can easily dwell on past mistakes. Developing psychological flexibility is a hugely beneficial skill to have in your armoury as an athlete. Athletes should practice basic mindfulness of the breath to build a foundation. Cricketers can focus on sensations of the sun or cold wind on their face after dropping a catch to refocus. Mindfulness allows athletes to step away from over-analysing mistakes and get their head back in the game. My challenge for May 2024 is to see if I can dial in and be mindful at least 100 times per golf round of golf I play! I’ll report on how I get on. Connect with Dr James Hegarty Website Email: james@hegartyconsulting.co.nz Book – ACT in Sport: Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Podcasts Episodes Connect to ACT and Mindfulness Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness Ep099: Trevor Jones – How to Deal with Overthinking on the Golf Course Ep124: Dr Keagan Hadley – Long Term Injuries: How to Confront Difficult Thoughts and Emotions Ep205: Dr Carl Bescoby – Rehabilitation And Returning To Sport: How To Support Injured Athletes Ep235: Trevor Jones - How To Use ACT To Improve Your Coaching In Sport #BITESIZE

Many athletes, golfers or people in everyday life take their thoughts too seriously.  They then get caught up overthinking and it causes havoc with their decision making.  In golfing terms, paralysis by analysis can take over, when the pressure is on and the result is often poor shots and missed putts.  And lots of frustration!  In this episode, Trevor Jones a PGA Professional Golf Coach and Mental Performance Coach and I chat about this topic where he shares as a coach how he uses Acceptance Commitment Therapy or Training (ACT) to help golfers and other athletes deal with these challenges.    Key Learning Points: Feeling confident on every shot is unrealistic. All humans experience self-doubt. We all can get ahead of ourselves or get caught out dwelling on past mistakes. Nurturing psychological flexibility is very helpful tool to have in your toolkit. A challenge for you, seek to integrate mindfulness into your everyday life. Connect with Trevor Jones Instagram Watch Professor Steven C Hayes discussing performance psychology from an ACT perspective with Trevor Jones Website | Aware Performance Group LLC Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn To Listen To Golf Related Podcast Episodes To Help You Ep099: Trevor Jones – How to Deal with Overthinking on the Golf Course Ep167: Karl Morris – How To Manage Your Emotions To Improve Your Golf Ep228: Gio Valiante – Lessons From Overconfident Golfers That Can Help You Perform Better For More Resources so You Can Shoot Lower Scores on The Golf Course Golfers Mental Scorecard Golf Psychology FAQs Golf Blogs Golf Podcasts Podcasts Episodes Connect to ACT and Mindfulness Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness Ep124: Dr Keagan Hadley – Long Term Injuries: How to Confront Difficult Thoughts and Emotions EP136: Charlotte Potts – Overcoming Tough Times in Professional Women’s Football and Bouncing Back Stronger

How often in sport do you see an athlete make the wrong decision under pressure? Often I’d say! Even at the highest level in elite professional sport.  Indecision, overthinking, paralysis by analysis, having too much time to think of the consequences, a lack of trust in skills or fear are often the reasons for poor decision making.  In this short bite-sized episode, Paul Phillips an author and culture developer and I discuss overthinking in sport where we share some helpful tips so that you can deal better with pressure in the moment.  Key Learning Points: Helping athletes generate behaviours before thoughts and emotions is a helpful skill. James Clear’s two-minute rule in the book Atomic Habits is a useful approach to take when you are feeling indecisive. In rugby the size of an opponent can trigger fear responses, overthinking and poor decision making. Visual, kinaesthetic and auditory cues and triggers are helpful in overcoming fear, Using metaphors such as images of animals or superhero’s is a helpful trigger for adults and children. Spending time with process training, practicing and rehearsing pre-shot and pre-performance routines are hugely beneficial. Connect with Paul Phillips LinkedIn Book: How to Create Culture: In Rugby Union Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn To Listen to Podcasts To Help Overthinkers Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness Ep156: Ruth Chiles – There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia Ep161: Paul Phillips – How to Create a Culture of High Performance in Professional Rugby Union Ep221: Jeremy Snape - How To Use Pre Performance Routines When The Pressure Is On Ep224: Aaron Walsh - How To Help Professional Rugby Players Perform Better Under Pressure Helpful Resources For The Overthinker Blog - Overthinking on the Rugby Pitch Blog - Do You Start Matches with a ONE-NIL DOWN Mindset? Blog - 7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Bowl Every Delivery Blog - Is Your Head Focused On The Right Things How to Trust Your Skills When You’re a Goalkeeper

