If elite athletes believe sport psychology helps them, don’t you think you could benefit too? From the thousands of athletes we’ve worked with over the years, we’ve seen a few patterns. Athletes that are skeptical of mental training often tell us their interest is peaked when they hear about famous athletes who believe in sport psychology.
We’ve all had those days when everything just flows, the mind and the body work together, and we perform at our best. We’ve also had those other days – the body is ready, the training is complete, we’re competing at an event, but it just doesn’t click.
As an athlete you’re going to need more than just physical training to have a competitive edge.
Sports psychology or mental performance coaching can be the key to getting you to perform more consistently.
Let’s look at a couple of different sports where professional athletes you’ve heard of are relying on the help of an expert. Once you get your mental capacity to match your physical capacity, you are so much more valuable. We get it, you have more buy in when you know your favorites buy in too. When we share names with our clients of famous athletes who believe in sport psychology, their eyes light up, their body language shifts, and the tension melts.
Basketball Players Who Know the Power of Having a Mental Performance Coach
Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O’Neal all say that working with sports psychologist George Mumford was an integral part of their success.
Bryant voiced his thoughts on the mental side of the game, saying that mental toughness really is all about not getting too high or getting too low, instead just staying on an even keel. He goes on to say that the trick is not to get too emotionally attached to the situation.
Bryant knew that it’s one thing to be excited, but it’s important to watch out for certain emotions and learn how to react to them. It’s not that you won’t experience the emotion of fear or stress or frustration, it’s creating a plan of how to respond when they do come up. The plan creates the emotion from amplifying more and helps the brain perceive control.
Golfers Who Believe in Mental Skills Training
Moving away from the fast-paced, intense game of basketball, mental training is just as beneficial in other sports. Nick Faldo is one of the most successful golfers of all time. He worked with Kjell Enhager to help bring his career back on track when he wasn’t performing at his best.
Nick Faldo said that Kjell was a big help in analyzing what happened, what was out of sync, and how the body tenses up. He added that you have to give yourself the opportunity to mess up or you are never going to learn from it. Kjell gave him more armor to deal with difficult situations and perform better.
Another big tip from Nick Faldo is to do what works for YOU. For a lot of people, overthinking might mean you get paralyzed by too much analysis. Some people don’t like going over the technical pieces of the game as they compete.
Faldo says he needs those thoughts to perform at his best. It just goes to show that mental training is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Finding a brain coach who understands who you are and adapts the mental training to your strengths is very important.
A Skiier Who Trusts a Sport Psychologist
Whether you’re an elite skier or someone on vacation, the slopes can be threatening. An aggressive state of mind has helped Mikaela Shiffrin conquer her anxiety. Despite her incredible career, she began to suffer from doubt and anxiety in the starting gate. The pressure to win became a challenge.
Suddenly Shiffrin was painfully anxious. She commented that she felt like she was going to throw up before every race and sometimes she did. She said she started to worry about disappointing people, so she sought the help of a sports psychologist, Lauren Loberg.
During one competition, she played the Eminem song “Guts Over Fear,” Eminem took her somewhere new and says she felt aggressive and almost insane. The moment was transformative; the combination of lower expectations and new music set her free.
She says meeting with her sport psychologist wasn’t the kind of relationship that made her feel like she was seeing a shrink or made her feel like she had a problem, instead she felt like she knows her philosophy and her mentality.
Shiffrin recalls advice: “She told me that my biggest fear is that I’m going to disappoint people, that I’m going to disappoint the media or fans or my coaches or my family.”
Loberg helped the skier dispel her fear and anxiety by reminding her that, no matter the result, a race has no bearing on who Shiffrin is as a person. “You’re the same person at the finish as you were at the start,” Loberg told her. “If it was a great run, that’s awesome, but that doesn’t make you a great person. All the moments in between and the moments when nobody sees you are what make you who you are.”
