Demystifying Mental Toughness

This is the first of 3 episodes created for parents of kids who play football with their enjoyment and the possibility of quitting playing football the topic I discuss today. When thoughts of quitting are considered, it can be very challenging for some parents to navigate as they try to decide the best route to take despite different pressures associated with the decision. Therefore, I share some resources that you can use to better understand why you want your kid to play football and also why they want to play football too. Using the resources can be a helpful way of processing your thoughts and feelings as a parent, as well as, opening up conversations with your children. This can then go on to better inform any decisions that you decide to make.

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Relevant Resources To Help Parents

Children and Youth Motivation for Sport Checklist – For Kids

Children and Youth Motivation for Sport Checklist - For Parents

Football or Soccer Coach Motivation Checklist – For Parents who coach

Youth Sports Psychology Library – For Parents

A lot of golfers lack confidence and trust in their ability to execute shots and putts and shoot the scores that they are capable of. As a result, they often cause themselves problems by the decisions that they make. Common things I notice are over practicing, reactively practicing, an over reliance on YouTube coaching and a quick fix mentality. On the course they are then guilty of overthinking, complicating the game with too many swing thoughts, trying to control their swing, temper tantrums and a lot more…

In today’s short bite-sized episode well renowned Performance Psychologist to many PGA tour players Gio Valiante talks about over-confident and cavalier golfers and the challenges that they can face. However, as most golfers or athletes who contact Sport Psychologists are bringing problems to overcome, David challenges you to learn some lessons from the overconfident golfer.

Key Learning Points:

• An over-confident golfer is likely to take risks.
• Cavalier golfers will trust their technique and swing automatically with a quiet mind.
• Bodily tension and heart rate will be reduced in the over-confident golfers.
• For golfers lacking in confidence, you could recognise that your thoughts, moods, physiology, behaviours, and values are all interconnected, and that changing one, changes others, and ultimately could lead to better golf without changing your technique.

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To Listen to Other Useful Podcast Episodes

Ep017: Gio Valiante - How to Play Fearless Golf

Ep101: Compilation - 25 Mental Game Secrets to Improve Your Golf

Ep160: Brian Hemmings – Golf Psychology: What You Can Expect and Why It Can Help You

Ep167: Karl Morris - How To Manage Your Emotions To Improve Your Golf #BITESIZE

Ep226: Dan Steele - Helping Athletes Who Have Strong Physiological Responses To Fear #BITESIZE

For More Resources so You Can Shoot Lower Scores on The Golf Course

10 Mental Game Tips from Leading Experts to Improve Your Golf

Do you try too hard on the golf course?

Golfers Mental Scorecard

Golf Psychology FAQs

Psychology of Golf Library

A football coaches role is multi-faceted from being knowledgeable about tactics and technical aspects of the game to being well versed in their understanding of physical attributes and diet. Psycho-social aspects also form a big part of the role too. Developing, managing and disciplining players whilst trying to get the best out of them, day in day out is far from an easy job. This forms the motivation behind this podcast episode, the last of a 3-part series aimed to support football coaches. You’ll hear me discuss self-determination theory and the importance of being connected to each other as a coach/player, player and coach personality types as well as social and task leadership.

Enjoy tuning in!

Connect with David Charlton

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Check out our library of content supporting football and soccer players and coaches

Relevant Helpful Resources To Improve Football Coach Player Relationships

Self Determination Theory Website with Deci And Ryan

Task-Oriented vs People-Oriented Leadership Styles: Characteristics, Advantages and Disadvantages

Football or Soccer Coach Motivation Checklist

Football Player Motivation Checklist

Fear is evident in every sport and affects athletes and performers differently. From overthinking to strong physiological responses in an athlete’s body. Decision making is then naturally impeded, impacting performance levels.

In today’s episode an inspirational Olympian, Dan Steele offers insights into how he dealt with an accident whilst competing in bobsleigh and then managed to head back up the mountain to compete again despite losing control of his thoughts and having serious doubts and fears about dying. David Charlton then goes on to share a strategy that you can use to reduce any physiological responses that you have to fear and quieten your mind in the process too.

