Performance Anxiety Archives - Premier Sport Psychology

A New Start: Being Your Best During Tryout Week

Exciting opportunities. An unpainted script. A new start. Whether it be this transition into the winter sport season or any other time of the year, the dawning of a new season brings a plethora of excitement, anticipation…and nerves, particularly for tryout week. Whether a team or organization is cut or no-cut, the first week of practice means that athletes will receive a decision at the end of the week based on performance and evaluation of coaches. All athletes strive to be their best during tryout week, yet internal expectations, the pressure of being watched/judged, and fear of the worst often prevent them to. It doesn’t matter whether an athlete is […]

“This Should Be Fun:” How the Minnesota Cycling Association Is Using Sport Psychology to Help Student-Athletes on Race Day

Dew glistens atop the grass on a Saturday morning at Xcel Energy Mountain Bike Park in Shakopee. While most are asleep, Dr. Erin Ayala and Alex Wulbecker-Smith are in mid-season form…setting up four cherry-glossed canopy tents and fifteen vibrant pseudo-recliners that rival a La-Z-Boy chair and inflatable pool seat crossover. Simple, yet meaningful beyond what one would ever know. It’s the first weekend of the Minnesota Cycling Association’s fall mountain bike league. With a middle school race on Saturday and high school race on Sunday, around 1,200 racers will hit the course south of the Twin Cities metro. Hit copy paste for nine race weekends throughout the fall spanning the […]

Premier Mailbag: October 10, 2022

This week’s question: How can your child compete comfortably in pressure situations? All athletes face it: those times when the going gets tough or stakes are high and routine shots, plays, or actions become easier said than done. It’s especially frustrating when those shots, throws, or actions are ones that the athlete has completed thousands of times in practice or in previous competitions. It’s a crippling feeling; muscles become tight, myriad what if’s swarm the mind, and quick movements turn to molasses. To put it simply, the athlete is unable to play freely and pressure is often the cause. Athletes of all levels experience pressure for various reasons. It […]

Premier Mailbag: Sept. 1, 2022

We all know that competing in sports is much more than just Xs and Os on the field. Regardless of age, level, or experience, we’ve all dealt with the mental side of the game and the struggles and difficulties that it brings. We also know that the mental side of sport is often more difficult than the physical side. You’ve made a free throw hundreds of times in practice but sinking that shot with the game on the line may seem near impossible. You may have the best serve in the entire state, but for some reason, your arm feels like it weighs 1,000 pounds when serving in a match. […]

Neutralize Negative Self Talk in Under Ten Seconds

We’ve all had it, that niggling voice that discourages us before or during competition. Self-talk is our inner narrator, and when it directs our attention to destructive thoughts or feelings, it can deep-six our performance levels. Thankfully, mindfulness training teaches us an easy way to strip power from this kind of talk, and separate ourselves from its consequences. Mindfulness teaches us to shift away our attention away from analysis or judgement, and toward observation and acceptance. An analytical mind evaluates and reacts. It examines the past, it anticipates the future. It worries and it avoids. The observing mindset merely notices and accepts. It doesn’t get hooked by negativity or try […]