We all have known coaches throughout our lives who have used “fear” as a motivator.  Whether they insulted the athlete or threatened not to play him, the key component of their style was insulting, threatening and punitive screaming.  Often such coaches believed in that style because that’s how their coaches treated them and “look how well I did in my sport.”

Now, research reported in the Monitor on Psychology shows that the best way to develop athletic motivation and effort is to focus on skill development and anxiety reduction.  This method involves creating an environment where athletes have fun and keep their anxiety levels acceptable.  In this environment, they’re trying to improve, give maximum effort and have good relationships with their coaches, so they are more likely to listen to what you tell them.

Essentially, the method involves the coaches completing a self-monitoring form after each practice and this monitoring system enables them to estimate the percentage of times they provided technical instruction when a player made a mistake, offered encouragement, and praised good performance and effort.  This method can be eye opening for the coach, since most do not praise good effort; instead, they criticize performance.  The authors have developed a coaching technique that coaches can learn, entitled “the positive sandwich.”  When a player makes a mistake during a game, the coach does NOT get angry or insulting.  Instead, he or she finds some behavior to compliment about the play, then gives a specific technical correction and ends it with a note of encouragement.

On the average, 35 percent of young athletes drop out of sports following one season of “traditional coaching.” When the positive sandwich technique is employed, only 5 percent dropped out of the sport the following year.

With this method, even children with low self-esteem responded positively to highly supportive coaches.

Although most coaches have the goal of winning as a priority, using this method they will “save” some potential superstars who would otherwise have quit and never realized their potential.

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

I am available for phone consultations with athletes around the U.S. and in-person visits with athletes in Southern California.

Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.
Certified, Licensed Sport Psychologist
Diplomate, National Institute of Sports Professionals, Division of Psychologists
Diplomate, American Academy of Behavioral Medicine
Certified Hypnotherapist, American Academy of Clinical Hypnosis

Hypnosis for athletes was something that was unheard of some years ago, but is now considered an important tool in the elite athlete’s arsenal. This applies to all activities from football to poker!

Did you know that hypnosis and self-hypnosis are actually commonplace occurrences that most of us engage in on a regular basis without realizing it?

How many times have you noticed that when you are driving, you are surprised when you arrive at your destination without observing the familiar scenery or landmarks along the way? It was almost as if you were driving on automatic pilot, while your conscious mind was focused elsewhere. This highway hypnosis is an example of going into a trance while your eyes are wide open, and is similar to an athlete using self-hypnosis during a game or match.

And think about all of those times in school when you were in a boring class and found yourself daydreaming or thinking about your girlfriend or boyfriend. This mental visualization is also a type of hypnotic state. So, most of us actually have been hypnotized thousands of times without realizing we were engaging in self-hypnosis.
 
Although the amazing power of hypnosis for U.S. athletes has been largely overlooked until recently, for years Eastern European nations have been realizing the amazing difference that sports hypnosis can have on athletic performance. In the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, the Russians brought a team of eleven hypnotists with them, to instill confidence and the will to win in the Russian athletes.  And we all know how powerful the Russian teams have been over the years.
 
The power of hypnosis on focus and performance was also displayed beautifully in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Summer Games, when Olympic diver Greg Louganis hit his head on the board while performing a complicated dive during the 3 meter final. In what is considered one of the greatest feats in sporting history, Louganis, his head gushing blood, had the wound treated while he put earphones on to listen to hypnosis tapes. Amazingly, Greg then went out to score a perfect dive the second time, enough to earn him the gold medal. That dive is still shown on television today. In fact, I saw it yesterday.
 
Among Certified Sports Psychologists, there are only a handful of us who are also Certified Sports Hypnosis Experts. We teach hypnotic techniques to athletes in literally all sports; to enhance such important individual dynamics as intensity, focus, consistency, concentration and anxiety control and to enhance team dynamics, such as working toward the common goal and intrateam cohesion.  

In my work with elite athletes I have seen the amazing power of hypnotic techniques produce amazing results.

• Quarterbacks developed imagery, footwork and anxiety control during oncoming rushes.
• Basketball players increased their free throw percentage.
• Police Olympic shooters dramatically increased their accuracy.
• Tennis players skyrocketed their intensity, confidence and strength during changeovers.
• Golfers learned to ignore past errors and stayed in the moment on each hole.
• Hockey players learned to visualize setting up scoring plays during their shifts.
• And athletes with chronic, debilitating pain learned how to actually eliminate their pain!

