Recent Sports Psychology And Performance Psychology Articles

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: 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.

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 Performance Download

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 [email protected] 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.

Off-Season Mindset

‘The off season is one of the best times for elite athletes to be working on their mindset’ says International Sport Psychologist Gareth J. Mole

Early morning training session — The best athletes in the world are almost always the ones with the best Off-Season Mindset.

What Is Your Off-Season Mindset?

The “Off Season” is an odd sporting term. It typically implies that athletes and coaches from around the globe only have two gears. “On” during pre-season and the competitive months where they give everything. And then “Off” for the rest of the year when everything stops.

This Black and White / Either Or / Binary way of conceptualising the sporting year is counterproductive. Certainly from a mental standpoint. Almost without a doubt, the origin of the term Off Season comes from a bygone era when training was regarded as almost entirely physical. So these athletes would’ve overdone it physically for eight months and hence required complete rest and recovery for four months.

However, this whole idea falls apart pretty quickly when you look at modern-day high-performance preparation whereby a lot of improvement requires little or no physical movement whatsoever.

The Five Pillars

Anyone who has completed our online Mental Toughness program – Metuf – will know that “preparation” can be broken down into 5 pillars: Physical Capability (PC), Mental Toughness (MT), Tactical Wisdom (TW), Technical Consistency (TC) and LifeStyle Choices (LC).

If we assume these 5 pillars are of equal importance then really only Physical Capability (PC) requires more body than mind. The other 4 pillars are “above the neck” processes, needing little or no physical exertion.

So for highly demanding physical sports (for example CrossFit, rugby union, rugby league, American Football, AFL and endurance sports – to name the first few to come to mind) then it’s only Physical Training that might want to be reduced during the gaps between the end of the competitive season and the start of the next preseason.

But even this is questionable. If the physical demands are adequately managed during the season then the necessity of an off-season of little or no physical effort is reduced.

A Season Is A Long Time

Part of the work that we do as one of the biggest independent groups of sport psychologists and performance psychologists in the world is to pass on invaluable “mind hacks” to our monthly clients. One of these is to tweak the way we think about time.

We encourage our 1-on-1 clients to use months and weeks rather than seasons or years. In summary, use weeks to plan and review efforts. Use months to monitor progress (KPIs etc). And if you must only use periods longer than this to set goals.

Start with a week-by-week approach. Think about a week as a block of 168 hours. Add your ideal sleep-in first. Not just amounts but bedtime and wake-up time too. Then add the stuff you have little or no influence over. For example, school or medical appointments. Finally, fill in the gaps with a healthy mix of process blocks across the 5 pillars.

This typically results in 52 weeks of “the right amount” of effort instead of 40 weeks of overdoing it followed by 12 weeks of undergoing it (oh, how very common this is).

The Biggest Clue

One of the biggest clues is how you feel mentally and physically at the end of the competitive season. If you are desperate for the break then there is a good chance you’ve been overextending yourself. Many individuals involved in elite sports believe that the primary purpose of an off-season is to recover from burnout. But the sports science is clear now. Burnout harms performance consistency, so we should be designing our preseason and the season to prevent burnout. Sometimes, less is more.

The concept of best-kept secrets is a bit of a cliche in sport. But having said that some things genuinely seem to separate the best from the rest. One of these is not so much the amount of time spent on training but the way it is designed and implemented. Not all 60-minute training sessions are equal. Some will be outstanding, whilst others can be damaging (it would have been better if they had not taken place at all).

Need A Hand?

If you feel like you might benefit from a professional helping hand in developing a smarter way of going about your preparation then why not get in touch? Regardless of how you contact us, we will attempt to get back to you within a couple of working days and talk you through the unique way in which Condor Performance goes about our sport psychology consulting.

Powered by Purpose

By Alexandra Mapstone

Unlock The Power Of Your Purpose

Some big philosophical questions will come up at some point, if they have not already. For example, ‘Who am I?’, ‘What am I meant to do here?’, and ‘What am I trying to achieve with my life?’

I have always been intrigued by the concept of purpose. We go about our daily tasks, but when asked why, most of us are stumped.

At this point, we may think about things of meaning or significance to us. For example, an athlete may find meaning in playing a leadership role in their team. Or a sports coach may love helping an athlete achieve their goal.

But This Is Only The Tip Of The Iceberg

Richard Leider, an international bestselling author and coach, describes purpose like this.

