As her proud dad wrote, “Ashton had her Level 7 State Championship meet this weekend.  Going into the meet, she had 3 goals:

1. Stay on the beam
2. Win vault
3. And score a 38 in the all-around (which she had never done before).

Well, she did all three!  Ashton is the newly crowned CA State Vault Champion.  She also medaled on Bars, Floor, and Beam (all with personal bests), and was second in the All-Around with a 38.00.  Her teammate (and good friend) was the all-around champion, with a score of 38.10.”

Ashton is well on her way to gymnastics stardom.  I am so proud to have helped her along the way!

Jon recently aired a segment on his radio show in which he had the opportunity to talk with 3 former professional football players about life after a career in professional sports.

It was a telling story in that it emphasized the fact that besides being one play away from retirement as a result of injury, the average career is but a whisp of smoke within the context of the remaining and long years that athletes face when the cheering comes to an end.  And make no mistake, as our guests stressed when your life as pro ends, it ends period.

Gone for many are the big paychecks, public recognition and the feeling of being part of a team.  In other words your life as you knew it is over.

For the majority of former pros what awaits them is unemployment, divorce, financial destitution and for some the daunting challenges of dealing with addiction.

But life doesn’t have to end up that way, as there are options for making a successful transition to a life after professional sports.

While each of the athletes had made a successful transition to new lives when their playing days came to an end, this is not the case for close to 80% of all professional players as most struggle with financial insolvency, unemployment, divorce and for many some form of addiction.

I will provide sound advice for former athletes, in fact for anyone facing a significant life change whether it be in career, financial setback or death of a partner. Please join us by clicking here to either listen in live or to download the show for future listening.

By Dr. Jack Singer

Stress and World Class Coaches by Dr. Jack Singer

Much attention is paid to the impact of stress on elite athletes, but until recently, the impact of stress on their coaches has been largely ignored.  What is really important about this new discovery is that the way coaches deal with their own stress directly impacts the performance of their athletes. 

The amount of stress a world class or Olympic coach experiences is a function of his/her perception of the demands (stressors) made by their job and their own ability to cope with stressors.  So much attention has been given to teaching athletes how to cope with the stressors of performing their sport,  but we now know that if their coaches do not cope, it will impact their coaching skills and ultimately, the athlete’s performance. 

World class and Olympic coaches complain about psychological, physical and behavioral responses to their stress, such as having low frustration tolerance, acting fidgety, and agitated.  These coaches complain of burnout symptoms, including mental fatigue and a sense of reduced enjoyment about their coaching roles.  This impacts their athletes, both because of the coach’s body language  and the tone of voice from the coach to the athlete.  These are both potential sources of strain for their athletes.

The solution is that professional Sport Psychologists should pay as much attention to helping coaches develop the skills and strategies needed to cope with the demands of world class coaching.  Only then will the elite athlete have the best opportunity to let his/her true talent shine.

I am also available for phone consultations with athletes around the U.S. and in-person visits with athletes in Southern California. Call today toll free at 1-800-497-9880 for a free 20 minute telephone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

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

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 and Licensed Sport and Clinical Psychologist
Diplomate, National Institute of Sports Professionals, Division of Psychologists
Diplomate, American Academy of Behavioral Medicine
Certified Hypnotherapist, American Academy of Clinical Hypnosis

PESSIMISTIC  VS. OPTIMISTIC ORIENTATIONS

The world’s expert in the study of Optimism is Dr. Martin Seligman, whose book, “Learned Optimism,” is a classic in the field. Seligman’s research shows that pessimistic athletes and teams believe that losses and even poor performance during crunch time reflect their lack of ability to succeed .  These athletes and teams have learned to feel helpless in terms of controlling their performance, and thus their success or failure.

The research shows that when these athletes are confronted by unfortunate circumstances–such as, in tennis,  a series of double faults, windy conditions or the belief that their opponent is cheating — they will weaken, get angry, tighten up and believe they cannot succeed. This self-fulfilling prophecy almost always leads to continued poor performance, so the athlete will ultimately lose the set and match.  These pessimistic thinkers don’t expect to win the next time out and with this negative expectation, they most likely will lose subsequent matches.  This, of course, reinforces their negative view of themselves and their abilities and the negativity snowball is rolling down hill.

On the other hand, optimistic athletes look at the same negative events as temporary setbacks, and as opportunities to actually re-focus and crank up their performance during the rest of the match.  They recognize that they have ultimate control over their internal dialogue and how they view negative events.  For example, they may “blame” a poor game or set on being distracted by fans cheering for their opponent or on the weather on getting irritated by the opponent cheating.  They recognize that they can now change their thinking, re-focus on their game plan, re-capture the momentum and still grasp victory. Even if they eventually lose the match, these optimistic thinkers understand how to change their internal dialogue prior to and during their next match.  Accordingly, these players will go into the next match expecting success and will usually win!

WHAT COACHES NEED TO KNOW

There are wonderfully researched, brief methods available to determine whether a person (or even a team) is oriented more toward optimism or pessimism.  This is great news for both the athlete and his/her coach:

• All other things being equal, coaches should concentrate on recruiting athletes who are optimistically oriented.  They are definitely more successful over time than are pessimistically oriented athletes;
• For athletes already on a tennis team, learning their orientation can help the coach make better decisions related to spot positions and substitutions.
• The really good news is that a pessimistic orientation is a learned phenomenon.  Therefore, once the athlete understands her/his degree of pessimistic thinking, there are excellent programs for retraining that athlete to develop an optimistic orientation.  This will definitely lead to improved and more consistent performance.
• Entire teams can learn how to interpret defeat in an optimistic way.  This is a powerful and proven tool for improving team performance, particularly after a tough loss.

**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.