AASP Blog for Athletes, Coaches, and Parents
Category: Athletes and Other Performers
The Connection Between Athletic Identity and the Yips
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As an athlete, you spend an incredible amount of time preparing both your body and mind for the challenges of sport competition. Recently, athletes have spoken out about negative experiences associated with sports and the limited resources available to help navigate these problems. One common issue is what is commonly referred to as the yips.
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Self-Care, Wellness, and Mental Health Strategies for College Student-Athletes
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Participation in college athletics can be a wonderful pursuit. Various disciplines of research highlight the psychosocial benefits of sport participation. Research has also shown that exercise and physical movement can improve mental functioning. However, sport participation can also be a significant source of stress for college student-athletes.
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Self-Awareness – An Internal Audit
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Introspection is a valued tool in the process of becoming aware of who you are and what you want to accomplish in your life. Learn more about leveraging self-awareness to become stronger mentally and emotionally as an athlete and person.
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Being Your Own Best Teammate: How Self-Compassion Can Promote and Improve Body Image and Eating Concerns In Men
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The pressure to achieve the "perfect" body is palpable, affecting individuals from all walks of life. Explore key findings and implications of research that emphasize how self-compassion is showing promise as a way to promote healthy body image and well-being.
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There's an Imposter Among Us: How to Combat Imposter Syndrome
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Are you the real deal or an imposter? If you have ever wondered whether you were not good enough or a fraud in your field, you are not alone. Research suggests that upwards of 80% of people have…
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The Inner Critic: Competitiveness and Self-Criticism
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So, you want to be competitive? While the desire to improve is necessary for any sport and performance domain, harsh self-criticism post-performance is a common reality for many athletes that can hinder their long-term success and enjoyment.
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How Music Can Help Athletes Recover from Sports Injuries
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Untreated psychological symptoms of injury can affect athletes long-term. In this article, readers will learn more about viewing sport-related injuries from the mind-body connection as well as rehabilitation techniques that address this concept.
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Mental Health Awareness Month 31-Day Challenge
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AASP invites you to join our 31-Day Mental Wellness Challenge: a series of daily tasks to bring mental health to the forefront of your mind and allow you to take a moment for restorative self-care.
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Connecting the Dots to Eliminating Mental Blocks
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When our minds and bodies are on the same page, we set ourselves up to perform successfully. But what happens when our minds and bodies are not on the same page? Mental block symptoms may develop, such as performance anxiety and fear of performing the skill.
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The End of the Road - Transitioning Out of Sport
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A highly competitive athletic career is marked by a total commitment to the athlete’s chosen sport, involving a daily schedule of training, competition, preparation, and rehabilitation, all of which contribute to the formation of the athletic identity. Learn more about transitions out of sport.
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Using Your Eyes to Conquer Mental Blocks
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When athletes and coaches experience or observe a mental block there are common methods used to help resolve the issue. Seeking professional help from mental performance consultants and licensed psychotherapists is one pathway athletes can use to gain access to and support for these advanced techniques.
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"I Don't Feel My Best:" Suggestions for Overcoming Perfectionism
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Focusing on what you can control, such as your self-talk, can help mediate the effects of perfectionistic concerns and ultimately lead to enhanced performance.
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31-Day AASP Mental Wellness Challenge
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To celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month this May, AASP invites you to prioritize yourself by completing our 31-Day Mental Wellness Challenge: a series of daily tasks to bring mental health to the…
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Feeding the Champ; Fighting the Chump
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How athletes talk to themselves matters. When they consistently practice walking and talking like a Champ, they empower themselves to be more resilient and confident in play. Learn more about refocusing strategies to achieve optimal performance.
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Having Trouble Sticking to Your Exercise Program? Stay Motivated With These 13 Exercise Adherence Strategies
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From AASP Members and Authors: Gabrielle Salvatore, MS, Sheila Alicea, PhD, CMPC, Cynthia Clarke, EdD, CMPC, and Michael Sachs, PhD, CMPC
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Strategies to Support the Adaptation of International Athletes
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Moving to a foreign country is challenging. Athletes making international moves have to navigate new tasks and norms all while adapting to playing for a new club or university team. Part 1 of our 2-part series on supporting international athletes will focus on what athletes can do to cultivate success during the transition.