In the last of this 3 part series created for parents of young adults and kids who play football or soccer I discuss how fear can wreck a youngsters fun and enjoyment on the pitch.  Common responses to fear before matches include performance anxiety, physical sickness, feigning injury and refusing to play.  It’s a hugely difficult challenge to navigate as a parent therefore I share a tool connected with mindfulness which can help ease the young footballer’s anxieties. Connect with David Charlton Sign up to The X-FACTOR  regular emails helping football and soccer players to get the most from their talent  Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Check out our library of content supporting football and soccer players and coaches Relevant Resources To Help Parents Children and Youth Motivation for Sport Checklist – For Kids Children and Youth Motivation for Sport Checklist - For Parents Football or Soccer Coach Motivation Checklist – For Parents who coach Youth Sports Psychology Library – For Parents

What is the most mentally challenging position on the football or soccer pitch?  Many people would argue it’s the goalkeeper.  Common psychological challenges goalkeepers face include; coping with mistakes and bouncing back strongly, dealing with tough and physical opponents, playing the ball out from the back with their feet in uncomfortable situations, communicating effectively with team-mates, selection issues and dealing with time on the bench. Today, Andy Elleray, an author and goalkeeping coach, who has worked for clubs such as Chelsea and Bristol Rovers tells me about mental toughness and how it applies to goalkeeping sharing some advice, I also provide a suggestion on how goalkeepers can help themselves remain calm and composed when faced with difficulties on the pitch. Key Learnings All goalkeepers make mistakes. Being able to accepts making mistakes and move on is a skill that goalkeepers can develop. Helping goalkeepers master the controllables is essential. Trigger words or physical triggers (using sweat bands or super-hero bands) can help goalkeepers move on more quickly from mistakes. Try the calm and composed face exercise to help you. Connect with David Charlton Sign up to The X-FACTOR regular emails helping football and soccer players to get the most from their talent  Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Connect with Any Elleray Website LinkedIn Twitter: @andyelleray / @lilys_goal  Relevant Podcast Episodes Ep08: Brendan Pearson - Academy Football, Professional Football, Injuries and Early Retirement Ep087: Carl Bell – From Professional Football and Goalkeeping to Physiotherapy Ep093: Dan Abrahams – How to Overcome Mental Blocks in Football Ep151: Compilation - Football Psychology: 50 Ways You Can Improve Your Performance Ep165: Andy Elleray - How To Master the Mental Challenges Goalkeeping Throws at You Other Valuable Football or Soccer Resources  Goalkeeping Psychology | Mental Skills for Goalkeepers  Soccer Psychology | Mental Skills for Football Youth Sports Psychology | Mental Skills Training for Kids and Parents Frequently Asked Questions about Football or Soccer Psychology Frequently Asked Questions about Goalkeeping Psychology

In the second of 3 episodes created for parents of young people who play football I carry on the conversation about enjoyment on the football pitch.  Where on this occasion I introduce the relationship between enjoyment in football, the impact of playing poorly, performance levels and self-esteem.   I go on to discuss what self esteem is, what you could expect from someone with high self-esteem and factors that can contribute to low self-esteem.  In addition, I touch on life control and “having a can-do attitude”, a measure of mental toughness that is connected with self-esteem, and the complexities surrounding self-esteem at a young age.  You can also expect some helpful advice on how to help young footballers who face this challenge and struggle with feelings of low self-esteem. Connect with David Charlton Sign up to The X-FACTOR  regular emails helping football and soccer players to get the most from their talent  Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Check out our library of content supporting football and soccer players and coaches