“The deepest dimension within us- our central core or essence– where we have a profound sense of who we are, where we came from and where we’re going. Purpose is the quality we choose to shape our lives around. Purpose is a source of energy and direction.”

Our purpose is the reason we do something or why something exists. It is having a clear direction or goal that drives our choices and actions. The Japanese call it ikigai, – a person’s reason for being.

A real sense of purpose is one of the most fundamental human needs. It is vital in shaping our lives and bringing us satisfaction. It is the subjective perception that one’s daily life is worth living and full of energy and motivation. There are three core components of purpose:

Goal orientation
Personal meaningfulness
A focus on aims beyond the self

Purpose Is Unique

There isn’t one definite area that needs to be fulfilled to live a more meaningful life. People derive purpose from various activities. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger continued to pursue his plans to become a great bodybuilder despite reservations from his parents and others.

https://condorperformance.com/powered-by-purpose/

For the Okinawan community, a sense of purpose involves working in their garden to bring vegetables home, working a stall in the morning market, or giving social support to the elderly.

Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, explored the idea that purpose is essential for human well-being and resilience. Even when faced with extreme suffering and adversity. He suggested that having a purpose gives people a reason to keep moving forward, providing a sense of direction, motivation, and fulfilment.

Purpose is unique and arises from one’s values, passions, and sense of responsibility.

Why Purpose Matters

Research has shown that having a sense of purpose is connected to experiencing less conflict when making decisions and can help overcome stress, anxiety, or depression. It is also shown to increase health and decrease mortality rates. In the Netflix documentary Live to 100, having a sense of purpose is believed to be one of the most influential factors contributing to individuals’ longevity.

Companies driven by purpose are also shown to have better growth, increased employee productivity, and higher success rates. A sense of purpose in life has ripple effects on most areas of life.

Benefits of Purpose for Sports Performance

Greater goal engagement: Setting goals that motivate you to work hard towards achieving them helps to provide a sense of purpose. This old but still helpful article by the Founder of Condor Performance, Gareth J. Mole, delves into this topic in more detail.

Higher emotional resilience: You will inevitably encounter challenges and tough moments during your sporting career. This makes it even more important to return from these testing times more robust than before. Having a clear sense of purpose helps us remember our reasons for doing what we are doing and continue working towards becoming the athlete and person we want to be, even after disappointing performances.

Higher levels of internal motivation and passion: Having a strong sense of purpose can help maintain a high level of internal motivation that draws on the core reasons you became involved in your sport and your inner desire and enjoyment when feeling that sense of achievement. It may help to reinvigorate your passion for participating in your chosen sport and spark new areas for achievement. It has been suggested that when athletes can play sports and live their lives with a sense of purpose, they feel connected to something bigger than themselves.

Why Don’t I Know My Purpose?

Knowing about purpose and its benefits doesn’t automatically result in knowing yours, and often, people will struggle to define their purpose in life. This is because we are usually distracted from our goals or pressured to follow a path away from our core passions.

It is estimated that only 20% of adolescents report having a sense of purpose. And that 59% of American adults felt they had found a purpose and meaning in their lives. This suggests that developing a sense of purpose is complex and may take a long time. Our sense of purpose needs to be discovered, and it is only by working on purpose and consistently asking ourselves, ‘Why do I get up in the morning?’ that we inch closer to finding the answer to this question. We must commit to discovering our sense of purpose, as without purpose, we will find ourselves lost and far away from our true fulfilment in life and work.

It goes without saying that there will never be a substitute for working one-on-one with qualified sports and performance psychologists (like the growing team at Condor Performance*). However, I have compiled some quick tips below that may at least help you get started.

5 Tips To Help You Find Your Purpose

Explore what is personally meaningful to you about sports.
Set personal goals that align with this meaning.
Explore what is beyond self-motivation. For example, I want to improve the life of my family or be a positive role model for children.
Share your thoughts with others in your inner circle (e.g., family, friends, coaches).
Live your purpose by exploring how you can bring it to life.

* For more info on our services, fill out our Contact Us form here.

Mindfulness and Routines

Often, mental skills are applied separately, but as this article proves, they can sometimes work even better in pairs. What do you think? Use the comments section below to join the discussion.

