Sports Psychology Podcast by Peaksports.com

In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert Dr. Patrick Cohn talks with Dr. Megan Melchiorre.

They discuss the psychology of volleyball and some of the challenges that volleyball players have.

Dr. Megan is the newest member of the Peak Performance Sports team. She is the lead mental coach specializing in working with youth and high school athletes in various sports.

Are you (or your volleyball players) able to take your practice game to competition?

In this podcast, Dr. Cohn and Dr. Megan discuss:

When perfectionist volleyball players go from practice to game time, they tend to lost trust in their skills.

COHN: We know trust in ones skills the ability to take their practice game and what that have learned and apply it to a game situation, is vitally important.

COHN: What does it look like when a volleyball player is trusting his or her skills verses when they are not? What is the difference?

Listen to this week's podcast to learn what mental game tips Dr. Cohn and Dr. Megan to learn more about trusting your skills in games.

Resources for Athletes, Coach, and Sports Parents

• Learn about Mental Game Coaching For Athletes
• Download our a FREE Mental Toughness Report
• Read our Sports Psychology Articles
• Check out our Sports Psychology Audio Programs

*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast at iTunes

In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert Dr. Patrick Cohn talks with Dr. Megan Melchiorre.

They discuss the psychology of volleyball and some of the challenges that volleyball players have.

Dr. Megan is the newest member of the Peak Performance Sports team. She is the lead mental coach specializing in working with youth and high school athletes in various sports.

Are you (or your volleyball players) highly self-critical of your performance?

In this podcast, they will discuss...

What tips can volleyball players use to manage perfectionism in games?

COHN: We know one of the qualities of perfectionists is they are super critical of their performance; every play, every touch, they analyze and critique.

COHN: How does that work for volleyball players and what are the challenges with that when they are trying to play a game?

Listen to this week's podcast to learn what mental game tips Dr. Cohn and Dr. Megan give to volleyball players to learn more about managing perfectionism in games.

Resources for Athletes, Coach, and Sports Parents

• Learn about Mental Game Coaching For Athletes
• Download our a FREE Mental Toughness Report
• Read our Sports Psychology Articles
• Check out our Sports Psychology Audio Programs

*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast at iTunes

In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert Dr. Patrick Cohn talks with Dr. Megan Melchiorre.

They discuss the psychology of volleyball and some of the challenges that volleyball players have.

Dr. Megan is the newest member of the Peak Performance Sports team. She is the lead mental coach specializing in working with youth and high school athletes in various sports.

In this podcast, they will discuss...

What are some challenges with perfectionist players?

COHN: We know that perfectionism is a big challenge for volleyball players and in all sports…

COHN: Perfectionists have some great qualities; they are highly motivated, goal oriented, always want to improve and strive to get better. But we also know that is comes with challenges when going to competition from practice.

COHN: What are some of the challenges?

Listen to this week's podcast to learn what mental game tips Dr. Cohn and Dr. Megan give to volleyball players about the challenges with perfectionism.

Resources for Athletes, Coach, and Sports Parents

• Learn about Mental Game Coaching For Athletes
• Download our a FREE Mental Toughness Report
• Read our Sports Psychology Articles
• Check out our Sports Psychology Audio Programs

*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast at iTunes

In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert Dr. Patrick Cohn talks with Dr. Megan Melchiorre.

Dr. Megan is the newest member of the Peak Performance Sports team. She is the lead mental coach specializing in working with youth and high school athletes in various sports.

Do you have teams that tend to get tight at the end of a set when maybe they didn't expect to win against the opponent and they tighten up and end up losing the set?

In this podcast, they will answer the question of the week...

"How do you help athletes stay aggressive at the end of a set or match when the game gets tight?"

COHN: We know that then end of a game can be more pressure for some athletes... Maybe they tend to think too far ahead about the outcome...

COHN: What are the challenges for athletes that they tend to get tight at the end of a match? What are they doing?

MEGAN: They try to protect their lead. They start to play safe and to not make mistakes.

MEGAN: When they play not to make mistakes, they tend to overthink and over control instead of trusting their ability and shining on a set and attacking a ball, they try to place it on an open spot on the court.

