Category: Mental Toughness Digest

The Mental Toughness Digest is a weekly email sent by the sport and performance psychologists from Condor Performance. It’s our way of staying in touch with the thousands of people who have contacted us since it all started in 2005.

The Digest doesn’t pretend to be a source of scientific facts that might be found in a peer-reviewed journal. Instead, it aims to promote thoughts and discussions about the important role that psychology plays in sport and performance.

Sport Psychology Tips

Some Free Sport Psychology Tips to help you perform better complied by the whole team of sport and performance psychologists here at Condor Performance. Enjoy, share and comment (at the bottom).

A Quick A to Z Guide To Sport Psychology

26 Free Sport Psychology Ideas

Although sport psychology can be a complex and quickly evolving field, it can still allow for some “quick wins”. With this in mind, please enjoy these Sport Psychology Tips and don’t forget to add your comments below!

A is for Attitude

It may be surprising, but as sports and performance psychologists, we don’t often refer to attitude. Attitude is just one of many types of human cognition. When a coach refers to an athlete as having ‘the right attitude,’ he or she is probably suggesting that this athlete’s values and beliefs are in line with their own.

For example, both might regard sporting results as important, but not as important as hard work and effort. The most interesting aspect of attitude is that it is often assessed via observations (e.g., a coach watching an athlete in training). Due to this, it is probably body language that is actually being appraised. Attitude, if we take the term literally, is not directly observable as it occurs inside the mind.

B is for Body Language

Body language is a fascinating area of performance psychology. Research suggests that it dominates how we communicate compared to the words we use. In sporting contexts, this makes even more sense, as it is quite normal for there to be little or no verbal communication. With maybe the exception of the captains or leaders of sporting teams, most athletes of most sports don’t say very much during both training and competition.

For this majority, communicating with teammates or opponents involves the body. By the body, we mean the entire body, from facial expressions to posture to hand gestures and everything in between. How do you improve body language? I suggest starting out by filming yourself in a variety of situations and then watching it back with the sound off.

C is for Consistency

Sometimes, we refer to consistency as ‘the holy grail’ of competitive sport. As our colleague Chris Pomfret explains in this extensive blog, improved consistency is really just the consequence of taking the mental side of your sport seriously.

D is for Determination

Determination is very similar to the mental concept of motivation, without being a synonym. Motivation is more about enthusiasm, enjoyment, desire and dreams. Determination might be a good word to refer to the actions we continue with when the enthusiasm for our sport is not there. One of the most common examples is when the scoreboard is not in your favour (no way to win with time remaining). Yet, despite this, you decide to preserve anyway. This is an excellent example of sporting determination.

E is for Enjoyment

The enjoyment we’re referring to in this instance is the kind that most kids tend to have towards their sport before it becomes ‘serious’—the fun of chasing the ball more than getting to it first. The issue is that this enjoyment tends to dissipate once the stakes increase. Many sporting coaches become far too intense during competitions due to a lack of sport psychology training during their accreditation. This is one of the many reasons we have always wanted to work 1-on-1 with sporting coaches.

F is for Focus 

Learning to improve focus is one of the easier mental skills. It boils down to knowing when and how to switch on and practising this like any other skill. There are many great examples of how to do this, but short performance routines are often the best mental skill.

There is no getting away from the fact that training the mind is always going to be a trickier mountain to climb due to the investable nature of what we’re targeting for improvement, such as focus.

G is for Grit 

Grit has gained considerable momentum recently, mainly due to Angela Duckworth’s work (see YouTube video below):

H is for Hard Work

There is simply no substitute for hard work. 

I is for Influence

Knowing the amount of influence you have on some of the more common aspects of your sport (or performance areas) is mighty useful. A great little exercise you can do is to start a simple three-column table. The heading of the first column is ‘Lots of Influence’, for the second write “Some Influence”, and for the final one label it “Little Influence”.

Now, start filling in the table with whatever comes to mind. For example, you might be spending a lot of time thinking about an upcoming competition, combined with memories of how you did at the same venue last year. So, you might decide to put the Future in the middle column and the past in the right-hand column, for instance.

J is for Junior Sport

If I were in charge of sports in a particular state or country, I would flip funding so that the vast majority of resources went into the junior or developmental side of sports. In other words, the best coaches, equipment, and facilities normally only accessible to the top 0.1% of athletes would be diverted to athletes under the age of 16.

For example, those regarded as the best coaches, like Wayne Bennett in rugby league, would be invited to coach junior players instead. I would ensure that whatever position was created for this had the same or greater salary as top-flight professional coaches.

K is for Keeping Going

Maybe the most powerful cue words in sport. Your mind will virtually always quit on you before your body does. Tell it to Keep Going and see what happens.

L is for Learning

There is a reason why some of the best sporting coaches of all time – for example, Jake White – are former teachers. They treat the performance enhancement process as one long learning experience for themselves and their players. The most appealing aspect of this angle is that poor performances are used as learning opportunities. Errors, for example, are considered invaluable elements of feedback – data that can be used to inform better choices moving forward. 

M is for Monitoring

You’re missing out if you are not monitoring at least one aspect of your endeavours. At Condor Performance, we encourage our sporting and non-sporting clients to record one or more “monthly checks”. As detailed in this recent blog post, these monthly checks are like our key performance indicators. As long as you know the correct number of monthly checks to monitor (not too many) and your influence on each of these results (not as much as you think), self-monitoring has zero downsides and plenty of upsides.

N is for Numbers

Whether you like it or not, competitive sport – especially at the elite level – is full of numbers. Certain sports, like cricket and baseball, are so mathematical that the coaches of these sports would be forgiven for thinking of themselves more like statisticians from time to time. This is one of the reasons we encourage our monthly clients to monitor their progress – to allow them to function and even thrive in a results-oriented world. The other reasons for monitoring have already been mentioned above in the M.

O is for Objectivity

Both the M and the N above help with objectivity, but alone, might not be enough. Objectively is roughly the opposite of subjectively, with the latter being heavy on opinions, and the former much more based on facts. For example, it’s standard for athletes and coaches to assess past performances based primarily (or only) on memory or, even worse, on the final result. This is highly subjective, and a bit like any human pursuit, we’d want to be careful about how much of our analysis is subjective. Objective analysis – for example, the number of missed tackles –  will be more valuable as the numbers don’t lie.

This is not true – numbers can lie, but opinions are less likely to do so.

P is for Pressure

‘Pressure’ is one of the most fascinating aspects of sport psychology. For a start, it’s 100% internal – a feeling with very real physiological sensations – a little bit like hunger. Because it’s going on inside, it’s less tangible and therefore harder to manage. First, it’s imperative not to consider pressure as good or bad. Let me use hunger to explain. For most of us, hunger is simply a signal to go and eat something. Once we do, the hunger goes away. The food that alleviates pressure is practice. That’s right, high-quality practice is like a pile of organic veggies.

Of course, there is also a benefit to learning to deal with hunger/pressure if no food or practice is available. By far, the best way to do this—in my opinion—is to work with a qualified sport/performance psychologist like one of our team members.

Q is for Quantity and Quality

This is how we break down practice or effort. Quantity is ‘how much’ and wants to be the right amount. Quality is’ how good’ and wants to be as high as possible. We often find it useful to multiply these together. For example, if the highest score for each is 10, then combined, the highest score is 100.

What number did your last training session get?

R is for Routines

See my recent blog post for a full breakdown of routines, which are crucial mental skills for many start-stop sports.

S is for Stigma

There are still many people out there whose beliefs about what sports psychologists or performance psychologists do get in the way of us being able to help them. The stigma comes from the word ‘psychologist’, which too many people still associate with having some mental problem. The general premise that working with a psychologist is a sign of weakness must be broken. A band-aid solution is to refer to ourselves as a coach, performance coaches, or mental skills trainers instead. The issue with this is that it doesn’t help to remove the stigma. Also, it seems a pity not to be able to use the title of psychologist, which took us seven or so years to earn.

T is for Time Management

Being able to manage your own time, your needs, and your wants is one of the most underrated of all mental skills. I work with a LOT of young elite athletes (teenagers on track to be the world’s best in their chosen sport); on the whole, they come to me with poor or non-existent time management skills. Sometimes, a simple suggestion like buying a $5 diary to start recording upcoming commitments can do wonders in terms of accountability, planning, knowing when to say ‘no’ or ‘yes’ to invitations and moving their mindset more towards effort and further from results. For more on Time Management, see this separate post.