LONDON, ENGLAND – August 25: Michael Clarke plays a shot as Matt Prior looks on during the Investec Ashes cricket match between England and Australia played at The Kia Oval Cricket

Mindfulness and Routines Combined!

Cricket is a game of situations that constantly change depending on the state of the game. Generally speaking, whoever wins the most situations will be victorious. Cricket, much like golf and tennis to some degree, is a sport that has significant chunks of time between these situations.

What is the problem with this? The issue is that the mind can do a lot in 30-45 seconds, approximately how long a batter has before facing their next ball. Where a player’s mind wanders off can significantly impact how they perceive, feel about, and relate to a given game situation. This may subsequently affect how an individual performs during a game, thus impacting the outcome.

This article will first distinguish the difference between pre-ball and post-ball routines and then explain how mindfulness can be helpful in the post-ball routine.

Obviously, in these bat-and-ball sports, the bowlers/pitchers and fields also have (or should have) routines, but for this article, I will focus only on the batters.

Distinguishing The Routines

There is controversy over whether one can distinguish between pre and post-ball routines for sports such as cricket and baseball. I argue that this is quite easily distinguishable. The pre-ball routine encompasses behavioural and cognitive actions only seconds before the bowler starts running in. One of the most common, by way of example, is tapping the bat on the ground a few times.

The post-ball routine begins after the completion of a shot or delivery, and the ball becomes dead. It typically extends to the point where the bowler is about to leave their mark again. This is the space of approximately 30-45 seconds where a batter’s mind is most susceptible to wandering into territory detrimental to performance.

For example, they might overthink the previous or next shot, overanalyse a game situation, or listen to the slips cordon sledging, which is done to distract the batsmen from their game.

Can the pre and post-ball routines overlap?

Yes, if the mind allows it to. This is a crucial reason why the post-ball routine is so important. Suppose a batter thinks about their previous shot or begins to internalise what the fielders say while sledging. In that case, this will likely bleed into the pre-shot routine and may impair their ability to focus on the only thing that matters when the bowler bowls… the ball!

Therefore, this short space during the post-ball routine is crucial for a batsman to get right.

The Myth Of “Switching Off”

What should the athlete do in this short window if the post-ball routine is so essential? The most common answer I heard while playing elite cricket was, “You need to switch off”. Switching off is impossible, so asking performers to do this is psychologically damaging. Let me prove it.

I want you to set a timer for 45 seconds and close your eyes. I want you to tell yourself to switch off and not think about anything. After this exercise, you should appreciate how far the mind can take us in 30-45 seconds.

If a batter is told to switch off, it allows their mind to run wild. We demonstrated how your mind can wander when sitting in a chair with a timer. Imagine putting an elite athlete amid a high-pressure game situation, where they are fatigued and possibly emotionally dysregulated, depending on what is happening. The mind runs wild!

Contrary to the “switch off” philosophy so commonly taught by coaches, batsmen need a way to pay attention in a relaxed way while also regulating any fatigue or emotion dysregulation occurring at the time. This is where performance mindfulness comes in.

Why Is Mindfulness Ideal For These Routines?

Mindfulness is intentionally focusing on the present moment with less judgment and more curiosity than is typically natural.

An athlete can be mindful of anything occurring naturally here and now. Two great focal points of mindfulness are the breath and the five senses. Feeling their spikes dig into the turf, making a fist with their gloves, or noticing their muscles as they walk away from the crease after playing a shot are great examples of this type of attentional focus.

They can look around and notice the trees in the background or all the people in the crowd wearing blue shirts. We are trying to ground the athlete in the present moment, which will allow their mind and emotions to be balanced. When the mind runs, fatigue sets in, and emotions are dysregulated. This is the time when batters are most susceptible to making poor decisions. Poor decisions lead to worse execution of game situations, making it less likely to win the match.

Get In Touch

If this article has piqued your interest about what it might be like to work with a qualified psychologist on the mental aspect of sport and performance, get in touch via one of the below to find out more about who we are and what we do:

Fill in the form via our Contact Us page or
Complete one of the MTQs via this link or
Send a regular old email to [email protected]

Want to learn more about how we work before getting in touch? Watch this two-minute video by our General Manager, David.

Excuse-Making Explored

Excuse-Making *and* Mental Toughness – Are They Opposites?