I invite you to download my FREE “Hypnosis for Sports Success” below:

Power Breathing

Breathing correctly is the key to athletic success. In less than 3 minutes, top sports psychologist Dr. Jack Singer will improve your breathing for maximum relaxation and performance. Download a FREE MP3 file or a ZIP file hypnosis sample.

Hypnosis for Sports Success

Dr. Jack Singer, sports psychologist to athletes, coaches, and professional teams created Core Sports Performance, Accelerated Sports Healing, and Advanced Sports Pain Management for The Hypnosis Network.  If you would like to improve your performance, heal more quickly, or manage nagging sports pain so you can get back in the game, “Dr.  Jack” is the best in the business at bringing the mind into harmony with the body.

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Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.
Certified, Licensed Sport Psychologist
Diplomate, National Institute of Sports Professionals, Division of Psychologists
Diplomate, American Academy of Behavioral Medicine
Certified Hypnotherapist, American Academy of Clinical Hypnosis

Are you a serious poker player who wants to raise your game and perform at peak levels consistently?

“In more than 20 years of coaching competitive tennis players I have never had a more effective tool for mentally preparing players for intense competition than Dr. Jack Singer’s Psychology programs. I certainly wish I had these tools when I was on the pro circut!

~ Harmann Pappas, Former ATP tour Player, Professional Tennis Coach

Now you can learn to apply the same secrets that Sport Psychologists use to train elite athletes to skyrocket your Poker success and maintain the “winner’s edge”.

Would you like to:

• Stop repeating the same mental mistakes over and over again?
• Be mentally tough every time you compete?
• Stay motivated to persist and achieve?
• Instantly rebound out of performance slumps?
• Remain optimistic despite setbacks?
• Learn the exact mental training secrets that top athletes use?

All of the skills of the poker superstar are exactly the same skills that separate good athletes from world-class, elite athletes.

As a professional Sports Psychologist I train world champions in many sports. Now, you can learn to develop the precise mental and emotional skills that will maximize your poker performance, consistently. You can learn how to develop the mental toughness, confidence, consistency, motivation and attitudes of elite athletes in order to turbo charge your poker performance. 

I will also teach you the ultimate “unfair advantage…” Sports Hypnosis! Imagine how powerful your game will be once you learn how to use the power of self-hypnosis to master your skills, consistently.

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

Please be aware that I do not encourage gambling, nor do I work with clients I suspect may have gambling addictions. If this is an issue, I will refer you to an addictions specialist for immediate and successful treatment.

I am available for phone consultations with athletes around the U.S. and in-person visits with athletes in Southern California.

Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.
Certified, Licensed Sport Psychologist
Diplomate, National Institute of Sports Professionals, Division of Psychologists
Diplomate, American Academy of Behavioral Medicine
Certified Hypnotherapist, American Academy of Clinical Hypnosis

You just split sets with a tough opponent. You won the first easily and he won a close second set. As you begin the third set, you become aware of subtle changes in your approach to each point. You’ve been in this situation before. You are playing it “safe” or playing “not to lose.” As usual, you lose the third set and the match, leaving you frustrated and upset at yourself for falling back into this negative habit.

Note that this “Fear of Failing” syndrome applies to every athlete in every sport. We see it in basketball, soccer and hockey players who prefer to pass rather than take an open shot. We see it in baseball and softball players, who freeze in the batter’s box, on the pitcher’s mound or in the infield, rather than charging a ball, for example. In this article, I am focusing on tennis players.

The fear of making a mistake, looking foolish or being embarrassed by losing overcame your natural aggressiveness and the trust you had in your game plan and style, which worked well for you in the first set. Why does this happen and what can you do about it?

Perfectionism and All or Nothing Thinking

Many fine athletes tend to be perfectionists. Because they have been highly successful, their belief is that their success is due to paying attention to every detail and they see any defeat as a poor reflection of them. They tend to think rigidly, in black/while dichotomies, believing that if they don’t do something perfectly, they have failed. They rarely give themselves a break or accept the fact that nothing in this world is perfect.

Self-Talk and the Mind-Body Connection

It is a known axiom that an athlete’s performance at any given time equals her/his natural talent, minus distractions. Distractions can be external, such as being distracted by the cheering for your opponent. But the most common distractions we all face are internal – our internal dialogue.

Every athlete engages in self-talk, before, during and after the match. The problem is that unless you are keeping a careful record of your thoughts prior to and during critical points in your match, you will not be aware of the mental traps you in which you place yourself. There is a broad body of research showing that thoughts translate instantly to every cell (and muscle) in the body. Whereas positive thoughts “switch on” the nervous system that relaxes the body, negative thoughts “switch on” the emergency preparedness nervous system, which immediately tightens up muscles.

