You may recall my earlier post “Mindfulness, Meditation and Muse” where I discussed my initial experiences using the Muse EEG headband system. Here is the link to that post: I am now going on my 5th month of utilizing the Muse system and thought an update on my experiences was in order. During this time, […]
More Musings on Muse Read More »
You find yourself walking towards the first stand of the competition early one morning, but you are just not feeling it! You are a little doubtful of your abilities even though you have seen and broken these same targets a hundred times before. Your lack of confidence shows up in your physical presence. Your posture
The Wonder Woman Pose Read More »
Just yesterday, I had a conversation with a fellow sporting clays shooter about the trials and tribulations of performing while dealing with pain associated with various and sundry medical conditions. This seems to be more common as we age. Mental skills are all about learning how to stay focused allowing peak performance, but focus can
Things That Work – Gravity Defyer Mighty Walker Shoes Read More »
In a word – “YES”!!! According to the Mayo Clinic (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389) there are numerous benefits to regular physical activity including: Controls weight Combats health conditions and disease Improves mood Boosts energy Promotes better sleep Can be fun and social What does this mean in terms of mental skills and the recreational athlete? Being more fit
Did we Evolve to Become Couch Potatoes? Read More »
It happens to all athletes at one time or another. You are performing consistently well, then suddenly, inexplicably, the wheels just come off. The basketball player can’t find the hoop, the golfer gets a case of the yips, the baseball batter is swatting at air, the shooter just can’t connect with the target – even
Seeing Your Way Out of a Slump! Read More »
I have a YouTube channel primarily for the purpose of being able to upload videos to incorporate into this blog. Little did I know, I actually had a reader subscribe to my channel and post an insightful question! Here is the question: In your background photo, your bookcase collection is prominent. I’m also building an
Foundational Reading in Sport Mental Skills Development Read More »
Don’t you wish you could draw on confidence in the same manner as you can draw water from a well? In a sense, you can – but maybe not in the way you might be thinking! Let’s explore confidence today. One of the most impactful books I have run across on confidence is Tomas Chamoro-Premuzic’s
Going to the Confidence Well! Read More »
Many thanks to two fellow shooters who elected to provide some feedback on their own goal setting process for the coming year. May their comments inspire others to put their thoughts into words, and their words into actions! First, lets hear from Grant O’Neal – a fellow shooter who like myself, adopted sporting clays later
Community Feedback on Goals Read More »
It’s that time of the year again! The final week of the year. Time to reflect on what went well, and what needs improvement headed into the new year. How many of us have come up with a new year’s resolution that is forgotten just as soon as the confetti is cleaned up from the
New Year’s Resolutions Read More »
My recent post on mindfulness is, by leaps and bounds, the most popular post I have published to date. I guess that should not come as a surprise given that mindfulness is a hot topic, not only in sport, but in psychology in general. While studying Sport Psychology, I read paper after paper indicating that
Mindfulness, Meditation and Muse Read More »
While I am not known for being a “gadget person” (I finally got a blackberry about the time they ceased to be the dominant smartphone), I am always on the lookout for anything that can help with sport performance. About 6 months ago, I was flipping through my most recent edition of “Clay Target Nation”,
Phil Kiner’s Ocular Bootcamp Read More »
Those who shoot NSCA (National Sporting Clays Association) registered events know just how challenging it is to move up the ranks. It takes 60 “punches” to progress from “D Class” where shooters begin the journey to “Master Class” – a journey involving navigating through 5 classes (D, C, B, A, AA, and Master). Punches are
NC Shooter’s Meteoric Rise from D-Class to Master Class in 17 Months! Read More »
There are many ways to take advantage of visualization methods. One very powerful technique is to use visualization to “prime” your subconscious brain with the results you want it to achieve. Much like a pump that is primed to get it flowing steadily, we can also prime our subconscious to deliver what we want out
Visualizing Your Future – Prime the Pump! Read More »
Brad Lawrence has been my “across-the-street neighbor” for many years now. In addition to being a soccer player for decades, he has also coached youth teams. I reached out to Brad two years ago when I needed help for a class assignment that involved interviewing a coach in order to provide a mental skills plan
Comments from A Youth Soccer Coach / Recreational Athlete Read More »
If you want to know how popular the term “Mindfulness” has become, just Google it like I just did – Google returned 302 million hits! Searching for “Mindfulness in Sport” pares it down to a staggering 42 million! That is a lot of information to weed through! With so much information out there, it is
Another great way to make use of visualization it to create your own video showing yourself successfully performing key skills in your own sport. As we discussed before, the same areas of your brain light up in an fMRI machine when you visualize doing an activity just as if you were actually performing the real
Be the Star of Your Own “Greatest Hits” Video Read More »
I got a comment that my post on goal setting seemed pretty complicated! It need not be! At the risk of suffering some personal embarrassment, I present to you the first set of goals I developed for myself before the start of the 2019 shooting season. Note that I did not adhere strictly to all
More on Setting Goals – A Sample! Read More »
Tis the season to start working on that naughty and nice list! One of the best things you can do to take some cognitive load off your brain is to use lists. I had an interesting experience with lists this weekend while preparing for a competition. Let me share it with you! I have a
Making a List, Checking it Twice … Read More »
Every athlete has had the experience of having the wheels come off during a performance! Wouldn’t it be nice to have a reset button to press that would set things back on track? Well, there is! I like to use a tried and true, two-step procedure to get thinks headed in the right direction. The
Hit the Reset Button! Read More »
I had a great time shooting in two sporting clays events today posting mid pack (5/11 in main and 3/5 in sub-gauge) finishes in both events in my class. I always like to evaluate my performance after each shoot from both a technical and mental skills standpoint in order to identify areas where I am
A Post-mortem of my Personal Mental Skills Performance Today! Read More »
Three broad types of visualization are useful for the athlete: Using visualization during the performance (for example, as part of a pre-shot routine in basketball free-throws, golf, or shooting). Using visualization outside of the sport arena- a form of off-line mental rehearsal. Use of visualization to define desired outcomes and external reactions to prime the
Visualization: Off-line Mental Rehearsal Read More »
The conscious brain functions, characterized by that little voice in your head that incessantly chatters, is great for planning shots, but the execution of the shot is best left to sub-conscious control. Unfortunately, the conscious self tends to have an ego and will interrupt whenever it can! On the other hand, the sub-conscious brain just
One of my class assignments was to create a “user manual” for goal setting – the following is the text that made up the manual – a little dry in places – but I did get an “A” on the assignment. Take a look! There will be more posts in the future regarding goal setting!
Goal setting – the first step to using mental skills! Read More »
A few years back, I embarked on a new hobby – shooting sporting clays (often referred to as “golf with a shotgun”! As I had absolutely no experience with shotgunning at all, I secured the services of a coach to guide me through the process of learning how to shoot moving targets. Under his guidance,
Welcome to the Mental Skills Training Blog! Read More »
