Recent Sports Psychology And Performance Psychology Articles

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

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.

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.