With this in mind, think about what happens when you are getting ready for a third set and you say the following to yourself, “I hope I don’t blow this,” or “I’d better be careful or I will lose the match.” Such negative, self-destructive statements immediately lead to getting tight and you no longer are can consistently control your shots. What’s worse is that when you lose the set and match, you are prone to tell yourself, “See, I knew I was going to blow the match.” Thus, your original thought becomes a negative self-fulfilling prophesy, likely to continue happening in future matches, unless you recognize what’s happening.

Relationship Between Fear of Failure and Self-Confidence

Self-doubts become devastating self-fulfilling prophesies, which erode your self-confidence. Fear of failure is like every other fear—it is irrational. First, it is irrational, because losing a tennis match is not failure—it can be success, if you learn what adjustments to make the next time you are in this situation. Moreover, there are many parts of a losing match in which you were successful. You can build on those successful moments. So when you learn something you can use in future matches, a loss can actually be considered an opportunity to improve your game and your emotional approach.

The problem for many players is that a loss negatively impacts their self-confidence. and a lack of self-confidence leads to more negative self-talk, so the circle of unfortunate outcomes continues. Below are two major steps you can take to overcome this fear.

The Thought Stopping Technique

The first step in overcoming the Fear of Failure pattern is to recognize the specific negative, distorted thoughts that you habitually use before and during matches. Keep a notebook in your bag and as soon as you have cooled down (physically and mentally) after a match, write down every negative thought you can recall from the match. The more specific the thought and exactly where in the match it occurred, the better you will be able to prevent it from interfering in future matches.

Once you see your pattern of negative thinking, you are ready to stop this habit. For your next match, use a fat rubber band that fits comfortably on your wrist and snap it as soon as a negative thought enters your mind. The snapping will stop the thought, but because these thoughts are often persistent, you may need to repeatedly snap away. Once the thought stops, take a series of deep, relaxing breaths, in through your nose and out your mouth, stretch your quads and tell yourself to relax. Step three is replacing the negative thought with a positive one, such as:

“I will continue to play aggressively, regardless of the score because that is one of my strengths.

” I won several games by coming to the net for a winner volley and I will continue to do that in the third set.”

“I trust my body and I will just relax and let my talent take over.”

The Practice Simulation Technique

Practice visualizing yourself in a stress- packed situation (i.e., a third set tiebreak) and try to allow the tension to build as if it was the real thing. Then practice telling snapping the rubber band, relaxing yourself and giving yourself positive messages, such as “I will stay with what got me here…aggressive play and taking every opportunity that presents itself.” Have a portion of every practice session be a simulated tie break situation and tell your partner to be ruthless with you. Practice letting the tension build and then calm it down, staying positive and aggressive.

Maintaining your desire to be successful greater than your fear of losing, will consistently help your performance. Embrace each situation and use a strong game plan to overcome the fear of losing. Tell yourself that the style and plan which has served you well earlier in the match will continue to serve you well throughout the match, regardless of the score or whether the match is on the line. Focus on your plan for each point and never fear the outcome of the game, set or match. When you do lose, take the lessons learned from that match into the next match, so that in essence, every loss is a gain!

Remember these truths:

Negative Self-Talk (Playing Not to Lose) –>Negative Emotions –> Getting Tight –>Inconsistent Racquet Control –>Inconsistent Focus & Performance

Positive Self-Talk (Playing to Succeed) –> Positive Emotions –>Relaxed Muscles –> Good Racquet Control –>Consistently Positive Focus & Performance

Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.
Certified, Licensed Sport Psychologist
Diplomate, National Institute of Sports Professionals, Division of Psychologists
Diplomate, American Academy of Behavioral Medicine
Certified Hypnotherapist, American Academy of Clinical Hypnosis

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

The Sports Psychologist, who should be Certified and well-trained in examining the whole person, can provide the athlete with skills that can really develop an elite athlete from a good athlete. Coaches and trainers focus almost exclusively on left brain activities, including game plans, strategy, technique, speed, agility, muscle building, etc. Most athletes focus exclusively on training using the left brain. Accordingly, athletes are cheated because their right brains are being ignored.

Right brain activities include balance, emotions, music, and visualization, all of which can really enhance performance. The Sports Psychologist trains the athlete to exercise the right brain along with the left brain. For example, teaching mental toughness skills (including intensity, confidence and emotions during key moments in competition) critically important in peak performance.