U is for Unity

Whole article on this one here! Oh, and another one!

V is for Values, and W is for Why

Our values and beliefs guide our thoughts, so if you’d like to update your daily thought processes, then it can be a good idea to think about your values. By values, we mean what you consider to be valuable or important. A nice little exercise to get the ball rolling is listing everything you consider essential in your life and why. For example, you might write ‘8 hours of sleep a night’ and follow that with ‘because it helps me get the most out of various training sessions the following day’—the ‘why’ part is crucial, linking our endeavours to our internal motivation.

X is for eXcellence

Are you striving for excellence? Do you want to become excellent at what you do? How would you define and measure excellence? Is your training excellence? Do you know how to increase your chances of becoming the best possible athlete or coach you can be? For most athletes and performers, especially at the pointy end, this requires some help from the experts. Click here to book a 15-minute Webcam meeting with one of our New Enquiries Officers.

Y is for Yourself

One of the best ways of helping others is to look after yourself first.

Z is for Zest

Zest is one of the traits we look for when we interview psychologists looking to join our team of sports and performance psychologists. Do they have a passion for sports and helping athletes and coaches become better versions of themselves? If not, getting up at 5 a.m. to deliver a Zoom session to a monthly client from another country might just prove to be too hard. Info for psychologists wanting to join our team can be found here.

Decision-Making In Sport

Sport psychologist Gareth J. Mole looks at the often overlooked role that decision making plays in the outcome of sporting contests.

Below are three of the best YouTube (so free) videos related to decision-making in sport. Below them, I have added my two cents’ worth.

Decision Making in Youth Sport – Mike Ashford

Dr Michael Ashford – Decision-Making Processes in Team Sports

John Brenkus: ESPN’s Sport Science and the Study of Decision-Making

Links Between The Mental And The Tactical

There is debate about the pros and cons of separating competitive sports’ mental and tactical sides.

Our argument is that if you focus on each part as a separate entity, any “crossover” benefit that rubs off onto another area is a bonus to your improvement. Lumping them all together can result in incorrectly assuming you’re doing more than you are. Decision-making in sport is an excellent example of this. In my experience ‘in the trenches’ as a sport psychologist for the last 20 years, decision-making is rarely targeted by itself.

Tactical Wisdom

Recently, several of our one-on-one clients have been asking us for more input into their Tactical Wisdom. TW is very tricky as, in theory, it’s entirely mental, yet coaching these ” in-the-moment” decisions is, and always wants to be, the domain of sporting coaches more than sport psychologists. This is one of the many reasons it makes so much sense for us to work more directly with coaches.

I’m going to use two examples from different sports here to emphasise my point.

First, the decision faced by a golfer about whether to “lay up” short of a creek located just before the green or “go for it” by attempting to hit the ball directly over the creek onto the green. Second, the decision by a striker in football (soccer) when near the penalty area to “have a shot” or pass the ball to a teammate.

Risk Versus Reward

Both of these scenarios have a “risk and reward” element. None of the four options mentioned is terrible, and therefore, the aim is to train your mind to “make the best decision according to the specifics of the competitive situation”. Most decision-making errors occur when the moment’s emotion trumps the competition situation. Here’s a clue about not letting that happen (and yes, it requires a bit of hard work).

First, you’re much more likely to make an unemotional decision if a scenario has been “mapped out” already. The more often it’s been mentally rehearsed beforehand, the better. This is best done by what we call the “If Blank Then Blank” exercise. Let’s go back to our two examples above.

Recently, my colleague Madalyn Incognito here at Condor Performance wrote an entire article on risk and reward. To read more on this topic, click here.

Although there might seem like an overwhelming number of scenarios, there are probably only half a dozen if you think about it. For example:

“If stroke play, then lay up”.

“If match play, then go for green”.

But maybe that’s too simple, so these might be better:

“If stroke play and a par 5, then lay up”.

“If it’s stroke play and windy, then lay up”.

“If stroke play and leading, then lay up”.

“If stroke play and less than 3 shots within the lead, then lay up”.

“If any other situation, then go for the green”.

And for the other example, the footballer:

“If the ball is on/near my right foot with no defender near, then shoot”.

“If any other scenario, then pass”

“If Blank Then Blank”

Human brains are remarkable at learning these “If Blank Then Blank” right from when we’re newborns. Think about it; “If hungry, then cry”. And it carries on all the way to adulthood. “If red or amber light, then slow down and stop”. Certain commentators have and continue to object that this exercise appears to bring “thinking” into what they want to be instinctive actions.

Our answer to this is simple. There’s no escaping that certain moments in certain sports require a lot of decision-making. The “If Blank Then Blank” exercise decreases the chances of a brain explosion while under pressure. In our experience, the greatest benefit of this is the reduction of one of performance excellence’s biggest threats – indecision.

I’m not sure if I’m taking the word too literally, but indecision means delaying a decision due to being “in the decision.” Basically, the decision-making process (risk versus reward) is taking longer as it’s new.

In fact, indecision is so damaging to performance it would be fair to say that you’re better off making the wrong decision quickly and with confidence rather than the right one slowly and full of self-doubt.

Gareth J. Mole (sport psychologist)

If you’d like help improving the decision-making aspects of your sport pr performance areas, fill in this form. We typically reply in less than 24 hours.

Sport/Performance Psychologist vs Other

With an exponential increase in the awareness about the importance of the mental side of performance it is harder than ever before to work out who to go to for advice. This 2025 article by Sport Psychologist James Kneller provides some, but not all, of the answers.

Who is the best person for me to work with to improve the mental side of my performance? 

Like the proverbial “How long is a piece of string?” (exactly double the length of its half), this question doesn’t have a universal, clear, and agreed-upon answer. 

Listen to any post-match press conference. You will universally hear about mental preparation, focus, motivation, attitude, dealing with pressure, resilience, and many other things related to mental preparation and the processes involved and required for elite performance in the most demanding competitive environments. 

So, if we accept the premise that the mental side of performance is essential and that improving it leads to more consistent and better overall performance, the question then turns to how to do this and who can help us. 

Disclaimers And Recognitions

As a fully registered and endorsed sport psychologist with Condor Performance in Australia, I’ll be biased towards sport and performance psychologists over others. I’ve tried hard to be fair to all groups/professions mentioned here. 

My mum loves reading Choice product reviews, so in honour of her, I’ve tried to use a similar approach for each group involved, with pros and cons for each.

There is always a range of abilities in every group. There are people in each group who are outstanding at what they do and offer; equally, there are those who are not. The descriptions here are general, with no references to specific individuals.

Many of the observations come from my experiences meeting, working with, and seeing clients, athletes, coaches, parents, etc., who have worked with people from various groups. 

While in this article I’ll speak about athletes, this also applies to coaches, teams, performers, or anyone in a high-performance/pressure position, such as CEOS, corporate board members, surgeons, traders, armed forces or anyone else who sees themselves as or wishes to become a high performer. 

Who Is Out There?

The number of people and organisations eager to work with athletes is mind-blowing. For easy comparison, I’ve grouped these individuals into these general groups:

  • Parents and coaches
  • Ex-players
  • Mentors
  • Mind coaches
  • Psychologists with no specialisation in sport and performance
  • Sport and Performance psychologists (such as those at Condor Performance) who have undergone specific additional training and higher learning focused solely on sport and performance work. 

Parents and Coaches

Parents are the first and foremost influence on athletes developing their skills. The hope is that they are the greatest supporter they’ll ever have, but at the same time, this support can lead to blind spots and/or avoidance of truths that need to be told or addressed. Often, they have few skills in the sport, little training in instruction, communication skills, mental support, and good intentions, which can lead to issues later for the athlete.

There is also the danger of those horror parents for athletes that many of us can name. 

Coaches range from the weekend parent who helps out on their kid’s side to local representative coaches with minimum accreditation levels, up to the highest-level coaches of the stars. They typically have excellent knowledge of the sport and a passion for their athletes. 

Pros 

  • High level of contact and passion for the athlete, good skills around the sport, and time available to understand the person.
  • Depending on the level, can have brilliant support teams and systems around them and their athlete/s.
  • Improving an athlete’s technical skills will often improve their mental skills. Think about the concept of Competence Before Confidence.