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Mindfulness as a Means of Coping with COVID-19-Related Stress and Uncertainty in Athletes
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As stressors that negatively impacted mental health accumulated and coping resources were stripped away during the pandemic, there was (and continues to be) a need to identify useful coping strategies for athletes.
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Facilitating Sport Injury Related Growth (SIRG)
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An athlete’s perspective can and will shift throughout their injury experience. Learn more about key applications for athletes looking to achieve sport injury-related growth, defined as “perceived changes that propel injured athletes to a higher level of functioning.”
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AASP 30-Day Mental Health Challenge
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To celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month this May, AASP invites you to take part in a monthlong series of daily tasks and activities to bring mental health and self-care to the forefront of your mind.
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Goal Setting and Monitoring for Self-Care: Facilitating a Mindful and Grateful Attitude
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It is not uncommon for athletes to set goals to meet physical performance demands or achieve certain performance outcomes. However, how often do athletes set goals related to self-care?
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Missing Time in the Competitive Arena: Managing Psychological Responses to Injury
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When an injury impacts performance or keeps a performer out of training and competition for a significant period of time, it is important to implement strategies and attitudes to positively and productively navigate the time away.
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Behind the Scenes: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected the NFL Draft and Off-Season
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The 2020 NFL Draft provided live entertainment to millions of sports fans at a time when the world seemed to need it the most. Sport can act as a diversion from stress and anxiety for many, and with fresh news being in high-demand these days, it's no surprise the NFL Draft-A-Thon Live event was huge. Still, it looked different this year.
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How Olympic and Paralympic Athletes are Adjusting with the Help of Sport Psychology during the Coronavirus Outbreak
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Around the world, sport psychology professionals are actively listening and showing empathy to create a safe space for athletes, coaches, and teams as they process the premature ending of their seasons and begin to cope with an unknown future.
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AASP Mental Health Awareness Month Challenge
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In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and as many seek support during the COVID-19 pandemic, join AASP for a two-week Mental Health Challenge!
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The COVID-19 Pandemic: Tips for Athletes, Coaches, Parents, and the Sport Community
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Everyone in the sport community is feeling the impact of COVID-19. AASP wants you to remember we are all in this together, and has compiled a list of resources and tips to help keep you updated, cope with feelings of stress, and keep you safe.
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Easing the Transition for Retiring Collegiate Student-Athletes
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When an athlete leaves sport, whether the exit is chosen or unpredicted, there is an adjustment in the way they define who they are. How can we help college athletes transition to the next stage of their life? Retiring from sport can be thought of like the first time on a rigorous hike. You might be nervous, but you are capable of more than you know.
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Use Imagery and Self-Talk to Create an Immediate Reduction in Response Time
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In a study of 200 martial artists, it was found those who were trained to use a combination of cognitive specific imagery and motivational self-talk significantly reduced reaction times almost instantly. Read more about this study and positive sport psychology approaches used.