Excuse-Making: An Interesting Concept

The human mind is remarkable and fascinating. It is capable of so much, maybe too much. This short opinion piece will explore the concept of excuse-making. More specifically, it will try to untangle the difference between excuses and genuine reasons as it might relate to the mental side of competitive sport and performance.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines an excuse (noun) as “an explanation that frees one from fault or blame.” So, excuse-making is the act of doing this, and habitual excuse-making is doing this a lot. When I read this definition, I was a little surprised. I was expecting it to be more about facts versus fiction. But apparently not. It appears as if excuses are more like the opposite of “taking responsibility” than about accuracy.

From a sport psychology and performance psychology point of view, it’s essential that we also separate excuse-making into the outward and inner types. By this, I mean saying something just to oneself (e.g., thoughts) designed to free the thinker from fault or blame is not the same as an excuse that is vocalised to another person (or group).

Spoken Words Are Actions, Not Thoughts

Technically speaking, when you open your mouth, and words come out, these are actions. Yes, these words probably started as thoughts. And yes, the time gap between having the thought and then doing the talking can feel so quick that we believe they are the same. But they are not the same. The reason why it’s so important not to confuse them comes down to the vastly different ways we want to handle thoughts, feelings, and actions, as explained in the video below.

Thoughts, Feelings and Actions Are Different

If you take this explanation and put it into the context of inner excuse-making, then really, what we, as sport psychologists, are suggesting is to become more aware of just noticing these cognitions. Ideally, with practices like mindfulness and journaling, we can all become better at lengthening the gaps between the stimulus (the autonomic thought we have little influence over) and response (which action, if any, to take).

Because I am a diehard advocate for Psychological Flexibility as a better approach to sport, performance, life, and everything else, it’s easier to assume that I have no interest in influencing thought processes. This is not true.

Let Me Explain

Consider thoughts as either past, present, or future-oriented. The first two categories are ideally treated with extreme acceptance. Changing a past thought is impossible, and changing a present one is complicated and unnecessary for the critical stuff (actions) anyway, so leave them be.

But future thoughts are different. They have not taken place yet, so there are actions we can take that might lessen the burden on our psychological flexibility later.

Some clients will know I am a big fan of using swimming as an analogy, not just swimming but swimming in the ocean. One way to become a better ocean swimmer is to become more adept at doing your strokes whilst waves are smacking you in the jaw. We can do thousands of things to become stronger ocean swimmers. But at some point, we’d need to accept that looking at future sea conditions – to avoid the most extreme conditions that mother nature can throw at us – is also intelligent. Reduce the probability of extreme burden despite excellent preparation.

How do we reduce the burden on our psychological flexibility? There are many ways to do this, but there is no substitute for monitoring our efforts in the context of learning to make fewer excuses.

Example Please!

Peter has decided he wants to improve his short game in golf. So, instead of smashing balls at the range (which he finds much more enjoyable), he plans to use this time to work on this chipping instead. He decides to get specific and designs some drills that take 40 minutes, and he adds them to his time management plan to do this three times a week.

In simple mathematical terms, he’s aiming for 120 minutes a week of intentional effort. However, the amount of actual effort can range anywhere between 0 minutes and 120 minutes. Of course, it could go above 120 minutes, but this is less likely as Pete is somewhat of a “do what’s necessary kind of guy.”

Peter creates a simple chart to measure how many minutes he does each week. When this number is below 120 minutes, there is a space for him to put why he fell short. Below are three hypothetical entries – can you identify which (if any) are excuses?

Are These Excuses?

~ The practice pitching green was shut for some kids’ lessons on Wednesday evening, so I could not do my standard drills when I arrived. So, I went to the range instead and fell 40 minutes short of my short game practice this week.

~ I just experienced a considerable dip in motivation for my overall Golf, not just my short game. I played poorly on the weekend, so the idea of investing even more time into a pursuit that is so inconsistent seems ridiculous. Maybe a couple of weeks off is what is needed. I got 0 minutes done this week, 120 minutes less than my commitment.

~ Blast, I picked up a slight shoulder niggle whilst playing touch footy with the guys on Monday night. The physiotherapist instructed me to practice at least 20 minutes during every session (half my usual amount). I didn’t quite manage to double the number of sessions to get to the 120 minutes, so I managed 100 minutes this week instead of 120.

Instead of sharing my insights about which of the above contains more legitimacy than others, it might be more attractive to ask our loyal readers. Please add your comments in the space at the bottom of this article, and I will endeavour to reply to every one of them as they come through. Which of the above (if any) do you believe is an excuse and why?

