• Psychology of the NBA Finals: Game 2

    Keeping Cool If the theme of Game 1 was ‘beating the heat’, the theme of Game 2 was definitely ‘keeping cool’.  But this time, it wasn’t a broken air conditioning system that was causing players’ temperatures to rise. It was another one of those damn uncontrollables – the refs.

  • Psychology of the NBA Finals: One game at a time.

    It’s been a while since my last post on here. I’ve been largely trying to avoid the internet while the NBA Playoffs have been happening. People seem unable to resist posting results on social media sites and, since I can no longer stay up until 5am and function adequately the next day, I’ve been recording…

  • Burnout in youth sport: Part 3 – Prevention is better than cure

    In part one of this series of three blog posts, we looked at the characteristics of burnout. In part two, we explored various explanations for burnout, including stress, feeling trapped, lack of motivation, and the culture of performance sport. Here in part three, we’ll think about what we can do to reduce the chances of…

  • Mental Toughness in the Ring

    So I’ve been doing some consultancy work in boxing for a while now, and it’s safe to say that it’s a sport that’s unlike any of the sports that I’ve worked in before.  It’s a brutal sport, there’s no getting away from it.  The aim is to punch your opponent until he/she can’t punch you back any more.  …

  • Superbowl Sunday – Refocusing When The Lights Go Out!

    Momentum.  Or the perception of momentum. Does a change in momentum just come down to your ability to re-focus when things aren’t going your way?