Cons 

  • Significant variation in the levels of skills in and understanding of the mental side of performance
  • Variable communication and interpersonal skills
  • Highly vested interests in performance can impair judgment and decision-making, leading to decisions that are in the best interest of the coach or parent rather than the athlete.
Personal Comment 

Every athlete needs at least one of these involved, and at the elite level, many athletes will laud the coach’s skills as a mentor, teacher, and communicator. In short, the best coaches have the best people management skills and mental awareness. Interestingly, these same coaches also strongly tend to have sports and performance psychologists on their team, or they refer to themselves. Don’t take my word for it, take it from the current champions of English Football:

Ex-players, Mentors, Mind coaches

Ex-players are obvious. Mentors may be high-profile sportspeople from other sports or high-profile people from different areas, such as business, politics, or the armed services, who are now assisting athletes in dealing with the pressure of performance. Mind coaches can have many different names or titles, as there’s no universal term and no restriction to applying any description of themselves, except for the legally protected term of psychologist or sport psychologist. 

Pros 

  • Ex-players and mentors bring lived experience of situations like those the athlete may face.
  • Often, they have a narrow focus on which sports and areas they will or can work with, leading to a minimal number of athletes, so there is potential for greater one-on-one time with the athlete.
  • There is often an obvious credibility with someone we know who has been there and done it themselves.

Cons 

  • With no regulatory body or board, they are not accountable to anyone for their actions and have no ethical framework to which they are held. They often have no or little direct, accredited psychological training.
  • This group is not regulated like psychologists. There is no insurance requirement, restriction on advertisement, restriction on testimonials, restriction on making guarantees to clients, an ethical framework they must adhere to, and no underlying explicit expectation to put the client’s needs first and do no harm.
  • If they have pictures with athletes, or testimonials or endorsements from them on their website, or make grandiose promises like “results in one session”, then you can be confident they are not a psychologist.
Personal Comment 

I’ve met, worked with, and listened to many operators from this group who are skilled, knowledgeable, and excellent for their clients. Often, they will talk about their own experiences and highlight their work and what they’ve learned from their work with sports psychologists in their careers. They are now using that knowledge to help others. I have happily worked alongside these previously and still do currently, using a team approach to achieve the best results for the athlete. 

In my opinion, the good ones know where their level of knowledge and competence ends and defer to psychologists or other specialists when the client needs more than they can provide. 

Those in this group that I would not work with as an athlete tend to follow a couple of similar, consistent actions: 

  • They tend to have one framework for how things should be dealt with, either through having only one method or system or using a “this is what I did when I…” approach. Then, if the athlete cannot fit within this framework, they often blame the athlete for being unable, unwilling, or not wanting it enough to succeed.
  • They tend only to want to take on clients who are already well on the path to elite and seem to bask in the reflective glory of “their” athlete.
  • They tend to ignore, avoid, or even shame individuals with personal problems that may impact their sporting performance. In doing so, they treat the person like they should be robots with their sport rather than human beings. 

Psychologists with no specialisation in sport and performance

In Australia and New Zealand, where all the current Condor Performance psychologists are based and trained, to become a fully registered psychologist, you must complete a minimum of 6 years of approved, supervised, and quality-ensured education before you speak to your first client independently. We are governed by a regulatory board that holds us accountable for maintaining standards of ethics, work quality, confidentiality and ongoing training to ensure the currency of knowledge. 

If they are working with clients rather than in policy or administration roles, they are generally trained to work with mental health issues in what we can call mainstream life circumstances. 

Pros 

  • You know they are trained and competent as a psychologist
  • They work under a transparent framework and are accountable for their actions
  • Trained in dealing with people, relationships, pressure, grief, and mental health issues

Cons 

  • Often, there is no or minimal training around performance enhancement techniques or theories.
  • They may not understand the sporting environment, the associated pressures, or the motivations of those involved, including the established hierarchies in sports teams, clubs, and competitions.
  • Psychologists wanting to ‘dabble’ in sports often underestimate the importance of passion and knowledge of specific sports. They incorrectly assume that the interventions to help a pro golfer perform under pressure (for example) are the same as those for a CEO. They are not!
Personal comment 

Like the other groups, I have worked alongside and met many good operators in this grouping. But I’ve also met many athletes who have worked with a general/clinical/health psychologist who tells me that “the psych was fine, but the solutions they offer aren’t relevant or appropriate for their sporting environment”. The athletes have also been frustrated with the psychologist’s inability to understand how their sport works, the language of the sport, or the unique problems of their sport. 

Psychologists generally aim to have clients do well in their world and cope effectively, but in sports, just doing well isn’t good enough. 

Sport and Performance Psychologists 

These professionals have completed the same 6 years of minimum training as other psychologists, but I have specialised in sports and performance work. This is either through specific university coursework, Master’s, and PhD programs that often lead to the legally protected term “sports psychologist,” as many of the Condor Performance team have, or via focused ongoing development after their initial general registration as psychologists and continued work in the field with ongoing supervision by highly experienced current sports and performance psychologists.

Regardless of the pathway, we are subject to the same government regulatory body that ensures ethics, quality, confidentiality, and focused continuing professional development in sports and performance work. 

Pros
  • All the same pros as psychologists who don’t specialise in sport and performance
  • Trained in numerous mental skills/performance enhancement techniques, along with mental health models, that apply to sport and performance, such as visualisation, self-talk, motivations, goal setting, etc – i.e. not one trick ponies and can switch approaches to match a client
  • Understand that athletes are different from the “normal”, and being good isn’t enough when you seek to be elite.
  • Understand the relationships within, the politics of, the pressure of, the sacrifices required, the dedication required, the expectations of self, teammates, coaches, and fans, and the language of high-performance environments.
Cons
  • Confidentiality for clients means they can’t tell you who they’ve worked with, they can’t use testimonials or endorsements from clients, and they can’t make promises to potential clients—all of which can leave potential clients wondering if the sports and performance psychologist has credibility in their sport or situation.
  • Not all sports psychologists work in mental skills (performance enhancement) and well-being.
  • Given the number of sports out there, they may not be strong in your sport. Condor Performance can overcome this issue more easily than most, with more than ten psychologists with varied strengths and sporting interests. 
Personal Comment

Sport and performance psychologists are passionate about sport and performance, which often matches their clients. The environment they work in means that their relationship with clients and maintaining things like ethical boundaries can be a little different from that of a traditional psychologist. Not many conventional psychologists will join a client at their workplace. Still, a sport and performance psychologist will often want to get to the field, track, pool, course, and oval to see how things work for their client and truly understand their environment. Our knowledge for all our clients is expanded and enhanced through each session they do with any one client. I often bring knowledge from another sport or situation to a current client to help them understand and move them forward. 

Final Word

Finding the right person to work with can be overwhelming and confusing. But once you see them, they can make a difference to your overall performance. My advice would always be to consider what you are after and what you’re trying to improve for your sport. 

If it’s primarily technical or tactical issues, my first suggestion would be a coach, mentor or ex-player in your sport. But if it mainly involves, or even somewhat involves, the mental side of your game, such as preparation, routines, performance anxiety, confidence, and performing under pressure. Or suppose it’s personal issues off the field that are filtering onto the field and impacting your performance. In that case, I’d recommend fully trained and regulated experts in the mind who share your passion for improving your performance. 

After reading this article, if you’d like to receive detailed information about our 1-on-1 sport psychology services, please complete our Contact Form here, and one of our New Enquiries Officers will contact you to explain everything.

If, on the other hand, you are a psychologist looking for details on how to join our team, take a look at our vacancies page here instead.

Getting Into The Zone

Getting Into The Zone is something that sport psychologists have been helping athletes with for more than 60 years now. Our GM explores The Zone below.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 8, 2016: Olympic champion Simone Biles of United States competing on the balance beam at women’s all-around gymnastics at Rio 2016 Olympic Games

What, Or Where, Is The Zone?

Competing in sport, or even coaching it, brings with it a variety of emotions and mental experiences. Rightly or wrongly, the positive ones have often been called ‘the zone’. It’s not uncommon for athletes to say, “I was in the zone today.” One of our common requests is, “Can you help me get into the zone?”.

The Zone and its cousin, Flow, describe effortless optimal performance. In both, internal processes do not prevent us from executing our skills to the best of our abilities. And typically, consistency prevails.

These same internal experiences more commonly create barriers to effective performance. They can test individuals’ mental toughness by challenging their ability to self-regulate and manage these experiences constructively. Note the idea of “self-regulation” because we want our clients to develop the skills to do this independently. Relying on others (including us as their performance psychologist) is a short-term solution only.

Self-regulation is Psychbabble for Managing Your Emotions Yourself

The widely used Yerkes-Dodson Inverted U Stress Curve suggests that we should always try to be somewhat aroused. In other words, some nerves are better than others before or during pressure.