The Mind Is Not So Different From The Body

Both benefit from some very similar rules. One commonality between the parts above and below the neck is that they both require repetition for changes to become permanent.

This simple monitoring process described above is the most effective method I have ever encountered during my 20 years as an applied sport psychologist in assisting future thoughts to become less burdensome. Let me reiterate something fundamental here to prevent the flurry of comments about me contradicting my preference for psychological flexibility while wanting my clients to have more beneficial future thoughts. Because they are future thoughts (yet to happen) and are potentially influenced by present actions, there is no risk of what we call meta-cognition “distracting” the performer during the present moment.

Ideally, weekly reflections on why an athlete or performer fell short build greater awareness of how they can creatively work towards greater consistency of practice in the future. Maybe the very simple little internal dialogue is something like this.

“It’s gonna be hard for me to practice this week due to the weather. What can I do instead of letting these adverse weather conditions reduce our intended practice? Maybe I could do something inside or practice in the rain, knowing my skin is waterproof. Better still, maybe this poor weather practice will help me when I have to compete in similarly adverse climatic conditions.”

Accepting Thoughts, Especially The Crappy Ones, Is Hard.

So, we’re looking to reduce the workload required for methods such as mindfulness. Developing great psychological flexibility is fantastic and will serve you very well in the future. Still, it is not a magic bullet that makes all future endeavours bulletproof against all challenges.

At the beginning of the article, I clarified that dialogue related to why we don’t manage to do what we intended to do is not the same as when we say this to another individual. What does this second version most commonly look like?

In a sporting context, it is probably most common in elite developmental sports programs. Imagine a softball team with athletes aged between 14 and 17. The coach helps the squad design a combination of group-based practice and tasks that the players must do independently.

A simple self-monitoring system allows the Coach to see which athletes are doing the individualised practice. For the players who don’t enter this data or enter numbers far less than what was agreed upon, conversations can occur about why.

Why would an athlete use an excuse verbally when, in their mind, they know it’s far from a legitimate reason? There are potentially many reasons, but the most common is a lack of sound team dynamics, as described in these past articles here and here.

If you are a sporting or non-sporting performer and would like some professional help with making fewer excuses, then contact us now via this Enquiry Form. One of our team will get back to you within a couple of days.

Potential In Performance – Is It A Myth?

For me, potential in performance is one of the most fascinating topics to debate in modern-day sports psychology. This article is my opinion on the subject. If you take the time to read my ramblings below, you’ll see that I lean heavily towards the view that there isn’t really such a thing as potential.

From a performance psychology perspective, I would even say that it can often be detrimental. But this is just my viewpoint. Please add your counterargument below in the comments section for those who read and disagree. Debating these topics healthily and respectfully is crucial to improving our understanding. So don’t be shy.

“You Have Some Much Potential”

The word ‘potential’ is used extensively across sports and other performance domains, such as music, art, performing arts, and academics. It is used so frequently that it will almost always be regarded as ‘real’. The context in which it is most commonly heard is to describe an individual performer. Someone who can and should be much better in the future based on current or past ‘glimpses’. For example:

“Our starting quarterback has so much potential but often falls short on game day.”

In other words, according to the individual who said these words—let’s say the coach—this athlete has done things that suggest they could be much better later on but are not right now.

All too often, this is down to moments of brilliance. Maybe it’s moments of brilliance during a practice session with little or no competitive pressure. Or perhaps it was one or two unforgettable moments in a game that made everybody sit up and take notice.

The issue with these moments of brilliance is that they are only moments. Even the sports that last the least time (e.g. 100 m sprint) are made up of dozens of moments. Some sports, like cricket, comprise tens of thousands per match. So, if only a few of these moments are brilliant, then it suggests the rest were not, which is the definition of inconsistency.

So, if consistency is the most sought-after aspect of performance (as my colleague Chris argued in this brilliant article), then moments of brilliance count for diddly–squat.

Genetics and Potential

Not always, but often, potential in performance is used to describe genetic or inherited advantages. In other words, if you go back to the good old nature versus nurture debate, we often label performers as having ‘huge potential’ when they have all the genetically inherited ideals for that sport—a naturally taller basketball player or a heavily set forward rugby union forward.

