Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. What’s this got to do with sport? Athletes must live in the moment in order to perform to their full potential and to master skills. Using mindfulness, the athlete can […]
Health & Wellness
Concentration: Three exercises
to bring back focus
Here are three exercises to help athletes avoid choking, being intimidated or getting psyched out and to become mentally tough by learning to improve their ability to concentrate. Begin each exercise by sitting comfortably in a place that’s free from distractions. After gaining proficiency in your ability to concentrate, you can progressively add distractions. Allow […]
What every teen should know:
Seven steps for relieving stress
Being a teenager has never been easy. Even before COVID-19, the incidences of anxiety and depression were rising. Today, the numbers are even higher. Here are some suggestions to help keep your life more stable, productive, and positive. 1. Practice kindness. Start with yourself. Teens are so often full of negative thoughts. Give yourself a time […]
Mental Preparation: Reduce
Pre-Game Anxiety and Stress
Mental preparation before competition is often overlooked or minimized by athletes and their coaches. As a result of a lack of mental preparation, some athletes become so nervous and tense before competition that they literally feel weak and tired before stepping onto the field, court, running track or pool deck. This can lead to underachievement […]
5 questions to ask yourself
before you make a decision
We often downplay the role stress plays in decision making and how it affects our frame of mind. As May is Mental Health Awareness Month, it is a good time to take a step back and carefully evaluate situations with a solid game plan. Decision making is never an easy exercise, but it can be […]
COVID-19 and the Athlete’s Heart
Whether our kids are serious athletes or just love to get out and play with their friends, cutting physical activity out of their day for two months or longer is not an option. So, how do you keep them active but coronavirus-free in these uncertain times? Here are a few activities you can consider.