This theory has two major flaws. Firstly, it overplays the role that emotions play in optimal performance. It incorrectly implies that athletes must feel a certain way to perform at their best. We know this is not true. Both scientific and anecdotal evidence confirm that humans can be excellent across a huge range of emotions.

Secondly, the Yerkes-Dodson model suggests that being too relaxed before competition is bad. This is BS. Unless you’re asleep and miss the opening whistle, there is no downside to being very relaxed.

The Relaxed Competition Mindset

One way to begin developing a Relaxed Competition Mindset is to understand the Zones of Awareness. These zones suggest that we can attend to information through three different zones. Zone One is an inner zone (physiological sensations), Zone Two is the middle zone (thoughts), and Zone Three is the outer zone (the five senses).

When we function well and cope with our situation, our awareness across these zones is balanced. This allows us to respond very effectively and efficiently. This is very useful in high-pressure situations because maintaining a balanced awareness means we can respond quickly to stimuli. In other words, we can maintain good levels of focus during perceived chaos.

When we get too caught up in one of the zones, we can lose this balance. This can impair our abilities and cause distress, reducing the opportunity for optimal performance.

Being Outside Of The Zone

While each person is different, how we respond to adversity is universal. In such situations, people tend to become much more aware of their self-talk and physiological state. “Oh my, I can actually feel my heart racing,” for example.

When we first notice our thinking or physiology shifting unhelpfully, strategies such as mindfulness can prove effective.

When these experiences become too intense, trying to challenge our thoughts or become more aware of our bodies can feel like adding fuel to an already burning fire. This is where the third zone (the outer zone) can become useful in helping us manage.

The Five Senses

Individuals competing outdoors might consider pulling out some grass from the field for the sense of touch. Or tightly gripping a towel and noticing the feeling. What about taste? Eating as part of a pre-match routine can help, but instead of quickly consuming the food, notice the flavours more. For each mouthful or while chewing gum, try to notice the release of flavour with each bite. With the sense of smell, we notice any smells in our environment, such as muscle rub creams. For sight, individuals may ask themselves how many colours they can notice around them. Or how many people can they count wearing hats? Listening to music as part of a pre-match routine can really help get your head out of the way.

It’s Also A Matter of Timing

It should be noted that we don’t want to consider these things while trying to execute skills. In other words, the majority of the Relaxed Competition Mindset work should be done before we start competing.

Ultimately, that’s the key. We want to be able to shift our attention and focus where necessary to restore balance and composure to your internal state. In doing so, we remove some internal barriers to performance, which puts us in a position to meet our performance potential.

If you’d like our help Getting Into The Zone, then below are a few ways to contact us:

The Best Sport Psychology Quotes

This blog has some of the best sport psychology quotes. It’s a smörgåsbord of quotes from coaches, athletes and psychologists.

There are millions of sports psychology quotes; we have sorted through as many as possible and only added the “best ones” to this page.

Are you looking to improve your sporting mental toughness? Use the discount Metuf_discount_25 to get 25% off our online Mental Toughness Training courses here.

50 of The Best Sports Psychology Quotes

The right kinds of quotes punch well above their weight. For such short sentences, they can change our perspective. The challenge is picking through them all to find the best one. So we have decided to put on plastic gloves and sort through the trash (rubbish). Below are some of our favourite sports psychology quotes. As you’ll see, it’s a smörgåsbord of quotes from coaches, athletes, and psychologists.

If you want us to add your favourite sports psychology quotes, paste them into the comments section below. Enjoy, and please share with your networks. You have our full permission to copy and paste any of these to inspire and motivate.

Sport Psychology Quotes By Athletes

“Don’t get bitter, get better”

Tiger Woods

Opinion: This is arguably the number one sports psychology quote of all time. It is universally applicable. Of course, if you want to tweak it from a psychological flexibility standpoint, it would become “whilst being bitter, try and get better.”

“There’s no way around hard work. Embrace it. You have to put in the hours because there is always something you can improve on”

Roger Federer

Comment: You must do the work to pursue something in life and explore your full potential as an athlete or performer. Accepting the difficulty that comes from doing hard work is essential. As one of the greatest tennis players ever highlighted here, we can all learn from Roger Federer by believing that we can constantly improve in some capacity. A concept that is known in Japanese as “kaizen”.

“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”

Dan Gable

Opinion: This is such a great sports psychology quote. So true. The medal, the trophy, and the prize money are just symbols. The real reward is the actual hard work. To this end, I know many medal winners who don’t even bother to display them. They are in boxes collecting dust somewhere.

“It’s not who’s put up the fastest time in the world that year, or who’s put up the fastest time in the previous four years, but who can get their hand on the wall first today.”

Nathan Adrian

Comment: This quote perfectly sums up many early conversations with athletes. We have this idea that on game day, we need to feel great and think positively and won’t perform well if we aren’t. The reality is that no one feels great on game day. The athletes who come out on top can perform the best despite how nervous they feel and how unhelpful their thoughts are. 

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” and “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”

Wayne Gretzky

Opinion: This could be the most famous sports psychology quote ever. Why? Because it’s one of the best from one of the best.

Picture Quotes about Pressure:

“Pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what the hell you’re doing.”

~ Peyton Manning

“Pressure is a privilege”

~ Virgil van Dijk

“People say to me all the time, ‘You have no fear.’ I tell them, ‘No, that’s not true. I’m scared all the time. You have to have fear in order to have courage. I’m a courageous person because I’m a scared person.” 

Ronda Rousey

Comment: We have this idea that athletes are superhuman. They don’t feel nervous or fearful and never doubt their ability. This isn’t the case. The top athletes in the world feel all the same things we feel before a critical moment, but through years of experience, they have become good at performing with all of those unhelpful thoughts and feelings present. 

“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them; a desire, a dream, a vision.”

Muhammad Ali

Opinion: I’m not sure ‘the greatest’ meant to infer the following, but anyway. Far too many of the sporting pathways overemphasise physical and technical aspects. There is far too little mental, tactical, and personal information.

“Dreams are free. Goals have a cost. While you can daydream for free, goals don’t come without a price. Time, Effort, Sacrifice, and Sweat. How will you pay for your goals?“

Usain Bolt

Comment: This great quote gives us a possible sneak peek into why UB was one of the greatest of all time. He worked very hard in practice. He then relaxed (or tried to, at least) on race day, allowing that Time, Effort, Sacrifice, and Sweat to bubble to the surface.

“I can only control my performance. If I do my best, then I can feel good at the end of the day”

Michael Phelps

Opinion: One of the greatest Olympians of all time emphasized the importance of focusing on one’s performance and effort. At Condor Performance, we focus on process over outcome, a sentiment echoed by Michael Phelps.

“I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I think your mind really controls everything.”

Michael Phelps

Comment: Michael Phelps on understanding the mind and how we can train it to help ourselves perform better. Phelps has always given significant credit to his mental conditioning as an overall factor for his success in competitive swimming.

“I was forced to learn a lot about psychology as a player, and as a captain to get the best out of others. There’s still a lot of scepticism about it in sport and the workplace, but dealing with fluctuations of form, and pressure, and being away from home is more important than your cover drive.”

Andrew Strauss

Opinion: We had not encountered this quote before researching for this blog. It comes from one of the great thinkers of English cricket. It accurately explains that technical abilities (such as hitting a cover drive) don’t mean much without the mental side.

“Preparation is everything and focus is the key. It’s easy to say you gave it your all out on the pitch. But the point is if you’d prepared you’d have had more to give and you’ve played better”.

Eric Cantona

Comment: This is such a great point from the Manchester United legend. It sounds like he’s saying there is only so much you can do on match day. Performers who take shortcuts in training, hoping to “bring it” on match day, will likely be found wanting.

“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

Gary Player

Opinion: This quote was initially linked with Samuel Goldwyn but was later popularised by Gary Player. What he/they are saying is 100% accurate. If luck is the random stuff in sports we have no influence over, we can reduce its role in results by ensuring high-quality effort. You can read more on the psychology of luck in sports here.

“I got more bruises, grass-burns and cuts in practice than in match play.” 

Jonty Rhodes
Jonty Rhodes

Comment: This quote is from legendary South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes. Despite retiring more than 15 years ago, he is still considered one of the best fielders ever to play the game.

“Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” 

Kevin Durant

Comment: Click here to read a full article on natural talent.