In these scenarios, being labelled as naturally talented can often be a significant handicap from a mental toughness point of view.

Think about it. Our effort is one of the few areas of performance over which we genuinely have considerable influence. Therefore, consistency of hard work (in the right areas 😬) would have to be the most significant predictor of future success in sports and performance.

Imagine that from the age of seven, you have been told by all the significant people around you that you have genetic advantages. “Tommy has so much potential and natural talent”. If I were Tommy and I heard this repeatedly, it would be easy to believe that I don’t need to put in the same level of effort as some of my competitors to succeed. When you combine this with humans naturally wanting to take shortcuts (see more here: Principle of Least Effort), Tommy is in trouble. His dreams of making it to the top are pipe dreams.

Inside Knowledge

One of the absolute joys of working as an applied sports psychologist is that many of our loyal clients are already competing and performing at a high level. We had/have the privilege of helping some of them get there. For others, we have joined them and their team while they are already at the pointy end, and we have been brought in to help increase the probability that they stay there.

Irrespective, we have conversations with some of the best athletes and performances in the world virtually every day. As I am only one member of the current Condor Performance team, I can’t speak on behalf of all of our uber-elite clients worldwide, but the ones I have worked with rarely talk about potential.

Most of these exceptional athletes were not told they had potential or natural talent during their developmental years.

Due to this, they developed a rock-solid belief system that consistency of effort was the number one ticket to the top. Hard work was above everything else. This work ethic became a habit, and as the years rolled on, it became a much more critical ingredient to performance consistency and excellence than anything else.

Practical Takeaways

What does this mean regarding practical takeaways for those reading this article? I will leave you with some straightforward and hopefully game-changing advice on this subject of potential in performance.

If you’re a coach, I would cease to use the terms potential and natural talent. Just ban them from your vocabulary. If you are an athlete or non-sporting performer, I would encourage you also to move away from these dangerous labels. When you think you are full of potential, notice those thoughts and return to work. If others tell you it, thank them and get back to work.

Consider this if you have been labelled as someone with huge potential. Does hearing this make me want to work harder or not? If you’re one of the lucky few who views your potential in a motivational way, then make sure you have strategies to continue working hard even when those around you stop describing you in this way.

Amount of Influence

From a mental toughness point of view, one of the most fundamental ideas is how much influence we have on stuff. When we look at this in the context of time, it is elementary.

We can not influence the past at all.
We have a vast amount of influence over the present.
We have some influence over the future (due to the amount of influence we have over the present and the impact the present has on the future).

Potential in performance, as well as in any context, is a future-orientated construct. It is a prediction about the future. So, in the same way that putting a considerable amount of mental energy into the past is detrimental (“things were so much better last season why Coach Bob was around”), so too is focusing too much on the future.

So, we want to spend most of our energy in the present moment. My response to working with an athlete who believes they have enormous potential is the same as when consulting with an individual who believes they have absolutely none. Ask yourself the following:

“What is my plan for this week, this training session, so that afterwards, there is no doubt that I have improved in one or more meaningfulness areas.”

Permission granted to write this on your bathroom mirror.

Performance Momentum for Elite Sport

Chris Pomfret, a performance psychologist based in Queensland (Australia), looks at the fascinating concept of performance momentum.

'Momentum in Sport' is a fascinating concept but with very little research — ‘Momentum in Sport’ is a fascinating concept, but with very little research

Performance Momentum: The Basics

As with many phenomena in the world of sports psychology, it’s interesting to observe people talking about momentum. If you listen closely, it’s almost as if they’re chatting about something tangible, something real.

Listening to commentators, it seems beyond question that there is a mysterious yet unmistakable energy. Something that ebbs and flows through each match like a tide. There is an energy that has the potential to sweep a player towards glory or to leave them stranded. But in truth, things aren’t that straightforward.

As most of our sporting clients will know, we often stress the importance of clear and workable definitions for all performance components. If we can quantify something, we can understand it and, therefore, improve it.

Momentum can be defined as changes to cognition, feelings and behaviour as an athlete moves towards a goal.

Positive and Negative Momentum for Performance

Positive momentum is typically described in physics-related terms such as ‘surging’ towards victory within a single contest. Or ‘riding the wave’ across multiple contests towards an end-of-season championship.

Negative momentum is often described as a ‘tide-turning’ against an athlete. Some resistance is experienced or of a ‘pendulum swinging’ against them and energy being ‘lost’.