Overcoming pressure is another right brain activity that can be taught to athletes. These skills include recognizing the causes of emotions during key moments in competition and how to modify those emotions, if necessary.

Stress management skills are critical and necessary if the athlete wants to compete successfully and consistently. Interestingly, a certain amount of tension (i.e., being on edge, pumped up, psyched) is crucial for peak performance to be maintained. In fact, the athlete with too much relaxation is at the same disadvantage as the athlete with too much tension. The key for each athlete is to learn where the exact mixture of relaxation and tension lies. This is where the Clinical Sports Psychologist with hypnosis training can really help the athlete zone in on that level and learn to modify it as game conditions warrant. Too much tension is lowered by deep breathing and calming thoughts and not enough tension is raised by jumping, exercises, etc. to raise the heart beat.

Goal setting, while a left brain activity, is closely linked with right brain activities, such as emotions, patience, optimism and learning to overcome obstacles. These are also key skills that the Sports Psychologist can teach the athlete.

In addition, there are many issues in an athlete’s life that can impact her/his sports performance. Relationship stressors, personality traits (e.g., perfectionism, anger vulnerability), attention deficits, mood changes, and the lack of life skills (e.g., assertiveness) are just a few of the factors that can dramatically impact ones performance on the playing field. Consequently, a comprehensive initial history and mental status exam is necessary in order to plan the treatment. In fact, many parents bring their youngsters to me in order to teach them life skills that will also be used in their sport. For example, the young athlete who gets overly anxious during competition also gets overly anxious prior to taking a test. The same coping skills can be taught for both issues.

Perhaps the best right brain skill the athlete can learn is self-hypnosis and visualization. I have referred to these skill sets as the “unfair advantage,” because they really propel athletes to enhance their performance.

Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.
Certified, Licensed Sport Psychologist
Diplomate, National Institute of Sports Professionals, Division of Psychologists
Diplomate, American Academy of Behavioral Medicine
Certified Hypnotherapist, American Academy of Clinical Hypnosis

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

Just recently an emotional LaDainian Tomlinson bid farewell to his team, to the fans who supported him from the beginning, and to the dream of playing for the San Diego Chargers through his entire, record-setting career. Several times during the questions from the press, L.T. discussed professional football being a “business,” alluding to the fact that decisions are made for business reasons, despite the feelings and desires of the players. 

L.T.’s dismissal from the Chargers is like any other business laying off a loyal employee, where the message received is something like, “It doesn’t matter that you have contributed so much to our organization. You are no longer useful to us.”

Many observers claim that with the current Charger coaching staff, the running game is eschewed in favor of the pass, thus rendering L.T.’s contribution “unimportant” and his continual presence too expensive. Whether that is the reason the decision was made is not being made public, but one thing that was made public was L.T.’s candid revelation a few weeks ago that there was something wrong with the “organizational climate” this season. 

Too often, professional athletes feel like they are “pieces of meat” who are revered as long as they can produce what is expected of them. Injuries are no excuse…don’t perform and we’ll find someone who will. Where is the loyalty? “It’s a business,” they say, rather than a family, where folks look out for and help each other during difficult times. 

If a company’s productivity or its’ employee morale drops, they can hire a management consultant to diagnose the causes. Professional sports teams can do the same thing, but they rarely do. Instead, they just go out and look for bodies to take the place of the people they let go and hope that the “organizational climate or culture” will accommodate them. Sadly, these teams are missing the true causes of their difficulties. Their biggest assets are their athletes, yet the management of these teams rarely give them the dignity and respect to try to assess what’s happening with them, in order to right the ship. 

Professional Sport Psychologists are fully equipped to help teams assess the “organizational climate or culture” issues, not only to right the ship, but to prevent problems from occurring. Perhaps if the Chargers had done this in the first place, L.T. would be finishing his glorious career with the team he loved so much.

Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.
Certified, Licensed Sport Psychologist
Diplomate, National Institute of Sports Professionals, Division of Psychologists
Diplomate, American Academy of Behavioral Medicine
Certified Hypnotherapist, American Academy of Clinical Hypnosis

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Dr. Jack Singer found on this Website as long as Dr. Jack Singer’s name and contact information is included. Jack Singer, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Pyschologist, Sport Psychologist, Marriage, Family & Relationship Therapist, Professional Motivational Speaker. http://drjacksinger.com, toll free 800-497-9880.

