How are the playoffs different from the regular season mentally and emotionally?  What sport psychology techniques can athletes and coaches use to best prepare for the rise in intensity, anxiety and nerves that happens in the postseason?   Check out Brian's interview on KUIK radio 1360 am.  

I've got a New Year's Resolution for us all - Lay off the referees, enough already!   I've heard all the excuses, and I'm sure you have too:  "We didn't win because of that one bad call!"   "They are always biased against our team." After a while, I all I hear is "Blah blah (excuses) blah blah (not my fault) blah blah (must blame someone other than myself) blah blah." I have coached soccer in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, California, and Oregon. Guess which state has the worst refs? It depends where you live!  Because those living in each state will claim it their referees are the worst.  How about some perspective? Read any message board comments section about a controversial call or a "bad game" by the officials - the fans rarely ever agree on good calls/bad calls, and that's with the benefit of slow motion replays from numerous angles!  Even with the advent of instant replay in the NFL, there are still arguments.  How about some perspective? In sport psychology, we teach and train athletes on mental toughness - how to build and maintain confidence, and how to re-build confidence over the course of training and competition. To do that, athletes must be focused on things that they can control over things they cannot.  And the referee is a big factor that is out of your control (others include the weather, field conditions, opponents, etc.).  Athletes need to know this, coaches need to know this, and sports parents need to know this. And we all need to act accordingly. Do referees make bad calls? Of course they do.  Is it okay to be upset about it?  Yes it is.  How long is it okay to [...]

Thanksgiving coming up. As we all know, it's a time to slow down, gather with family and friends, and give thanks for all that we have. It's a needed time of the year, because during the daily grind it can become easy to be more focused on what we don't have!  So a time of the year to give thanks and be grateful. In other words showing, "Gratitude." What does this have to do with sports performance?  The pressure, the intensity, and the daily grind can change an athlete's perspective over time:  The enjoyment can be replaced by timidness and dread, the opportunity replaced by obligation.  When this happens, performance is likely to suffer.  In the past couple months, I have seen this concept has come up a lot with my athletes.  Deliberately and mindfully taking the time to show gratitude during training and competition can improve performance by returning the feeling of perspective, control, and enjoyment. So how do athletes "give thanks" and how does that help with performance?  Again, it's a matter of perspective.  Giving thanks to the situation you are in, not being stressed about it; being thankful for the opportunity you have and not dwelling on what you don't have or wish you had.  Here are a couple of examples from SPINw athletes: A highly rated high school baseball player I worked with was having a hard time living up to his own expectations. There was some external pressure to be sure, but nothing that outweighed the pressure he put on himself.  To introduce gratitude for this young man, part of his pre-game routine became to step out on the field before anyone shows up, and be thankful that he's playing. A [...]