Today, with my colleague Dr Alessia Bruno we discuss the downsides to perfectionism and how many athletes can get obsessed by their sports, training harder and harder, pushing themselves to the limit.  The result can then be burnout, playing in fear or a lack of enjoyment. Enjoy tuning in! Key Learning Points Sport can be seen as a job by perfectionist athletes. When searching to get better, the perfectionist can lose the ability to perform with freedom and trust. Physically the perfectionist athlete can become tense and rigid losing control of their fine motor skills, rhythm and timing. Striving for perfection can lead to loss of enjoyment. Visualisation is a great tool when trying to reconnect with the fun and playful part of your personality. Connect with Alessia Bruno Website Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Relevant Podcast Episodes To Help Perfectionist Athletes Ep122: Prof Camilla Knight - Helping Your Children Get The Most From Their Sporting Experiences Ep131 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – FINAL PART Ep142: Alessia Bruno – Is Striving for Perfection a Good Thing in Gymnastics? Ep156: Ruth Chiles – There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia Ep170: David Charlton - How To Help Perfectionists With Their Mental Approach Relevant Blogs To Help You Deal Better With Perfectionism Perfectionism Blogs 5 Ways To Create A Psychological Safe Sporting Environment Are You A Rugby Player With Perfectionist Tendencies? How to Trust Your Skills When You’re a Goalkeeper How to Help Children Overcome Fear of Failure

This is the first of 3 episodes created for parents of kids who play football with their enjoyment and the possibility of quitting playing football the topic I discuss today.  When thoughts of quitting are considered, it can be very challenging for some parents to navigate as they try to decide the best route to take despite different pressures associated with the decision.  Therefore, I share some resources that you can use to better understand why you want your kid to play football and also why they want to play football too.  Using the resources can be a helpful way of processing your thoughts and feelings as a parent, as well as, opening up conversations with your children. This can then go on to better inform any decisions that you decide to make. Connect with David Charlton Sign up to The X-FACTOR  regular emails helping football and soccer players to get the most from their talent  Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Check out our library of content supporting football and soccer players and coaches Relevant Resources To Help Parents Children and Youth Motivation for Sport Checklist – For Kids Children and Youth Motivation for Sport Checklist - For Parents Football or Soccer Coach Motivation Checklist – For Parents who coach Youth Sports Psychology Library – For Parents

A lot of golfers lack confidence and trust in their ability to execute shots and putts and shoot the scores that they are capable of.  As a result, they often cause themselves problems by the decisions that they make.  Common things I notice are over practicing, reactively practicing, an over reliance on YouTube coaching and a quick fix mentality.  On the course they are then guilty of overthinking, complicating the game with too many swing thoughts, trying to control their swing, temper tantrums and a lot more… In today’s short bite-sized episode well renowned Performance Psychologist to many PGA tour players Gio Valiante talks about over-confident and cavalier golfers and the challenges that they can face. However, as most golfers or athletes who contact Sport Psychologists are bringing problems to overcome, David challenges you to learn some lessons from the overconfident golfer. Key Learning Points: An over-confident golfer is likely to take risks. Cavalier golfers will trust their technique and swing automatically with a quiet mind. Bodily tension and heart rate will be reduced in the over-confident golfers. For golfers lacking in confidence, you could recognise that your thoughts, moods, physiology, behaviours, and values are all interconnected, and that changing one, changes others, and ultimately could lead to better golf without changing your technique. Connect with Gio Valiante Website Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn To Listen to Other Useful Podcast Episodes Ep017: Gio Valiante - How to Play Fearless Golf Ep101: Compilation - 25 Mental Game Secrets to Improve Your Golf Ep160: Brian Hemmings – Golf Psychology: What You Can Expect and Why It Can Help You Ep167: Karl Morris - How To Manage Your Emotions To Improve Your Golf #BITESIZE Ep226: Dan Steele - Helping Athletes Who Have Strong Physiological Responses To Fear #BITESIZE For More Resources so You Can Shoot Lower Scores on The Golf Course 10 Mental Game Tips from Leading Experts to Improve Your Golf Do you try too hard on the golf course? Golfers Mental Scorecard Golf Psychology FAQs Psychology of Golf Library

A football coaches role is multi-faceted from being knowledgeable about tactics and technical aspects of the game to being well versed in their understanding of physical attributes and diet.  Psycho-social aspects also form a big part of the role too.  Developing, managing and disciplining players whilst trying to get the best out of them, day in day out is far from an easy job.  This forms the motivation behind this podcast episode, the last of a 3-part series aimed to support football coaches.  You’ll hear me discuss self-determination theory and the importance of being connected to each other as a coach/player, player and coach personality types as well as social and task leadership. Enjoy tuning in! Connect with David Charlton Sign up to The X-FACTOR  regular emails helping football and soccer players to get the most from their talent  Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Check out our library of content supporting football and soccer players and coaches Relevant Helpful Resources To Improve Football Coach Player Relationships Self Determination Theory Website with Deci And Ryan Task-Oriented vs People-Oriented Leadership Styles: Characteristics, Advantages and Disadvantages Football or Soccer Coach Motivation Checklist Football Player Motivation Checklist