Key Takeaways include:

• Death often crossed your mind in bobsleigh as it was like riding a crazy rollercoaster.
• All athletes get scared; fear is unavoidable and part of sport and life.
• Fear has an essential role to play in our survival.
• When frightened or scared an athletes breathing is likely to increase, as does their heart rate, peripheral blood vessels in the skin constrict, whereas centralbloodvessels around vital organs dilate to flood them with oxygen and nutrients. Muscles are pumped with blood and can become tighter too impacting on motor skills.

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Relevant Podcast Episodes To Help You Cope Better With Fear

Ep017: Gio Valiante – How to Play Fearless Golf

Ep115: Jeremy Snape – Mental Strength to Succeed: Learning Lessons from International Cricket

Ep142: Alessia Bruno – Is Striving for Perfection a Good Thing in Gymnastics?

Ep148: Derek Tate – How to Build Your Mental Toughness Through Skiing

Ep222: Ruth Chiles - How To Help Athletes Who Freeze Under Pressure #BITESIZE

Other Relevant Blogs And Resources To Help You Reduce Your Fear Responses

Blog: 9 Tips for Children from Olympians

Blog: How To Play Well When You Aren’t Feeling Great

Blog: Does Your Warm Up Influence How You Perform?

Blog: Using ACT and Mindfulness to Improve Your Sporting Performances

Blog: Why You Should Meditate To Improve Your Sport Performance?

Guided Mindfulness Meditation Practices with Jon Kabat-Zinn

Attunement Repair Exercise

It’s very easy as a football coach to offer short snippets of praise such as “great goal” or “good pass.” However, is this actually helpful for the footballer? In this episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness, the second of a 6 part series I argue that yes it is helpful, especially for those players who gain confidence from coach praise and compliments. However, if you as a coach challenge yourself to offer players more in terms of process driven praise and feedback you can enhance their learning so much more and shift their focus on to more helpful things. Feel free to tune in, where I’ll encourage you to think about what helpful emotions and actions you are looking for your players to experience in different situations and how you can help them.

Connect with David Charlton

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Check out our library of content supporting football and soccer players and coaches

In episode #224 of Demystifying Mental Toughness, I share part of a conversation with Aaron Walsh a Mental Performance Coach with many Elite Professional Rugby Players. We discuss whether elite professional rugby union players view mental toughness as something that they can develop, our role as Sports Psychology practitioners in measuring performance as well as coaches influence in the development of psychological characteristics and skills.

Key Learning Points:

• Educating people in sport on the integration of Sports Psychology and Mental Skills is very important.
• Creativity is essential to thrive as a Sports Psychology Practitioner or Mental Performance Coach.
• Measuring the impact of our work as a practitioner is vital when working in a team setting.
• Many players hate Mondays after a poor performance where they are often shamed in front of others or video footage is taken and critiqued in an unhelpful manner.

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To Listen to Rugby Orientated Podcast Episodes

Ep039: John Fletcher – How to Develop Fearless Athletes

Ep104: Seb De Chaves - The Psychological Demands of Elite Professional Rugby

Ep127: Paul Trainor - The Application of Mental Toughness Training in Elite Professional Rugby League

EP147:Aaron Walsh –The Application of Mental Performance Coaching in Elite Professional Rugby

Ep161: Paul Phillips – How to Create a Culture of High Performance in Professional Rugby Union

Helpful Rugby Orientated Resources

Blog - Overthinking on the Rugby Pitch

Blog - Are you a Rugby Player who Focuses Too Much on the Opposition

Blog - Helping Young Rugby Players Mentally Prepare Before Matches

Blog - Playing Rugby at Your Best Under Pressure

Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

Rugby Psychology | Mental Skills for Rugby Resources

In and around most football clubs you’ll hear statements like “this is a MUST win game today,” “we HAVE to get 3 points today” or “great GOAL”. It’s common and very natural to be talking like this, to be talking about outcomes and results - though is it helpful?

