A recent study conducted on Elite Volleyball players found athletes had increased cognitive abilities compared to non-athletes. The findings revealed athletes had increased speed identifying things in their peripheral vision, enhanced memory recall, and were better able to ignore irrelevant information from distracting them from the task at hand. One particular finding showed a significant advantage women athletes had over non-athlete women at being able to detect changes in background scenes. This study sheds light that athletes may have a distinct benefit of being able to manipulate their cognitive abilities to either aid or deter their behavior based on what is advantageous in the moment. Identifying your skill set and applying how to take advantage of it as […]

Is performance anxiety getting the best of you? Are you overwhelmed with panic at the thought of competing in front of others? Do your limbs become a bundle of nerves and your stomach a knot of butterflies come game time? We know the feeling. And we’re here to help! In this three-part series, we’re sharing our best tips to help you navigate those meddlesome feelings of self-doubt and fear, and reduce your anxiety when you’re under pressure. Follow us here on the blog or on Facebook / Twitter for three tips on managing anxiety during the month of April. In case you missed our first two tips, find Tip #1 (Focus on What You Can […]

Is performance anxiety getting the best of you? Are you overwhelmed with panic at the thought of competing in front of others? Do your limbs become a bundle of nerves and your stomach a knot of butterflies come game time? We know the feeling. And we’re here to help! In this three-part series, we’re sharing our best tips to help you navigate those meddlesome feelings of self-doubt and fear, and reduce your anxiety when you’re under pressure. Follow us here on the blog or on Facebook/Twitter for three tips on managing anxiety during the month of April. In case you missed Tip #1, click here to learn how to focus […]

Is performance anxiety getting the best of you? Are you overwhelmed with panic at the thought of competing in front of others? Do your limbs become a bundle of nerves and your stomach a knot of butterflies come game time? We know the feeling. And we’re here to help! In this new three-part series, we’re sharing our best tips to help you navigate those meddlesome feelings of self-doubt and fear, and reduce your anxiety when you’re under pressure. Follow us here on the blog or on Facebook/Twitter for 3 tips on managing anxiety during the month of April. Here’s our 1st tip… Tip #1: Focus On What You Can Control […]

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times sheds light on the prevalence of coaches who bully their athletes. In fact, a UK study (highlighted in that article) found that up to 75% of the 6000 athletes they interviewed (that’s 4,500 people!) had suffered some sort of emotional harm via their coach at least once. 75% is a significant number, and regardless of whether you’re a parent, athlete, or spectator, it’s probably something you’ve seen before. It may be difficult to think of a coach as anything other than a mentor, but being a bully isn’t simply defined by age or playgrounds. A bully is anyone who has perceived power over […]

We’ve all been there: a negative state of mind when the game isn’t going well. It’s easy to get to that place, too. It starts with an error, a bad play, or some missed shots. Before you know it, your athletes are walking away from the competition with their heads hung low. If there’s anything that has the ability to spread quickly and to set in and take hold in our minds, it’s negative thinking. However, there is a silver lining. Dr. Justin Anderson, a licensed sport psychologist, has some key advice for coaches: “The best thing that you can do for your athletes when they’ve hit a rough patch […]