Fear is evident in every sport and affects athletes and performers differently. From overthinking to strong physiological responses in an athlete’s body.  Decision making is then naturally impeded, impacting performance levels. In today’s episode an inspirational Olympian, Dan Steele offers insights into how he dealt with an accident whilst competing in bobsleigh and then managed to head back up the mountain to compete again despite losing control of his thoughts and having serious doubts and fears about dying.   David Charlton then goes on to share a strategy that you can use to reduce any physiological responses that you have to fear and quieten your mind in the process too. Key Takeaways include: Death often crossed your mind in bobsleigh as it was like riding a crazy rollercoaster. All athletes get scared; fear is unavoidable and part of sport and life. Fear has an essential role to play in our survival.  When frightened or scared an athletes breathing is likely to increase, as does their heart rate, peripheral blood vessels in the skin constrict, whereas central blood vessels around vital organs dilate to flood them with oxygen and nutrients.  Muscles are pumped with blood and can become tighter too impacting on motor skills. Connect with Dan Steele: Facebook Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Relevant Podcast Episodes To Help You Cope Better With Fear Ep017: Gio Valiante – How to Play Fearless Golf Ep115: Jeremy Snape – Mental Strength to Succeed: Learning Lessons from International Cricket Ep142: Alessia Bruno – Is Striving for Perfection a Good Thing in Gymnastics? Ep148: Derek Tate – How to Build Your Mental Toughness Through Skiing Ep222: Ruth Chiles - How To Help Athletes Who Freeze Under Pressure #BITESIZE Other Relevant Blogs And Resources To Help You Reduce Your Fear Responses Blog: 9 Tips for Children from Olympians Blog: How To Play Well When You Aren’t Feeling Great Blog: Does Your Warm Up Influence How You Perform? Blog: Using ACT and Mindfulness to Improve Your Sporting Performances Blog: Why You Should Meditate To Improve Your Sport Performance? Guided Mindfulness Meditation Practices with Jon Kabat-Zinn Attunement Repair Exercise

It’s very easy as a football coach to offer short snippets of praise such as “great goal” or “good pass.”  However, is this actually helpful for the footballer?  In this episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness, the second of a 6 part series I argue that yes it is helpful, especially for those players who gain confidence from coach praise and compliments.  However, if you as a coach challenge yourself to offer players more in terms of process driven praise and feedback you can enhance their learning so much more and shift their focus on to more helpful things. Feel free to tune in, where I’ll encourage you to think about what helpful emotions and actions you are looking for your players to experience in different situations and how you can help them. Connect with David Charlton Sign up to The X-FACTOR  regular emails helping football and soccer players to get the most from their talent  Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Check out our library of content supporting football and soccer players and coaches

In episode #224 of Demystifying Mental Toughness, I share part of a conversation with Aaron Walsh a Mental Performance Coach with many Elite Professional Rugby Players.   We discuss whether elite professional rugby union players view mental toughness as something that they can develop, our role as Sports Psychology practitioners in measuring performance as well as coaches influence in the development of psychological characteristics and skills. Key Learning Points: Educating people in sport on the integration of Sports Psychology and Mental Skills is very important. Creativity is essential to thrive as a Sports Psychology Practitioner or Mental Performance Coach. Measuring the impact of our work as a practitioner is vital when working in a team setting. Many players hate Mondays after a poor performance where they are often shamed in front of others or video footage is taken and critiqued in an unhelpful manner. Connect with Aaron Walsh LinkedIn Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn To Listen to Rugby Orientated Podcast Episodes Ep039: John Fletcher – How to Develop Fearless Athletes Ep104: Seb De Chaves - The Psychological Demands of Elite Professional Rugby Ep127: Paul Trainor - The Application of Mental Toughness Training in Elite Professional Rugby League EP147: Aaron Walsh – The Application of Mental Performance Coaching in Elite Professional Rugby Ep161: Paul Phillips – How to Create a Culture of High Performance in Professional Rugby Union Helpful Rugby Orientated Resources Blog - Overthinking on the Rugby Pitch Blog - Are you a Rugby Player who Focuses Too Much on the Opposition Blog - Helping Young Rugby Players Mentally Prepare Before Matches Blog - Playing Rugby at Your Best Under Pressure Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment Rugby Psychology | Mental Skills for Rugby Resources