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Inside the Helmet of Extreme Sports: The Psychology of Auto Racing
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When most people think of sports, they think of traditional sports such as baseball, basketball, American football, soccer, etc. When people think of sport psychology, they often think of these same…
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Finding Resilience on a Mountaintop
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“Can you teach them resilience? I need them to be mentally tough.” How many of us have had this request from coaches, administrators, and parents? It is difficult to teach resilience, especially…
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Sport, Race, and Social Justice: Honoring Black Athlete-Activism
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The Dual Role of Athlete and Activist The arena of sport and performance is often regarded as a utopian space where, unlike other facets of society, equity and cultural acceptance are assumed to be…
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The Science Behind Expert Teams: Insights From Sport Psychology
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Blog image credit attributed to: https://www.epicebike.com/ High-performing teams are high in cohesiveness, shared understanding, and a sense of team confidence or collective efficacy. In other words…
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The Power of Optimism
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You know you are in deep trouble; so you face the brutal facts of the challenge you’re facing. But at the same time you feel deeply that you will prevail. This quote comes from James Stockdale, a…
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Burnout or Depression? Understanding the Unique Mental Health Needs of Athletes
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Athletes as a Special Population Mental illness affects approximately 61.5 million Americans each year1; despite this, mental health continues to carry negative stigma that interferes with proper…
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Managing Emotions in Sport
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There is no construct of human psychology and functioning more prevalent in sport than emotion. Mood, emotions, and general affect can influence every movement in every sport. Consider a typical 45…
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Freaked-out Kids in Sports: Keys to Stress Reduction
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A 20-year trend in youth sports emphasizes teaching coaches how to create a healthy psychological environment for their athletes. However, there’s also an important need to educate parents, so they…
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“The Ripples Are Big”: Storying the Impact of Doping in Sport Beyond the Sanctioned Athlete
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Recent doping allegations within track and field include systemic doping (e.g. Russian Athletics), corrupt administration (e.g. the International Association of Athletics Federation; IAAF), and leaked…
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Changing the Game
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"The player is on the clock from the day he arrives in the NFL. He's not thinking about what's going to happen when he exits. He's thinking that the fun has just begun." -- Troy Vincent, EVP of…
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Sport Psychology at the Winter Olympics
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Sean McCann, senior sport psychologist for the United States Olympic Committee, and former president of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, on the role that sport psychology plays in…
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Sport Fandom and Performance
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We've all witnessed it—sports fans enthusiastically cheering for their favorite teams. Loud clapping, jumping up and down and even booing can affect athlete performance. Dr. Rick Grieve, an…
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Overcoming Negative Thinking While Running
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Struggling with negative thoughts during long workouts? Cindra Kamphoff offers a few suggestions for how to embrace discomfort and use self-talk to stay positive.
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Auto Racing & Mental Skills
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Tami Eggleston gives a few tips on how auto racers (and other athletes) can use mental skills to help them get the most out of their practices.
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Understanding Student-Athlete Burnout
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There is a school of thought in American sport today that "more is better." Parents and coaches, perhaps dreaming of the spoils of athletic success, are encouraging kids at increasingly younger ages…
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How to Choose a Mental Performance Consultant
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Each mental performance consultant possesses a specific set of skills that defines the scope of their competencies. Thus, when choosing a consultant, it is important for athletes, coaches/parents, and…
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Could I Be Hazing? A Definition and Positive Initiation Ideas
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Is it wrong to want to uphold your team’s longstanding team traditions? Is it bad to want to develop team unity? Is it terrible to want your new teammates to grow an understanding of what it means…
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Overcoming Performance Errors with Resilience
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A common occurrence that all athletes encounter is performance errors. All athletes make mistakes; it is a natural part of learning to be competent at any activity. Since mistakes are normal, it is…
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Principles of Effective Goal Setting
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1. Make goals specific, observable and in measurable terms – Setting general goals such as improving your shooting percentage in basketball is easy but it becomes hard to determine how to…
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Playing Pressure Points
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Tennis is a game of momentum. When a player makes a dramatic shot at a critical time, the momentum is likely to be on their side. When an unforced error occurs, frustration mounts and momentum can…
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The 3 C’s of Being a Captain
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Larry Lauer, PhD and Kevin Blue Major Point: Captains embody 3 C’s in leading their team: Caring, Courageous, and Consistent. Being named a team captain is quite the honor. The position of captain…
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Pain Tolerance in Sport
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Pain is ever-present in sport. An athlete’s ability to tolerate pain is essential to success. Pain provides valuable information about your body and how it is performing. To maximize…
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Cue Statements: Staying Focused at Critical Times
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Emily is a collegiate volleyball player. As a defensive specialist, she often receives serves and establishes the defensive plays for her team. She has recently struggled with losing concentration and…
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Disordered Eating in Athletes: Understanding the Basics and What We Can Do About It
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Updated January 8, 2021 (originally published July 31, 2014) by Dana K. Voelker, West Virginia University; Jenny Conviser, ASCEND Consultation in Health Care, LLC; Hayley Perelman, Yale University…
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NCAA Swimmer Develops Mental Skills That Carry Her Beyond Olympic Medal
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Western Kentucky University graduate Claire Donahue set many records as a swimmer for her NCAA Division I school. Today she is a member of the USA Swimming team competing internationally, as well as…
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