MEGAN: When they put easy balls over, they give the opposing team an opportunity to attack.

COHN: Good point... and I think if you give the opposing team the opportunity to attack, what is happening is that the opponent will start to make a comeback and sense that the player in the lead is all of the sudden playing safe and protective instead of aggressive and attack.

COHN: It gives your opponent the ability to take control over the match.

COHN: How do you help players with this issue at the end of the game when the pressure is on the line and you want them to finish the set?

Listen to this week's podcast to learn what mental game tips Dr. Cohn and Dr. Megan give to athletes about staying aggressive and trusting their skills.

Resources for Athletes, Coach, and Sports Parents

• Learn about Mental Game Coaching For Athletes
• Download our a FREE Mental Toughness Report
• Read our Sports Psychology Articles
• Check out our Sports Psychology Audio Programs

*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast at iTunes

In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert Dr. Patrick Cohn talks with Dr. Megan Melchiorre.

Dr. Megan is new at Peak Performance Sports. She is the lead mental coach specializing in working with youth and high school athletes in various sports.

In this podcast, they will answer the question of the week...

"How do you teach players to mentally focus throughout an entire game?"

COHN: Dr. Megan, obviously focus is super important for any athlete and certainly volleyball players.

COHN: What are the challenges you find that players tend to struggle with or what gets in the way of focus when playing?

MEGAN: In a volleyball match, players can be distracted by a number of things especially playing a tournament in club... There are over 100 courts in 1 area, so many whistles, balls, fans... it gets pretty chaotic in there.

MEGAN: Those are external distractions but there is another category of internal distractions, such as negative thinking...

MEGAN: What do you think are the top distractions for athletes, Dr. Cohn?

Listen to this week's podcast to learn what mental game tips Dr. Cohn and Dr. Megan give to athletes about maintaining focus throughout an entire game.

Head over to Peak Sports and check out our Mental Coaching Programs:

Mental Game Coaching For Athletes

Download our FREE Mental Toughness Report!

"10 Costly Mental Game Mistakes Athletes Make: What Athletes And Coaches Must Learn To Improve Mental Preparation"

In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert Dr. Patrick Cohn talks with Dr. Megan.

Dr. Megan is new at Peak Performance Sports. She is the lead mental coach specializing in working with youth and high school athletes in various sports.

In this podcast, they will answer a question from one of our readers...

"How do you help players cope with mistakes and keep their head in the game so they can continue to play confidently?"

COHN: We know that athletes tend to unravel and have challenges with mistakes, especially young athletes. They tend to beat themselves up and be self-critical.

COHN: Perfectionist athletes are the ones that really struggle with mistakes...

MEGAN: Perfectionists, like those I've coached, have very high expectations and they are very self-critical of the way that they play and what they do during performance.

COHN: What happens to them mentally after they make mistakes? What are the challenges associated with post mistakes? Do they get frustrated? Do they over analyze? Do they start critiquing? Do they look at coach?

What happens then?

Listen to this week's podcast to learn what mental game tips Dr. Cohn and Dr. Megan give to athletes about how they can let go of mistakes and still play effectively.

Head over to Peak Sports and check out our Mental Coaching Programs:

Mental Game Coaching For Athletes

Download our FREE Mental Toughness Report!

"10 Costly Mental Game Mistakes Athletes Make: What Athletes And Coaches Must Learn To Improve Mental Preparation"

In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert Dr. Patrick Cohn talks with Dr. Megan.

Dr. Megan is new at Peak Performance Sports. She is the lead mental coach specializing in working with youth and high school athletes in various sports.

In this podcast, they will answer a question from our most recent survey...

"How do you have stable confidence during a game so it doesn't go up and down with every mistake or problem?"

Do you have athletes that tend to get on the confidence roller coaster when they make mistakes or are challenged in games and their confidence tends to go up and down rapidly?

COHN: Dr. Megan, how may confidence change during competition?

MEGAN: Fragile confidence is definitely an issue in sports, as I see it all the time in volleyball as a player and a coach.