Momentum Is Not The ‘Hot Hand’

Note that momentum differs from the ‘hot hand’ effect often described in basketball. This represents those freak moments when it suddenly seems a player can’t miss a shot. Their teammates start to desperately feed them the ball before this shooting streak suddenly vanishes. As much as the hot hand effect captures our imagination, there doesn’t seem to be much evidence to back it up. Making a successful shot does not appear to increase the chances of making the next shot.

The fascinating thing about the concept of momentum is that it is almost universally accepted as fact. Research into the topic shows that people perceive momentum as real. They act based on this perception and past experiences supporting it. Simply put, athletes genuinely believe in momentum. When they think positive momentum has occurred, they see it as a direct cause of their success. However, there is surprisingly little evidence to justify this belief.

But Perception Is Reality

If researchers question the existence of performance momentum and the everyday sportsperson struggles to express in words what momentum even means to them, why is the concept so popular? One explanation is that for most human beings, perception is reality. We want the world to seem as structured and predictable as possible. We find it hard to accept the idea of randomness. It’s hard for us to realise that our thinking is biased and that these biases impact how we process information. We look for explanations in events, particularly where underlying meanings might help us in the future. Plus, we are just very poor at calculating probability.

There is a certain appeal to the idea that with some luck and hard work, one small action we take can trigger a chain reaction that will sweep us towards glory. On the other hand, perhaps there is also some small comfort in the idea that sometimes we are faced with forces working against us that can’t be controlled, and we simply have no choice but to hang in there, do our best, and then see what happens.

Performance Momentum: The Downside

The most apparent issue with believing in the concept of performance momentum is when you feel like you lack some. Mentally, if you think some past success had much to do with any success before that, you have a mental weak point. Let me explain more.

Let’s say you are a golfer who has started to believe that birdies and bogeys come in groups. Now let’s imagine you need to par the final three holes to make the cut, but you bogey the 16th hole. Instead of moving on and trying to play the best possible golf for the final two holes, you might feel that the bogey on 16 has set the tone.

“Perhaps there is something to those old clichés about taking things one play at a time or week-to-week?“

In Summary

Please be clear that I am not saying momentum is a myth. Various studies support the existence of momentum in sports. Not surprisingly, positive momentum plays a role in performing at one’s best. However, some findings suggest that negative momentum is, in many ways, ‘stronger’ than positive momentum. It seems to be triggered faster and more quickly and is more challenging to escape. Is this due to the sense of helplessness it can provoke?

In the case of positive momentum, there is a suggestion that athletes may occasionally ‘coast’ or ‘ease up’, which can, in turn, actually impair their performance. In the case of negative momentum, athletes may use this to force themselves to improve focus and boost motivation.

When momentum comes up in the one-on-one work I do with my sporting clients, this is how I approach it. I liken it to an emotion or physical sensation—like frustration or hunger. I then encourage them to notice it and move on, as per the A.C.T model.

We love getting comments. If you have any anecdotes related to Performance Momentum, please add them to the comments section below. Exclude your details if you’re not keen on people knowing it’s you. Can you recall when your best performances seemed to all be clumped together? That you could do no wrong. Or the opposite? No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get any momentum going.

Diversity in Team Sports

Diversity: A Definition

As one scrolls the internet, one sees numerous definitions of diversity. The Oxford English Dictionary defines diversity as the ‘practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.’

Down the road, Cambridge defines diversity as a ‘situation in which many different types of things or people are included in something.’

My favourite definition, however, is from Ferris University in Michigan, United States. They state that diversity is ‘the range of human differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability or attributes, religious or ethical values system, national origin, and political beliefs.’

The point is that diversity is multifaceted. It’s both visible and invisible. Michigan and the others could also have added personality, values, interests, and other attributes.

Why Embrace Diversity in Team Sports

Diversity is about the visible and invisible characteristics that make us different. These differences allow us to see the world differently from the others in the locker room. Handled correctly and professionally, these various perspectives are highly advantageous.