Of much greater concern to me is his hiding and disclosure that he will be giving up golf indefinitely.  As a Clinical and Sport Psychologist, my belief is that Tiger Woods is in the throes of a major emotional breakdown, which involves mourning what is essentially the death of his life as he knew it all of these years.  His marriage may be irreparably damaged, his children may be headed for Sweden, his sponsors are jumping overboard daily and he has humiliated himself and his family.

I pray that he is in the hands of a competent psychologist…not just in the hands of the PR folks, bodyguards and “yes men” who try to insulate him.  My concern is that he may feel so overwhelmed and so battered that thoughts of death may be preferable to facing the complete meltdown of his life, both public and personal. Certainly many people have taken their lives for lesser reasons.

It’s time to stop feeding off of Tiger’s circumstances, leave him be and hope that he can get the competent help he needs to come to grips with his demons and the triggers that led him into the dangerous waters in which he has been swimming.  Only then can he heal and put his life back together again. 

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Dr. Jack Singer found on this Website as long as Dr. Jack Singer’s name and contact information is included. Jack Singer, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Pyschologist, Sport Psychologist, Marriage, Family & Relationship Therapist, Professional Motivational Speaker. http://drjacksinger.com, toll free 800-497-9880.

Despite an unusual rain storm in Southern California, we had a full house of people who were excited and energized by the presentations from me, Athletic Performance Coach Leslie Cordova and Vito LaFata. 

I showed the audience the secrets to sports success that even most pros don’t understand and demonstrated what I call the “Unfair Advantage”.  I also discussed Sports Hypnosis and showed the audience how they could be put into a hypnotic state is less than 30 seconds. The crowd let us know that they were leaving invigorated and motivated to reach greater levels of performance in their sports. All in all, it was a great day!

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Dr. Jack Singer found on this Website as long as Dr. Jack Singer’s name and contact information is included. Jack Singer, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Pyschologist, Sport Psychologist, Marriage, Family & Relationship Therapist, Professional Motivational Speaker. http://drjacksinger.com, Toll Free 800-497-9880.

There are plenty of episodes of athletes out of control . . . Serena Williams has a complete meltdown in front of thousands of her fans at the U.S. Open. Oregon football player LaGarette Blount punches a Boise State player after a frustrating game and then losing his cool with a fan. A 2004 melee between the Detroit Pistons and Indian Pacers, where fans were also involved. And a few seasons ago, a brawl between most of the football players from the University of Miami and FIU.

Often athletes who engage in out-of-control behaviors rationalize that everyone in the situation would react that way. Obviously, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, where athletes are provoked continuously and most do not melt down. Another rationalization is that in hockey, for example, fighting is often encouraged by coaches and is condoned as a motivational technique. Research was conducted over the course of one hockey season, in which the numbers of fighting penalties among NHL teams were matched up with their league standings. The results showed a strong NEGATIVE relationship between the number of fighting penalties and the teams’ standings!

Typical justifications for fighting take the form of “I need to stand up for our teammates, or I’ll look soft,” “You can’t embarrass us in our house,” and “You need to respect me as a man/woman.” The sad fact is that emotional meltdowns always trump intelligence.

So, given that there are hundreds of provocations made to elite athletics each season, why do some athletes melt down, while others don’t? The answer lies in team leadership, from the manager/coach to the team captains and whether anger proneness is recognized early on and treated in a proactive manner or ignored. And for individual melt downs, the answer lies in an athlete understanding the triggers to their own anger.

Anger mastery programs help. Once such program is my athletes Anti-Provocation Training (APTitude)Program.

This program is based on the athlete learning the exact triggers which provoke his/her anger and temporary loss of control. For example, in Serena’s case, I’m sure that her embarrassment while her match was in jeopardy (to huge underdog Kim Clijsters) set her up for losing control of her emotions and the unusual and rare foot fault penalty put her over the top.

Once the athlete recognizes his/her trigger points, alternative thought patterns are taught and rehearsed, so that the “bang-bang” reaction is interrupted by a more rational thought and plan of action.

My program involves a ten-step strategy, where the end result is calmer heads prevailing, separation skills, active listening skills and an immediate cooling down.

For more information on Dr. Jack Singer’s Anti-Provocation Training (APTitude) Programs please call toll free at 1-800-497-9880.

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 30 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Dr.Jack Singer found on this Website as long as Dr. Jack Singer’s name and contact information is included. Jack Singer, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Pyschologist, Sport Psychologist, Marriage, Family & Relationship Therapist, Professional Motivational Speaker. http://drjacksinger.com, toll free 800-497-9880.