Category: Sport Psychology

How Do You Prepare For Rio? Imagery!

The Olympic games are a competition like no other--a stage that only a select few will ever get to compete on, but millions will watch from near and far. A level of honor, excitement, and pressure that is simply incomparable. Not only are you representing yourself, your family, and your team, but also your entire country. Sure these athletes have competed on plying fields at national or even world competitions, but the Olympic games are certainly unique in their own right. So how do you prepare for Rio? How do you prepare to compete your very best in the largest competition of your life? Train hard for countless hours. Eat, sleep and recover properly. Yes! But that is not good enough. That is not good enough to reach gold. The best of the best also work on their mental game, specifically using imagery. According to a survey by Jowdy and Durtschi, 90 percent of athletes and 94 percent of coaches at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado used imagery in their sport (Murphy, 2005). Al...

Meet our Newest Sport Psychologist, Dr. Troy Moles

Premier Sport Psychology is excited to welcome Dr. Troy Moles to our team. He will be starting August 22, 2016. Below is a quick interview with Dr. Troy so you can get to know your potential sport psychologist! Ok, Troy, let's start with a bit about your background. [caption id="attachment_4194" align="alignright" width="150"]Dr. Troy Dr. Troy[/caption] I completed my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Sport & Exercise Psychology in August 2016 from the University of North Texas.  While there, I provided sport psychology consultation services to coaches, teams, and individual student-athletes within the university from 2010-15.  I also spent time working with community-based athletes and student-athletes (children, adolescents, and adults) from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  O...

When Dreams Don’t Come True

The Olympics is less than a month away.  Athletes will travel from all over this earth to compete in the name of their country. Some, like Michael Phelps, are veterans at this point in their careers. Others, like Simone Biles, are making the trip for the first time. All of these athletes are using these last few weeks to fine tune the work they’ve done over the past four years. A trip to Rio is about to make all the sacrifices they made worth it, but they are not the only ones who made sacrifices. There are many athletes, like volleyball player Cassidy Lichtman, who are not going to Rio. They will not compete on behalf of their country. Their sacrifices will not result in their dreams. As their fellow citizens are flooded with joy, they are dealing with sadness and loss. When we work as hard as these people do to reach our dreams, the realization that we won't make it will undoubtedly result in heartbreak. Ye...