Some Sport Psychology Quotes By The G.O.A.T:

These seven quotes by legendary sports psychologist Jonah Oliver are all taken from his Podcast Interview with John O’Sullivan. Listen to the full interview here: Episode 272 of Way of Champions.

“Our brain craves reducing uncertainty. Uncertainty is the hardest human emotion.”

Jonah Oliver

Comment: So true. This is more commonly played out in overly controlling behaviour.

“You know what we worry about, things we care about. I didn’t get nervous making breakfast this morning.”

Jonah Oliver

Opinion: I love this. Nerves are so misunderstood. They are just your body preparing you for something important.

“It’s not about positive thinking it’s about taking positive action, no matter what you feel. There are no gold medals for the best positive self talk at the Olympics. Sport is a behaviour.”

Jonah Oliver

Comment: This is one of the top three sports psychology quotes of all time, in my view.

“One of the biggest errors we have made in elite sport is we use the word confident when we actually mean competent. I can’t sing. I am not competent at singing. Put six beers in me in a karaoke bar and now I’m confident … but I am still terrible at singing.”

Jonah Oliver

Opinion: You can read more about the concept of Competence Before Confidence here.

“Competition is an ordinary performance on a special day.”

Jonah Oliver

Comment: Imagine how much better we would be if this is something that all coaches said before their players competed. Go out there and be boring.

“It’s not about reducing pressure it’s about building the capacity to embrace more.”

Jonah Oliver

Comment: In your attempt to perform better under pressure, do you spend most of your time just trying to reduce the pressure? If so, you may want to rethink your strategy.

“It’s not about motivation, it’s about connecting to what matters.”

Jonah Oliver

Comment: In other words, stop trying to boost your motivation. Instead, consider your values and connect to what matters to you.

The Michael Jordan Section:

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Michael Jordan

Comment: This is arguably one of the best sports psychology quotes ever. It helps us understand that all levels and types of performances are full of errors. Knowing that processes (effort) and outcomes (results, such as winning) are separate is vital here. Knowing we have much more influence over the former as performers also helps.

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”

Michael Jordan

Comment: Again, Jordan shows us that his mindset made him so special. Being able to distinguish between effort (“trying”) and results (“failure”) is so very important. One way to do this is to forget about being able to control anything. Instead, consider the amount of influence you have. The more influence you have, the more mental value you might put on those areas.

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

Michael Jordan

Comment: This quote is all about creativity. For example, did you stop during the coronavirus pandemic, which was full of obstacles? Or did you find another way to do the tasks you value?

More Quotes From MJ …

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen.”

Michael Jordan

Comment: Actions and desires are not as linked as you might think. As sports psychologists and performance psychologists, we don’t do as much work on thoughts and emotions as you might imagine. Why? Especially in sports, it all comes back to actions. Would you rather kick the ball correctly while thinking negatively or kick it incorrectly while thinking positively?

“The minute you get away from fundamentals – whether its proper technique, work ethic or mental preparation – the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you’re doing.”

Michael Jordan

Comment: As knowledge of sport psychology and science explodes, we risk getting away from the fundamentals. In other words, it is becoming harder and harder for athletes to stick to the basics. Great coaches can have it both ways. Their sports psychology knowledge can grow without letting this overcomplicate their coaching. Do you know what your fundamentals are?

Sport Psychology Quotes By Coaches

“It’s what you learn after you think you know it all that really counts.”

John Wooden

Comment: John Wooden is considered by many as the first real mental coach in sports. He was either the first or one of the first to take the mental side of performance seriously. In this sports psychology quote, he highlights the importance of never-ending learning.

“Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.”

Phil Jackson

Comment: Phil is most known for how we managed the tricky team dynamics of the Chicago Bulls team from the 1990s. We highly suggest you watch the Last Dance documentary if you have yet to do so.

“Comfort the challenged, and challenge the comfortable”

Ric Charlesworth

Comment: This quote is more or less about the concept of flow. Flow is trying to find the sweet spot between too easy and too hard. As coaches or psychologists, we’re trying to help those we work with find this middle ground. But we also want them to have the skills to thrive once they see them.

“No judgment of your practice, just practice.”

Gary Olson, Yoga Teacher at The Ashram Yoga

“Self-talk is overrated. Don’t think about doing it … just do it”

Gary Olson, Yoga Teacher at The Ashram Yoga

Comment: I’m unsure whether Gary considers himself a coach, but this feels like the most appropriate section for his two quotes—the above and the below. I came across these two quotes while doing one of his online hot yoga sessions, and I instantly loved them.

Sports Psychology Quotes By Other Famous People

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less-than-perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful.”

Mark Victor Hansen

Comment: Perfectionism is a standard mental block in sports. A simple reframe can remove some of its motivational qualities without its ugly side. Instead of striving to be perfect, aim just to be better, and do this through the correct quantity of high-quality preparation.

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”

Vincent van Gogh

Comment: You might now sense a theme from these great quotes. Doing and thinking are not the same. Focus more on doing and less on thinking. Would you rather be the best thinker or the doer in your sport or performance area?

Some Less Famous Ones …

“Confidence is a habit that can be developed by acting as if you already had the confidence you desire to have.”

Brian Tracy

Comment: Have you ever heard ‘fake it till you make it’? A better version for sports psychology consulting is “fake it till you feel it.” This is so powerful. Waiting until you feel a certain way before you act that way is very limiting. Suppose you don’t know how. Hire an acting coach and ask them to help you. Or get in touch with us, and we can include this as part of a larger mental training plan.

“Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.”

William Arthur Ward

Comment: It’s hard to be sure about this one. Does it mean that challenges in life are invaluable mental training? What is undoubtedly clear is the proposition that there is a choice about how we respond to adversity.

“Successful people have fear, successful people have doubts, and successful people have worries. They just don’t let these feelings stop them.”

T. Harv Eker

Comment: This is a similar message. Thoughts and feelings are not fused with behaviours. You can still do remarkable things regardless of how you thought and felt at the time.

“The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you.”

William Jennings Bryan

Comment: In other words, separate feelings from actions. Accept the feelings but commit the actions. Then, remember you did this so you can repeat the process later. For more on confidence, read this blog post by Harley de Vos.

Are you looking to improve your sporting mental toughness? Use the discount Metuf_discount_25 to get 25% off our online Mental Toughness Training courses here.

Still More Quotes …

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Mark Twain

Comment: This quote speaks for itself.

“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realised how seldom they do.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

Comment: This is a great quote. Worrying about what others (teammates, coaches) think of you is common in sports. Yet, it happens much less than we realise. Furthermore, this has been confirmed via some lab experiments.

Sport Psychology Quotes By Psychologists

“Multitasking is seriously overrated. Try to do one task at a time and learn to do it with more purpose. “

Gareth J. Mole

Comment: I could write a whole book on this subject. Maybe I will one day! By multitasking, I am not referring to doing more than one thing at a time. After all, breathing is doing. It’s about trying to complete more than one non-automatic task at a time, for example, eating your lunch and typing an email simultaneously. In my view, these kinds of functions are always best done separately. There are many reasons, but the main one is that this kind of multitasking compromises the quality of both tasks.

“They don’t hand out winner’s medals to those who were feeling the best on the day, nor to those who were thinking clearly and positively. The medals only go to those who did the best.”

Gareth J. Mole

Comment: This sounds similar to one of Jonah Oliver’s quotes above, so this quote might actually be his. But I like my version, too.

“We have this thing in our mind of I gotta feel perfect, calm and confident and THEN I’ll perform well. Mate, if that’s the case you’re going to perform well a very, very small portion of the time.”

Peter Clarke

Comment: This quote is taken from the first few seconds of Peter Clarke’s interview on the podcast Under The Lid with Scolls, Buck, and Burkey. Once again, it points out that we don’t need to feel a certain way to execute our motor skills under pressure. Waiting to feel that way will limit the number of chances you give yourself.

“Listen to everyone because even an idiot will have a good idea once or twice in their life. Then evaluate and pick out what works for you and commit to it.”

James Kneller

Comment: Our own James Kneller reminds us about the importance of listening. In sports, we often talk about the importance of experience. Well, that experience is compromised if you repeatedly hear the same people all the time.

Sport Psychology Quotes By Unknowns or Those Who Wish To Remain Anonymous

“You are NOT your thoughts.”

Unknown

Comment: This quote might not even qualify as a quote. Maybe it’s just a fact. And indeed, in the work we do as sport and performance psychologists, it’s a fact worth remembering. These five words are so powerful that they are the ideal final sentiment of this extensive list of quotes on sports psychology.

