Today we are proud to announce the launch of our brand new partnership with USA Rugby. As part of this exciting partnership we have joined forces with USA Rugby to become their official Performance Psychology, Well-Being and Mental Health Provider to their National Teams and registered members. Mental health support...
Imagine a time of which you had to overcome a significant challenge in your life. It could be a career change, personal loss, or even something small like choosing which route to take to work. With every challenge comes a consequence; and with every consequence comes an opportunity to learn,...
Whether you're just starting out your fitness journey or an athlete hoping to maximise your results; a well-rounded training programme is essential. Training programmes are important as they structure your workouts helping to optimise performance and boost physical-emotional well-being (Mandolesi et al, 2018). They play a crucial role in fitness...
Rational beliefs: “It will be pretty tough for me for the next few days, but I will get over it, I will be fine...There are a lot worse things that can happen in your life. Shooting a bad score in the last round of a golf tournament is nothing in...
Everyone aspires to feel fulfilment (5). Through life you will face challenging situations which are demanding and stressful. Every athlete fails, gets injured, experiences negative life events and retires. Some individuals have the capability to overcome these challenges, and others cannot cope and they suffer. The athletes that do not...
We are proud to announce the launch of our brand new partnership with UK Coaching. Since launching in 2013, supporting and caring for the sport community has been at the heart of what we do. Providing free and accessible performance psychology and mental health content is important for us to...
Athletes are considered heroes to many, often representing strength, resilience and mental toughness. Despite these qualities benefiting sport performance, there is a connotation that an athlete must always be OK and that expressing any suffering, doubt or negative thought is considered a weakness, especially for male athletes. There is often...
Do you sulk if you lose a pub quiz? Have you ever kept going until you are sick in order to win an eating competition? Or passed out trying to hold your breath in a tunnel? And what about parenting: are you one of those people screaming ‘kick it in...
How an athlete can turn unhealthy into healthy perfectionism Perfectionism is logical. The highly competitive nature of the sport environment accompanies a variety of stressful circumstances such as, injuries, pressure, interpersonal conflict, and an evaluative atmosphere where athletes must deal with others’ and their own personal scrutiny of performance [1,...
Mental Health and the Whole Athlete The mental health epidemic among adolescents has been causing us to really become aware of how to prevent these issues for the future generations. NYS having mandated mental health education and social emotional education among schools within the past year, brings us to a...
A bit of background on identity… If we start with the wider idea of self-identity, it is a clearly delineated self-definition…comprised of those goals, values and beliefs which the person finds personally expressive and to which he/she is unequivocally committed (Waterman, 1985). Take a moment to think about this idea,...
Every 4 years, athletes from across the globe look to make their dreams of becoming an Olympic champion reality. This often rests on one chance to show the world what they have been working on their whole lives. Imagine the pressure of knowing this could define your life’s dedication. For...
Last spring, Swim England hosted its annual Sport Science and Medicine conference with the special topic of the female athlete. In hopes of gaining deeper understanding the female athlete, conference presentations paid special attention to the concept of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). A brief overview of what was...
Charlotte shares her thoughts on why studying less may improve your grades - and your mental health. Have you ever had that feeling that you have no time to do the things you enjoy because of the looming pressure of studying? Maybe you’d love to watch a movie, hang out...
Sport is full of challenges; pressure and evaluation, injuries, plateaus, sport-life balance conflicts and relationship issues, to name a few. Conventional wisdom holds that the difference between a successful and unsuccessful athlete is how they respond to these challenges. But what is the best way to respond to setbacks and...
Working in various youth sport environments and with several young athletes on an individual basis brings about numerous challenges in relation to athlete motivation and the motivational climate that is created by those supporting young athletes. The topics of this article are aimed at helping parents and coaches understand some...
"Difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter." - Dan Reeves (Former NFL athlete and head coach) Resilience. It has become a buzzword of modern self-help inside and out of the sporting world. It is touted as necessary for success; but has been criticised heavily for the use of ill-defined...
Mindfulness is thought to be a tendency to be present in the moment and to mindfully accept naturally occurring events, emotions and thoughts. As a trait-like variable, some people are able to achieve this state more regularly than others. When considering a mindful, let it be, present moment approach it...
I previously wrote an article on here titled, ‘why am I doing this at my age? Physical activity or competitive sport? Which looked at the contrast between why individuals over the age of 35 participate in one or the other. This article will focus more specifically on masters sport and...
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a mental disorder starting in early years which can go on to have significant negative effects on lives if not spotted and addressed (1). Often coaches and parents are unaware of hallmark features and can be reluctant to raise the issue as a problem...