COHN: This is a number 1 problem for athletes... They have this yo-yo syndrome with their confidence. When they are performing well, their stable with confidence but when one or two mistakes come, it is like someone took a pin and burst their confidence bubble.

COHN: Is it really fair to yourself to lose all of your confidence you have been working on after one or two mistakes in competition?

Listen to this week's podcast to learn what mental game tips Dr. Cohn and Dr. Megan give to athletes about how they can maintain their confidence when they aren't playing their best.

Head over to Peak Sports and check out our Mental Coaching Programs:

Mental Game Coaching For Athletes

Download our FREE Mental Toughness Report!

"10 Costly Mental Game Mistakes Athletes Make: What Athletes And Coaches Must Learn To Improve Mental Preparation"

In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert Dr. Patrick Cohn interviews Andre Bekker, a professional cyclist and previously ranked #1 in the age category 50+ for the 70.3 Triathlon long distance.

Another big challenge we find with triathletes is that once they start the run and are already 5, 6, 7 hours into an Ironman, they really start to have doubts about what they are doing...

They start questioning why they are doing this and why are they putting themselves through this pain...

How do racers push through that doubt and questioning why they are doing this after hours of racing?

BEKKER: "That's a good question having been there myself..."

After you've been racing for 6 or so hours and still have about 3 hours left, you start asking questions...

You start doubting your training... You start doubting your nutrition... There are questions that run through your mind such as, "What am I thinking? What am I doing? Isn't it better to just go home?"

This is where mental toughness comes in more than anywhere else...

Listen to this week's podcast to learn what mental game tips Dr. Cohn and Andre Bekker give to triathletes when they are already hours into the race, with hours left and they start doubting themselves.

Head over to Peak Sports and check out our Mental Coaching Programs:

Mental Game Coaching For Athletes

Download our FREE Mental Toughness MP3 for Triathletes!

"Mental Toughness Skills in Racing For Triathletes: What Every Triathlete, Runner and Cyclist needs to Know About The Mental Game of Racing."

Check out our newest workbook program for improving mental toughness in triathletes:

Triathlete Confidence

 

In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert Dr. Patrick Cohn interviews Andre Bekker, a professional cyclist and previously ranked #1 in the age category 50+ for the 70.3 Triathlon long distance.

A big challenge that triathletes face when on the bike leg is that they tend to worry about who is around them and very often get irritated with another person on the bike leg that keeps slowing down or passing them.

How do you have that composure when there is another biker on the bike leg trying to get into your head?

BEKKER: "I cannot think of a single race where that has not happened. That is one of the biggest challenges for people on the bike leg..."

It is very important to have those mental toughness tools that help you go back to being calm.

You may think to yourself, "What am I doing? I have a race plan."

It is important to have those mental toughness tools to be able to completely ignore the competitor and focus on your own race.

Listen to this week's podcast to learn what mental game tips Dr. Cohn and Andre Bekker give to triathletes when trying to stay composed on the bike leg when others are trying to pass or slowing you down.

Head over to Peak Sports and check out our Mental Coaching Programs:

Mental Game Coaching For Athletes

Download our FREE Mental Toughness MP3 for Triathletes!

"Mental Toughness Skills in Racing For Triathletes: What Every Triathlete, Runner and Cyclist needs to Know About The Mental Game of Racing."

In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert Dr. Patrick Cohn interviews Andre Bekker, a professional cyclist and previously ranked #1 in the age category 50+ for the 70.3 Triathlon long distance.

Do you have a race plan? Do you use visualization before races?

You want everything to go smooth during races... but what happens when your goggles fall off or your bike tire pops?

What do you do when you have equipment issues or failure?

How do you prepare mentally to deal with some of these challenges in the middle of a transition or swim? What do you do?

Listen to this week's podcast to learn what mental game tips Dr. Cohn and Andre Bekker give to triathletes when having difficulty during a race with equipment.

Head over to Peak Sports and check out our Mental Coaching Programs:

Mental Game Coaching For Athletes

Download our FREE Mental Toughness MP3 for Triathletes!

"Mental Toughness Skills in Racing For Triathletes: What Every Triathlete, Runner and Cyclist needs to Know About The Mental Game of Racing."