In and around most football clubs you’ll hear statements like “this is a MUST win game today,” “we HAVE to get 3 points today” or “great GOAL”.  It’s common and very natural to be talking like this, to be talking about outcomes and results - though is it helpful? This is what I unpick in today’s episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness, the 1st of a new 6 part series where I share some thoughts on why we may fall into the trap of talking so much about outcomes and results.  I also look to challenge football and soccer coaches to consider the emotions and subsequent behaviours that are associated with such outcome talk for themselves and for their players. Enjoy tuning in! Connect with David Charlton Sign up to The X-FACTOR  regular emails helping football and soccer players to get the most from their talent  Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Check out our library of content supporting football and soccer players and coaches

Hypoarousal – what is it in a performance context? It is our freeze response, when our mind and body shuts down when we are faced with significant pressure, at least in our own minds. In today’s episode I discuss with Ruth Chiles, author of The Focal Dystonia Cure how athletes and performers who experience this freeze response can help themselves.  Ruth goes on to share some practical tips that can hugely benefit many people. Key Learnings Brainspotting an approach developed by a New York psychologist called David Grand helps to rewire parts of the brain so that people can respond differently in specific situations. In a performance context, we spend a lot of time in survival mode which can impede fluidity, enlarge muscles and inhibit your fine motor skills. Practicing interoceptive awareness exercises can be very helpful for self-regulation. Centering practices can calm our nervous system. Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Connect with Ruth Chiles Website Book: The Focal Dystonia Cure: Powerful and Definitive Practices to Completely Heal Yourself Ruth Chiles on Facebook Ruth Chiles on YouTube Relevant Podcast Episodes Ep014: Alessia Bruno – The Yips, Crashes, Trauma in Sport there is hope for Athletes Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness Ep131 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – FINAL PART Ep142: Alessia Bruno - Is Striving for Perfection a Good Thing in Gymnastics? Ep156: Ruth Chiles – There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia Relevant Blogs Blog: Helping a Critical Child When You’re a Parent Blog: How to Support an Angry Young Athlete Using ACT and Mindfulness to Improve Your Sporting Performances Why You Should Meditate To Improve Your Sport Performance? Guided Mindfulness Meditation Practices with Jon Kabat-Zinn

In today episode, I'm joined by former international cricketer and Senior Leadership Coach, Jeremy Snape. Jeremy and I discuss pressure, where he explains why our brains can be hijacked and hinder our performance.  He also shares some great advice on using pre-shot or pre-performance routines as a way of mentally preparing yourself to execute your skills. Key Learning Points: Our brains are built for safety. Seek to focus on your body, breathing and self-talk to help you stay in the moment. Understanding how you can remain calm and instinctive will help you perform at your best under pressure. To slow yourself down and focus on the “next ball only” is a helpful psychological approach. Connect with Jeremy Snape LinkedIn Website Inside The Mind of Champions Podcast Connect with David Charlton Sign Up to The Mental Edge Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Relevant Podcasts Ep042: Mark Bennett MBE – Characteristics of High Performance Athletes Ep091: Jarrod Leathem – How to Transfer Your Cricket Skills to Matches Ep 081: Stuart Wade – Mental Toughness in Combat Sports Ep115: Jeremy Snape – Mental Strength to Succeed: Learning Lessons from International Cricket Ep219: Brian Hemmings - Golfers: How To Improve Your Putting With A Quiet Eye Approach #BITESIZE For More Resources for Cricketers Blog - Make Bowling Simple by Avoiding these 3 Common Mental Game Errors Blog - 5 Tips if you fall into the TRYING TOO HARD TRAP when bowling Blog - Mental Preparation for Bowlers in Cricket  Blog - Being an Intelligent Batsman can be a Problem Blog - Batting with a Quiet Mind