“Ambition beyond ability is almost as bad as having no ambition at all.”

Former TV Sports Broadcaster

“Leave while they still want you”.

Former TV Sports Broadcaster

“Champions have their triumphs before millions and their failures, the later is the real test of character.“

Former TV Sports Broadcaster

Comment: One of Australia’s best-known and loved television sports broadcasters kindly submitted these three quotes. Understandably, he has requested that we do not use his name.

Are you looking to improve your sporting mental toughness? Use the discount Metuf_discount_25 to get 25% off our online Mental Toughness Training courses here.

Risk and Reward

Although risk and reward might not seem like obvious sport and performance psychology concepts, as this insightful article shows, it’s a significant mental challenge to get the balance right when we are under pressure.

Risk and Reward is an important conversation with your sport psychologist

“How do I stop hesitating?” It’s one of the more common questions we get asked as Sport and Performance Psychologists. Hesitation is a common mental block experienced by athletes across all sports and can be the difference between making it and not.

Why Do We Hesitate? 

Hesitation is a growing topic of conversation in the world of performance psychology. In the many conversations I’ve had with athletes on the subject, it all seems to boil down to one thing: unrealistic expectations. The advancement of sport science in recent decades has allowed us to perform to levels we never thought possible. Coincidentally, expectations have increased as well.

We’re expected to start younger, train more, and train for longer. And because of this, we hope to see results quicker. Unfortunately, progress will never be linear, no matter how much science underpins it. Now, more than ever, we underestimate how long it takes to see improvement. 

The Impact of Social Media 

Social media hasn’t helped in this regard. In fact, it has skewed our perception of good performance looks like. We’re living in a highlight culture. Many of us opt to watch highlights over matches from start to end. This is often due to time constraints, but also because we’re more interested in watching the ‘good parts’.

The problem with this is that we’re only exposed to the most special moments of a performance, such as a goal being scored in soccer. But we don’t see the other 89 minutes on either side of this, during which athletes worked to set this moment up, made mistakes, and were forced to problem-solve.

Due to the rising popularity of platforms like TikTok, we’re constantly exposed to once-in-a-career moments. With enough exposure, we eventually perceive this as normal or ‘the standard’ when, in reality, it’s not. This is an especially tough challenge for young athletes who have grown up in the tech age. 

Professional Statistics 

So, what does elite performance look like in reality? Simply put, elite athletes mess up more than we think they do. Have you ever Googled who makes the top 10 most missed baskets in the NBA of all time? If you do, you’ll notice that many of the names on that list also make the list for the top 10 scorers of all time. 

You will also see more interesting data if you search the UFC record book. For example, current middleweight fighters ranked in the top 10 for striking accuracy are between 55% and 62.5% accurate. Takedown accuracy is even less, with the top 10 athletes in the same division being between 40% and 54.5% accurate.

Essentially, almost one in every two attempts fails. Yet, these are the best of the best.

If the above data hasn’t given you insight into how imperfect elite athletes are, then hopefully, Roger Federer can convince you.

Federer won 80% of his singles matches in his career but only 54% of the points. To break that down, he’s lost hundreds of matches (approximately 300) and only won roughly 1 in every 2 points. So, is being the best really about chasing perfection, or does it perhaps have something to do with the acceptance of imperfection? And sticking to the process!

Mistakes vs Occurrences

To perform freely, we need to redefine mistakes. At Condor Performance, we have categories for different types of mistakes. The first category is a mistake that is our fault (we call this a ‘mistake’), and the second is a mistake that isn’t our fault (we call this an ‘occurrence’). 

Mistakes are erroneous decisions based on our desire to feel good, comfortable, or safe, but they don’t pay off.

For example, I pass the ball to my teammate because I’m afraid to miss when I have a clear path in front of me to take a shot. If any soccer players are reading this, we’d love to hear some of your examples in the comments section below.

On the other hand, occurrences are times when we did everything to the best of our knowledge, stuck to the process, and made the best possible decision with the information we had available at the time. Still, the payoff wasn’t there on that occasion.

For example, I chose to keep the puck and shoot (ice hockey) because I knew I was in the best position to score, but the goalkeeper had the game of her life and saved it. Think about how many of your mistakes were actually mistakes and how many were occurrences—times when you did everything right, but it just didn’t work. For a whole article on this topic by my colleague Lauren, click here.

Willingness to Make Occurrences … Lots of Them

Understanding professional statistics helps us understand that elite performance isn’t as ‘perfect’ as we sometimes assume it to be. This is essential in helping us set realistic expectations about a good performance. These expectations should allow plenty of occurrences to minimise mistakes as much as possible. 

For example, if I’m an amateur MMA fighter and the top 1% of athletes in my sport are landing roughly one in every two strikes they throw, aiming to have a striking accuracy of 80% will only lead to me becoming highly frustrated in the cage when I struggle to achieve this. Not that getting frustrated is a bad thing (if the fighter is psychologically flexible).

A Piece of Advice

Find ways to become more okay with occurrences. If you’re a young athlete, reflect on your long-term goals and clarify how much time you have to achieve them. If you’re a 13-year-old swimmer and your goal is to make the Australian swim team one day, you’ve got anywhere from 5-15 years to accomplish this. Not getting a PB at your next meet is okay, messing up your turn at a vital meet is okay, and slipping on your backstroke start is okay. Why? Because none of these things will significantly impact your long-term goals.

A Final Note on Risk vs Reward

As performers, we’ll always be criticised no matter what. It’ll either be for A) playing it safe and not taking enough chances, or B) taking lots of chances, in which half of those probably won’t pay off. Consider which kind of criticism will take you closer to your goals and commit to it. And as always, if you need professional assistance then get in touch.

Composure As A Mental Skill

“Composure is the ruler of instability”
~ Lao Tzu

What Exactly Is Composure?

Composure is up there when we consider some of the most important mental skills to develop as an athlete or performer. But how many consider composure a mental skill that can be practised and improved?

First, let’s work out what we mean when we say composure.

The dictionary definition is “the feeling of being calm, confident, and in control.” Searching for its meaning in sports suggests “whether emotions dictated how someone performed under pressure.“

I want to explore an example from the perspective of a spectator. 

As I alluded to above, the context of the situation usually plays a role. In this example, let’s say we are watching an important match, the scorelines are close, and there comes a crucial moment in the competition where an athlete can influence the outcome. When we watch them, there is a sense of poise, their body language is confident, and their movements are precise and full of conviction. 

The play is booming, and the audience applauds. We intuitively know there was pressure at that moment, but the athlete did not seem to waver in their appearance and execution. The assumption we usually make after seeing this is that the athlete must have felt calm to do this. However, in my experience as a performance psychologist, athletes are commonly stressed during these moments.

The answers lie not in how we control the experience of feeling calm but more in staying committed to our performance actions while the stress is present.

The Separation Of Actions From Emotions

Fundamentally, when we talk about building composure, is the expectation that we must change our emotional state or actions? The first step towards composure is understanding our openness to our emotional experience.

If we expect to change our emotional state before taking action, this creates a significantly limited approach to our performance. Essentially, we create a condition on our performance where if it works, then we can do well, and if it does not, then we can’t. Secondly, it shifts our concentration away from the present competition in front of us. We concentrate on an uncomfortable, natural human experience we have little control over.

I want to clarify that I’m not saying we have to give up on a calm state but more about having some psychological flexibility towards it to take the most meaningful actions with or without it.

This allows us to free ourselves from the conditions of our actions, creating the opportunity for the preferred psychological experiences. Have you ever had a moment in your sport or anywhere else where you noticed pressure or emotions building up? Instead of giving into the emotional reaction, you committed to a different, more meaningful action. 

Even if the outcome didn’t go your way, did you genuinely regret doing it? There is something liberating about letting go of the emotional control agenda and acting in a way aligned with who you want to be. 

If you want to read more about emotions in sports, my colleague, Madalyn Incognito, has written more about them in this article.

A World-Class Example of Sporting Composure

Roger Federer is the first athlete to come to mind when considering composure as a mental skill.

If you could create an example of someone who might have “managed emotions well” after 20 grand slam titles and the way he carried himself on the court, I would have picked RF to be that guy.

However, when you listen to his interviews, time after time, he openly discusses moments where he felt pressure, felt nervous, and noticed that he had thoughts about losing. Yet he manages his body language well, trusts his preparation and prioritises his behaviour on the court first.