The NSW Government and the international consulting firm McKinsey found that diverse workplaces produce better outcomes across many areas. The Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport also found that diversity in team sports enhances performance. In addition to improving performance, diverse teams lead to the following:

Increased productivity.
Better decision-making.
Improved team member well-being by ensuring everyone ‘fits in’.
Greater innovation.
Creative problem-solving.
Healthy and constructive conflict

Sports teams that embrace diversity enable a wide range of perspectives and experiences. When individuals from different backgrounds come together, they bring unique ideas and approaches to training, strategy and problem-solving. This can lead to more creative solutions and innovative tactics and give the team a competitive advantage. But it’s not just diverse backgrounds. Diverse sports teams value the contributions and differences of everyone, from the most junior rookie to the seasoned campaigner; they respect each other, see differences as strengths, and challenge biases.

Bringing Unity To The Sports Team And Community

We live in an increasingly global community. Play by the Rules, developed by the South Australian government, highlights that 25% of the Australian sporting population is born overseas. 50% have one parent from another country, 260 languages are spoken across sports teams, one in five has a disability, and over 50% are women and girls. The sporting landscape is extraordinarily gender, culturally, and linguistically diverse.

Diversity in team sports fosters a sense of unity and mutual respect among team members. By working alongside individuals from different cultures, races and genders, athletes can learn to appreciate and celebrate differences rather than letting them create barriers. This can improve team communication and foster a more cohesive unit. Enhancing diversity within the team enables the team to more broadly reflect the community it represents, increasing engagement and buy-in of fans. Diverse sports teams can become role models for inclusivity and acceptance. Athletes from under-represented groups can inspire others to pursue their dreams and break down stereotypes.

Diverse Teams And The Neuroscience

Embracing diversity does not come naturally. While our conscious brain knows its importance, our unconscious brain quickly categorises input to avoid mindful thinking, save energy, and increase efficiency. Our brain prefers the familiar and has an unconscious bias to like individuals who look, sound, and act like us. Those who are not like us can be registered as a threat. This happens within 200 milliseconds of meeting someone.

Our unconscious bias significantly limits our ability to empathise with others and embrace diversity. The good news is that self-awareness, education and curiosity can counter this pre-encoded condition of our brain and challenge our predisposition.

To overcome cultural differences, language barriers, and unconscious biases, sports organisations must prioritise education, communication and training programs that promote diversity and inclusion.

Being Excluded From The Team

Dr Kipling Williams from Purdue University, Indiana, highlights that being excluded threatens our fundamental human needs, such as belonging and self-esteem. Being excluded activates our pain system, and the pain we feel is experienced in the same part of the brain as physical pain. While physical pain feels different, the networks processing it in the brain are the same. Feelings of exclusion from the team are likely to cause performance to suffer, impacting well-being, engagement, feelings of worthiness, and even our immune system.

Diversity on the world sporting stage (using gender as an example)

A great example of diversity in world sport is provided by looking at gender differentials. In 2019, European Parliament research found that 85% of sports media coverage was devoted to male athletes. At the same time, men wrote 90% of sports articles. But is the tide changing in terms of public and, by association, media interest?

In 2014, the Matildas (Australia’s Women’s Soccer Team) drew 2,583 fans against Brazil. Fast-forward less than ten years, and at the 2023 World Cup, the Matildas drew 75,784 at Sydney’s Stadium Australia—a far cry from the 2500-odd who showed up to watch them a decade earlier.

In 1991, about 500,000 watched the Women’s World Cup matches live. That number grew to 2 million in 2023. The men’s World Cup attracted 3.4 million in 2022. The women are catching up. Disappointingly, women’s prize money for the cup is still a quarter of men’s.

In Conclusion

Diversity in team sports is a powerful force that can drive success, unity and positive change. It also reflects the increasingly diverse community we all live in. By embracing differences and creating an environment where all athletes feel valued and respected, sports teams can unlock their full potential and achieve greatness on and off the field. Embracing diversity and a more inclusive sporting culture can lead to a brighter future for all sporting codes and the communities they represent.

Diversity At Condor Performance

Huge credit needs to go to our General Manager, David, and Founder, Gareth, for insisting on diversity as they have slowly added to the team of sport and performance psychologists here at Condor Performance. We have the broadest range of genders, locations, ages, sporting knowledge, and ethnic backgrounds of any sports psychology consultancy we know.

The advantages of this are both internal and external. Within the team, these differences allow for some fantastic brainstorming and professional development. Externally, those contacting us to work on their mindset and mental toughness have many options when considering which type of psychologist they may want to work with. If you’d like to chat with someone about how one of our diverse team members could help you with your performance, get in touch via this form.