A Baseball Player Who Knows What a Mental Coach Can Do
Framber Valdez went from sluggish to totally focused in the ALCS in October of 2021, completing 8 innings in a postseason game! Dusty Baker commented that it seemed like he put the Game 1 start behind him and didn’t mess around forcing that breaking ball, and when he got behind, he was still attacking the strike zone.
Valdez credited his mindfulness practices as one of the factors in his strong performance. Valdez likes to close his eyes and began meditating, which he turns to when he needs to mentally reset. The process, which he started with his sport psychologist, Andy Nuñez, helps him control his emotions and visualize the success he hopes to achieve on the mound.
“That’s something that every time that I’ve used it, it’s worked for me 100%,” Valdez said. “My emotions don’t get out of hand. I don’t get in an altered state at all and I feel totally focused on what I need to do. That’s something I have been working on a lot and something that really centers me and allows me to be calm out there.”
Whether you’re a professional famous athlete, an Olympic athlete, or just trying to get recruited, you want to make sure you’re using all your resources to perform to your potential.
Want to know a few more famous athletes who believe in sport psychology?
Olympians Who Trust the Power of Sport Psychology
Dr. Karen Cogan, a sport psychologist with the U.S. Olympic team, shared: “We set up high-pressure scenarios in training to help athletes develop coping strategies, so they are mentally equipped to handle the stress and perform optimally.”
A study published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology revealed that mental training interventions led to a 20% improvement in performance outcomes. Mental performance is making a tangible difference in the lives of several Olympic athletes.
Some testimonials from more famous athletes who believe in sport psychology:
Simone Biles attributes her comeback to working on her mental preparation.
Already regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, has been open about her use of mental performance to maintain her competitive edge. Biles, “Visualization and mental rehearsals have been crucial for me, they help me stay calm and focused, especially when the pressure is on.”
Caeleb Dressel credited his performance at the trials to his mental preparation.
According to Dressel, “I’ve seen a therapist every week for the past two years. The mental side of the sport has been the biggest difference for me since Tokyo.”
Noah Lyles emphasized the importance of mental strategies in his training.
Lyles said, “Positive self-talk and goal-setting have been game-changers for me, I’ve stayed motivated and focused on what I need to do.”
Katie Ledecky knows managing her anxiety has helped her race stronger.
Ledecky, a multiple Olympic gold medalist said, “For me, it’s about controlling the controllables and staying present in the moment. My sport psychologist has helped me develop techniques to manage anxiety and focus on my performance.”
Allyson Felix has a high appreciation for her work with a sport psychologist.
Felix, who competed in 5 Olympics, shared “Competing at this level is as much mental as it is physical. Working with a sport psychologist has been a game-changer for me, I visualize and quiet my mind, by closing my eyes, and really going through the motions of what the perfect race looks like”
Athletes, famous or not, are increasingly recognizing that mastering the mental game is essential for achieving their full potential.
With the support of Mental Performance Coaches, they are better equipped to handle the pressures of competition and perform at their best when it counts.
We’re here to support you in achieving your goals, You don’t have to be a famous athlete! We’ve worked with athletes that started with us in junior high and high school that went onto to the Olympics. Maybe one day, we will be cheering you on in trials and beyond!
Maximize the Mind teaches athletes how to thrive under pressure!
Mental performance coaching is far more than just positive thinking or believing you can win. It’s a collection of tools and strategies that everyone can learn, even teens and college athletes.
Adding sport psychology tools to all the physical training will help you perform better. Gone are the days when the word “psychology” sounded negative or like “something is wrong with you.”
Now, it’s seen as an essential thread that ties everything together. When your mental capacity matches your physical capacity, you can become relentless. Mastering your mental game is the most effective way to handle pressure like a pro and have practice transfer to competition consistently.
If you have a way to have a competitive edge, why not use your resources? Let us teach you the strategies we’ve taught professionals, Olympians, and National Champions in the last two decades. Once you learn how to control emotions, reset after mistakes, and trust your decision making, you reach the goals you thought were out of reach 😉
Schedule a session with one of our mental performance coaches.