Hear it from the man, the legend himself:

When asked about how to stay calm under pressure, his response contains three key elements:

  • Be passionate and love the sport (all aspects of it)
  • Accepting challenging circumstances and the outcome for whatever it is
  • On the court, give everything you have

Having A Process Focus

As I described at the beginning, composure has a situational component. We value it more in high-pressure moments. Part of the psychology of composure is how we interpret pressure. I define pressure as an expectation to create a result. How we perceive our ability to control the results influences what we focus on, which can then influence our performance. 

Try answering the question: how much control do you have over the result? For the most part, in sports, so many factors outside our control influence the result. We can execute our abilities flawlessly and still not achieve the desired outcome. 

Condor Performance’s founding sport psychologist, Gareth J. Mole, goes into more detail in this article, and I highly recommend giving it some of your time.

Where we place our focus during performance matters a lot. Overfocusing on trying to create a result that we can only partially influence will create an unstable foundation for composure.

Many of the world’s best athletes take a process-focused rather than a results-focused approach.

That means that when a high-pressure situation occurs, composure is maintained by a deep understanding of what they have influence over in that moment: their actions. We observe their ability to be present in their process. 

A Summary Of Composure

To summarise, composure is about how we respond to our actions when we know it is essential. Often, a mix of human experiences, thoughts and feelings accompany these moments, which can be uncomfortable. Try to practice psychological flexibility in these moments, be open to those experiences and commit to your process. Our emotions do not have to dictate our actions. Meaningful actions unhooked from emotions are what create fulfilling human experiences.

Composure is an excellent topic I could discuss further, but it is a nice way to get the ball rolling. Please share some of your thoughts or personal experiences in the comments below.

If you are ready to start working one-on-one to develop composure and mental skills, fill out one of our four Mental Toughness Questionnaires, and one of our team will get back to you with your results and information about our services.

Feedback for Teams

Although this fascinating article by Dr Michelle Pain uses eSports throughout to provide examples of the concepts covered, it is worthwhile reading for anybody involved in the coaching or participation of groups.

Feedback for Teams using esports for the examples

Feedback for Teams: Cultivating a Culture of Open Communication in Esports

In the high-stakes, fast-paced world of esports, success hinges not only on individual skill but on the ability of a team to function as a cohesive unit. One of the most critical tools for achieving this synergy is feedback for teams—a structured, intentional process that allows players and coaches to identify what’s working, what isn’t, and how to iterate toward improvement. However, fostering an environment where feedback flows freely requires more than just scheduling post-scrim debriefs; it demands a deliberate focus on psychological safety, collaborative leadership, and shared accountability. This article explores how esports organisations can build a culture where feedback for teams becomes a catalyst for growth rather than a source of friction.

1. Psychological Safety: The Foundation of Honest Feedback for Teams

Before a team can engage in open dialogue, players must feel safe enough to speak candidly without fear of judgment or retaliation. Psychological safety—the belief that one can take interpersonal risks without negative consequences—is the bedrock of effective feedback for teams. In esports, where egos and emotions often run high, establishing this trust is non-negotiable.

A daily debrief tool, used consistently after scrims or matches, can institutionalize this practice. For example, structuring discussions around questions like “What did we do well today?” and “Where did we fall short?” shifts the focus from blaming individuals to analysing collective performance. Coaches and team leaders must actively model vulnerability by acknowledging their own mistakes first (“I should have called rotations earlier”), demonstrating that feedback for teams is a collaborative process, not a witch hunt. Over time, this consistency builds a culture where players feel empowered to voice concerns about strategy, communication, or even role discomfort.

2. Collaborative Feedback for Teams vs. Accusatory Language

The difference between productive feedback for teams and toxic criticism often lies in framing. Accusatory language (“You threw that fight”) triggers defensiveness, while collaborative phrasing (“How can we better position next time?”) invites problem-solving. In esports, where split-second decisions define outcomes, teams must prioritise clarity over blame.

A debrief tool can enforce this by requiring feedback to adhere to a “we” mindset. For instance, using a “Start-Stop-Continue” framework:

  • Start: What should we begin doing?
  • Stop: What habits are holding us back?
  • Continue: What strengths should we preserve?

This structure ensures feedback for teams remains forward-looking and solution-oriented. Additionally, setting ground rules—like “critique the play, not the player”—helps depersonalise mistakes. When a support player admits to struggling with shot-calling, the team’s response should focus on redistributing responsibilities, not assigning fault.

3. Leadership Modelling: Graceful Feedback for Teams

Effective feedback for teams starts at the top. Coaches and team captains must exemplify how to give and receive constructive criticism. This means balancing honesty with empathy—for example, pairing critiques with recognition (“Your mid-game rotations were sharp, but let’s tighten our early-game vision control”). Leaders who respond gracefully to feedback themselves (“Thanks for pointing that out—I’ll adjust the practice schedule”) reinforce that growth, not perfection, is the goal.

In esports, where many leaders are former players, transitioning from a “star performer” mindset to a “servant leader” mentality is crucial. A coach who openly seeks input from analysts or lower-ranked players (“What did you see from the observer view?”) signals that feedback for teams is a collective effort, not a top-down mandate. This humility trickles down, encouraging players to view feedback as a tool, not a threat.

4. Creating Space for Vulnerability in Feedback for Teams

Some esports roles—whether DPS, support, or IGL (in-game leader)—carry immense pressure. Players may hesitate to admit they’re struggling in their assigned position, fearing they’ll be benched or criticised. Feedback for teams must normalise vulnerability by framing role adjustments as strategic pivots, not failures.

During debriefs, coaches can ask direct but supportive questions:

  • “Does anyone feel their current role isn’t leveraging their strengths?”
  • “What support do you need to succeed in this position?”

When a player voices discomfort, the team can collaboratively explore solutions, such as revising compositions or adjusting practice drills. Celebrating players who speak up (“Thanks for being honest—let’s tackle this together”) reinforces psychological safety. Over time, this openness prevents minor issues from snowballing into resentment or burnout.

5. Recognition: Fuelling Motivation Through Feedback for Teams

Feedback for teams isn’t just about fixing flaws—it’s also about amplifying what works. Publicly recognizing improvements sparked by feedback (“Our late-game coordination has improved 30% since we adjusted comms”) motivates players to stay engaged. Similarly, praising selfless acts (“Shoutout to Alex for switching heroes to cover our weak side”) ties individual sacrifices to team success.

‘Giving recognition’ is a key strategy for a team’s success. Players work harder when they know their teammates will comment when they do something right, and I encourage that recognition in the game (except don’t just say ‘Nice!’; use their name too, e.g., ‘Nice, Sam!’) and in the debriefing tool. 

6. Shared Accountability: The Ultimate Goal of Feedback for Teams

The pinnacle of effective team feedback is shared accountability—the understanding that every member owns the problems and the solutions. This mindset shifts the narrative from “Who messed up?” to “How do we fix this together?”

For example, if a team consistently loses control of key objectives, the debrief should explore systemic fixes (e.g., revising practice drills, assigning dedicated scouts) rather than scapegoating. Leaders can reinforce this by using inclusive language (“We need to improve our map awareness”) and distributing ownership of action items (“Jaden, can you lead the vision control drill tomorrow?”).

7. How I Make Feedback for Teams Work

The debriefing tool I use is a Google Sheet. Every player has an allocated line to complete, noting how they thought the team performed (overall), how they performed (overall) – I use a 7-point emoji scale – and then a wide column that allows wrapped text where they can type their Notes. This process is superior to merely talking through a debrief because I have players type their responses and not their ‘enter’ until everyone is finished typing. That way, everyone’s honest thoughts are revealed when we say ‘3-2-1-Go’, and everyone hits enter, and then each player talks through their Notes in turn (so we even get to hear from the people who usually are very quiet).

Because everyone is contributing and investing in the team, the team is less likely to be destabilised by an unexpected loss. There is space in the next column for writing down solutions the team comes up with when discussing the Notes. This is what my Debrief tool looks like:

Conclusion: Feedback for Teams as a Competitive Advantage

In esports, where margins between victory and defeat are razor-thin, teams that master feedback for teams gain a decisive edge. Teams transform feedback from a dreaded obligation into a strategic asset by prioritising psychological safety, collaborative language, and shared accountability. The daily debrief becomes not just a post-mortem but a launchpad for innovation. When players trust that their voices matter—and that growth is a shared mission—they unlock cohesion and adaptability levels that no solo carry can match. Ultimately, the best teams aren’t just skilled and proficient at learning together.

By embedding these principles into their culture, esports teams can ensure that feedback for teams isn’t a checkbox exercise but the heartbeat of their success.

