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Sport Psychology

"The race for excellence has no finish line."

ProActiveWorX

 

  Mental skills play a huge role in an athletes          performance! 

 

  Dr. Cogan will work on training her athletes with the

  following techniques:      

• Stress Management/Relaxation
  

• Concentration and Attention
  

• Imagery
  

• Self-Confidence
  

• Performance Routines
  

• Goal Setting
  

One mental skill that often is fundamental to developing further mental skills in sport, lies in the area of stress management. This include facets of emotional control. Participation in sports can lead to a a number of different emotional responses. One common response is the feeling of anxiety. Some athletes are aware when they feel stressed, feeling a rapid heartbeat, having butterflies in their stomach, and sweaty palms, while others are unaware of these signs. The first key to stress management/relaxation trainging is to help the athletes identify their emotional responses to stress.

Once the athletes learn how they react to stress, they are prepared to regulate their emotion for optimal performance. When athletes learn how they typically respond to stress, they are better prepared to intervene proactively to reduce the effect stress may have on performance. This can be accomplished by teaching athletes various stress management techniques. The purpose of these stress management techniques is focused on educating the athlete to learn three things: Teaching the athlete to control their mental-emotional states associated with athletic performance; Helping them learn which emotional state are associated with superior performances, and then finally learning how to program future responses for performance.

The educational stage involves the use of various relaxation techniques. This can involve progressive relaxation, breath control, meditation, or imagery. All of which are designed to help an athlete learn to notice signs of tension within the muscle. Another area related to this topic is the teaching of excitation techniques, methods designed to help athletes bring out activating emotions for improved performance. Several methods can be taught to help accomplish this goal. These techniques include the use of cue words, or a phrase to remind athletes of the importance of the situation, or the importance of the practice. Imagery can also be used, imaging that you are about to perform in major competition.

Through interviews, observation and assessment, Dr. Karen Cogan will identify an athletes optimal emotional state, then teach the athlete how to recreate this state during performance.  Dr. Karen Cogan has attended three Olympic Games (2002, 2006 and most recently the 2008 Beijing Games) as the sport psychology consultant for several Olympic medalists and their coaches.

   Call to set up your Consultation, Team    Training or Workshop for Athletes, Coaches 

or Business Professionals! 

Huge results for Sales Team

Increase performances, Earn More Money and Reduce Stress!

972-539-1511

One of the most important mental skill is the ability to focus and concentrate. For many this  can be the most difficult skill to master.

Concentration can be effected by several other mental and physical factors. The two most common ones seen in sport are anxiety and self-confidence, two interrelated factors. When people are nervous or lack self-confidence, their ability to focus and concentrate is less.

In order to gain the ability to concentrate or focus, it is often helpful to understand what is involved with this skill. We can focus our attention on the world around us or inwards to what's happening inside our body. At the same time we can focus on one small thing or several things at one time.

You can learn how to "focus" by identifying what it is you need to be focused on doing in your sport. A common problem people have with concentration or focus is being able to be focused on the right thing at the right time. A second type of problem people often experience is having a misperception that one has to be focused and concentrate for the complete amount of time that they are playing their sport. The reality is that many sports have times when it is perfectly fine to allow one's attention to drift away. In fact in some cases this is an appropriate way to deal with overwhelming emotional nature of sport performances. The challenge is to know how to re-focus on the task after allowing your attention to wander.

One of the first steps to improve your ability to focus and concentrate is to simply learn how to relax. People that are relaxed, often find it easier to focus. An effective way of obtaining this focus is to practice taking a breath before attempting a sport skill. After taking a breath, practice thinking about what you want to accomplish, then just do it.

Dr. Karen Cogan will teach many methods that can help with concentration and improve athlete's and coaches perfomances!  Dr. Karen Cogan has attended three Olympic Games (2002, 2006 and most recently the 2008 Beijing Games) as the sport psychology consultant for several Olympic medalists and their coaches.  Call today to schedule your consulation with Dr. Karen Cogan located in Flower Mound, Texas, 6 miles North of DFW airport!  972-539-1511