Performance Mindfulness

Sport Psychology draws from many models but recently Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) is gaining some serious momentum.

Performance Mindfulness can be done virtually anywhere

What Is Performance Mindfulness?

Under the banner of “psychotherapy”, there are hundreds of different approaches. Sometimes called models or philosophies, some work together, while others are opposites. For some mindfulness (or performance mindfulness) is everything, for others it’s nonexistent.

At Condor Performance, we are open to our psychologists using whichever therapeutic models they believe are best. One of our core values is ‘always do what’s in the best interest of the client’. This eliminates the need to force our performance and sport psychologists to use the same ‘tool kit’.

However, we would be negligent if we didn’t point them in the right direction of several methods that we know tend to be effective repeatedly.

CBT and ACT

I have used two major models in my applied work with sporting clients. My go-to philosophies include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

I should mention that I am not thrilled that both end in the word ‘therapy’. The word therapy, to most, suggests a more clinical or counselling framework. Although my colleagues and I are quite capable of assisting our clients with mental health issues, our bread-and-butter is far more performance-orientated.

Like many psychology students from the 1990s, I was mainly exposed to CBT models during my undergraduate years. In fact, so dominant was CBT in the early part of my training that I assumed it was ‘the only way’ to help clients!

Despite this, I was always uncomfortable about the idea of helping people to think too differently. Quite frankly, it just felt too hard and without any real benefit. Something was missing from CBT’s toolkit. Luckily, due to the psychologist’s CPD requirements, I was constantly being exposed to new ideas.

Russ Harris in 2013

I attended one of Russ Harris’ Intro courses to ACT in 2013. Across only two days, many of my questions were answered. Helping clients become better at accepting thoughts and feelings instead of struggling with them seemed far more sensible from a performance psychology point of view.

Taking part in at least one of Russ’s workshops is now virtually compulsory for new team Condor Performance members. Here is a picture of Darren Godwin with the Great Man in 2023.

The Wild Beast Analogy

Steven C. Hayes first developed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the 1980s. His starting point was that the cognitions of human beings are very much like wild animals. You can try taming them, but ultimately, they will do what they will.

So, instead of trying to change our thoughts directly, we are far better off accepting them most of the time.

Imagine trying to get a tennis player always to have the same thoughts before they serve. Or to always think positively. Now imagine that that tennis player is in a challenging situation. Maybe she is slightly injured, or perhaps she’s double-match point down. Now, she is in a bind, and we expect her to think a certain way, too!

Before 2013 (Discovering ACT)

Sport Psychologist: What do you think before each serve?

Tennis Player: Not quite sure.

Sport Psychologist: I want you to be sure. Let’s devise something you can say to yourself before every single serve.

Tennis Player: Ok, you mean like “stay calm”.

Sport Psychologist: Yes, that’s work.

After 2013 (Discovering ACT)

Sport Psychologist: What do you think before each serve?

Tennis Player: Not quite sure.

Sport Psychologist: Great, it’s your actions that count. Think whatever you want, even if it’s negative; just stick to your pre-point routine.

The Misuse of The Word Mindfulness

Mindfulness has and continues to be confused with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Mindfulness is an increased awareness of the present moment with decreased judgment. It’s just one part of ACT, a very important part, but not the entire model.

When I use ACT to inform the one-on-one mental training I do with my sporting and non-sporting clients, I do so in the following way.

First, I explain that uncomfortable thoughts and feelings are a part of human existence. The wild animal analogy can help here.

Next, I explain how thoughts are separate from actions. You can try this now.

Start rubbing the top of your head while thinking how silly it is to rub one’s head. Even better, say to yourself, “I am not rubbing my head right now”. But continue to do the action.

Mental Separation

All too often in the human experience, thoughts, feelings, and actions are regarded as inseparable. The favoured term in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is fused. Therefore, separating thoughts from actions is logically called diffusion, a key part of ACT.

So, we have to get better at accepting our thoughts. You can try this alone to start with, but it is challenging. We have created a 16-minute audio guide for anyone who needs a helping hand (yes, it’s free).

Really Simple Mindfulness

This brings us to the final part of ACT, the commitment part. By commitment, what we are saying is committed actions. More so than almost any other human endeavour, sports are facts full of actions. There is a virtually unlimited number of tasks that can be performed.

So, performance mindfulness is just regular mindfulness in a performance setting. And it’s in these settings that fusing (getting caught up) with your thoughts can be so damaging.

Mindfulness and Acceptance Approaches in Sport PerformanceDownload

If you are curious about discovering more about our work at Condor Performance, a great place to start is to listen to some of the recorded answers to the most frequent questions we get by clicking here. Or get in touch via one of these methods. 👉 Please email us at info@condorperformance.com or fill in our Contact Us form. 👉 Completing one of our Mental Toughness Questionnaires is also a great way to reach out to our team of sport and performance psychologists.

Culture and High Performance

It might be argued that culture is not the right word. Some in the industry suggest it’s more of a buzzword than a real concept. Let’s find out!

Culture and High Performance: The Basics

As more and more of my sport psychology consulting nowadays is with whole sporting teams, I have become increasingly interested in mental skills that relate to groups of individuals. One of these is to take a look at the culture of the team.

Examples of Poor Culture

The idea of culture and high performance was extensively explored in cricket in 2018. For those who do not follow this fascinating sport or who can’t remember, here is a quick summary from Wikipedia:

The 2018 Australian ball-tampering scandal, also known as Sandpapergate, was a cricket cheating scandal surrounding the Australian national cricket team. In March 2018, during the third Test match against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town, Cameron Bancroft was caught by television cameras trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper to make it swing in flight. Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were found to be involved, and all three received unprecedented sanctions from Cricket Australia. Although he was found not to have been directly involved, Australia’s coach, Darren Lehmann, announced he would step down from his role following the scandal. Smith was replaced by Tim Paine as captain in all formats before Aaron Finch took over from Paine in ODIs and T20Is.

After the dust had settled and the individuals who were responsible for the act were handed down their punishments, a lot of questions were still being asked about how a group of highly regarded/paid professional athletes could have ended up in such a predicament.

What Was Going Through Their Minds

How did the locker room allow for such poor decision-making? As part of the reviews, the talk switched from individual motivations to team culture. Was it ultimately a cultural issue that existed within Australian Cricket at that time?

Culture is the collective mentality and values of a particular organisation and group.

The Right Culture Should Never Be “Assumed“

It can be inherited from those who were previously members of the group. But it can also be quite fluid as some individuals depart and new individuals join. The right culture should never be “assumed”. A culture of sorts will always exist when a group of people come together and form a team whether they’re active in creating it in their preferred way or by letting it happen naturally.

I’m of the opinion that it is something that should be named openly among everyone and worked on actively so each individual associated with the organisation can have a sense of ownership and pride over what they have created. Not only this, but a strong and positive sense of culture also gives the organisation an identity. It can provide a guiding light to the individuals that can both be used as a motivator and create a sense of accountability for everyone’s individual actions.

An intentional culture can promote the well-being of an individual as they can feel accepted and belong, and, maybe the biggest thing of all, gives everyone a chance to develop a strong sense of both the individual and collection mental toughness.

How To Start Improving The Culture of Your Team

If you are a leader of a team or even a member of one, start thinking about your organisation and what you can do to create a better environment.

My recommendation is that you waste no time creating a situation where people can begin to contribute to a discussion and the organisation’s shared values can be formalised.

From our perspective as sport and performance psychologists, one of the key things that should be kept in mind and included within the process is that we can only control our efforts and therefore the culture and pursuits of the organisation should focus on giving people the opportunity to achieve consistent and high-quality effort, rather than having an obsession with results.

People often talk about a “winning culture” within a team, but for us, if this idea of “winning” is only focusing on the results you attain, then you leave yourself and your organisation vulnerable when things are not going to plan. Maybe this is what happened to the Australian Cricket Team in 2018.

The team can have goals that strive towards certain achievements, but along the way, the true reward and meaning come from how the team and individuals within it worked towards their achievements, not what was reached at the end of the road. This classic article by my colleague Gareth on the Power Of The Process is essential if you want to explore this concept in more detail.

Summary

A big part of our role when we work with an organisation is helping them to create discussions and opportunities that drive the ideas of culture for themselves. Every organisation is different, and if you wish to discuss how you can achieve the right balance between culture and high performance, we would love to hear from you.

Feel free to email me directly at david@condorperformance.com to discuss our team consulting options in more detail.