This is what I unpick in today’s episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness, the 1^st of a new 6 part series where I share some thoughts on why we may fall into the trap of talking so much about outcomes and results. I also look to challenge football and soccer coaches to consider the emotions and subsequent behaviours that are associated with such outcome talk for themselves and for their players.

Enjoy tuning in!

Connect with David Charlton

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Check out our library of content supporting football and soccer players and coaches

Hypoarousal – what is it in a performance context? It is our freeze response, when our mind and body shuts down when we are faced with significant pressure, at least in our own minds.

In today’s episode I discuss with Ruth Chiles, author of The Focal Dystonia Cure how athletes and performers who experience this freeze response can help themselves. Ruth goes on to share some practical tips that can hugely benefit many people.

Key Learnings

• Brainspotting an approach developed by a New York psychologist called David Grand helps to rewire parts of the brain so that people can respond differently in specific situations.
• In a performance context, we spend a lot of time in survival mode which can impede fluidity, enlarge muscles and inhibit your fine motor skills.
• Practicing interoceptive awareness exercises can be very helpful for self-regulation.
• Centering practices can calm our nervous system.

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Connect with Ruth Chiles

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Book: The Focal Dystonia Cure: Powerful and Definitive Practices to Completely Heal Yourself

Ruth Chiles on Facebook

Ruth Chiles on YouTube

Relevant Podcast Episodes

Ep014: Alessia Bruno – The Yips, Crashes, Trauma in Sport there is hope for Athletes

Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness

Ep131 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – FINAL PART

Ep142: Alessia Bruno -Is Striving for Perfection a Good Thing in Gymnastics?

Ep156: Ruth Chiles – There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia

Relevant Blogs

Blog: Helping a Critical Child When You’re a Parent

Blog: How to Support an Angry Young Athlete

Using ACT and Mindfulness to Improve Your Sporting Performances

Why You Should Meditate To Improve Your Sport Performance?

Guided Mindfulness Meditation Practices with Jon Kabat-Zinn

In today episode, I'm joined by former international cricketer and Senior Leadership Coach, Jeremy Snape. Jeremy and I discuss pressure, where he explains why our brains can be hijacked and hinder our performance. He also shares some great advice on using pre-shot or pre-performance routines as a way of mentally preparing yourself to execute your skills.

Key Learning Points:

• Our brains are built for safety.
• Seek to focus on your body, breathing and self-talk to help you stay in the moment.
• Understanding how you can remain calm and instinctive will help you perform at your best under pressure.
• To slow yourself down and focus on the “next ball only” is a helpful psychological approach.

Connect with Jeremy Snape

LinkedIn

Website

Inside The Mind of Champions Podcast

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Relevant Podcasts

Ep042: Mark Bennett MBE – Characteristics of High Performance Athletes

Ep091: Jarrod Leathem – How to Transfer Your Cricket Skills to Matches

Ep 081: Stuart Wade – Mental Toughness in Combat Sports

Ep115: Jeremy Snape – Mental Strength to Succeed: Learning Lessons from International Cricket

Ep219: Brian Hemmings - Golfers: How To Improve Your Putting With A Quiet Eye Approach #BITESIZE

For More Resources for Cricketers

Blog - Make Bowling Simple by Avoiding these 3 Common Mental Game Errors

Blog - 5 Tips if you fall into the TRYING TOO HARD TRAP when bowling

Blog - Mental Preparation for Bowlers in Cricket

Blog - Being an Intelligent Batsman can be a Problem

Blog - Batting with a Quiet Mind

In today’s short episode, Dr Paul Gorczynski who has worked with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) shares his knowledge of mental health literacy in particular offering some excellent advice for decision makers in organisations who are looking to develop and implement mental health literacy strategies.

Key Learnings

• Mental health literacy refers to the knowledge and understanding of mental health. It can play a part in helping people to recognize signs and symptoms of mental illness.
• Mental health literacy involves understanding causes and risk factors, and signposting to appropriate resources and support.
• In organisations mental health literacy projects can help to shift cultures in relation to how mental health is viewed.
• Incorporating mental health literacy into the values and mission of organisations can take time.

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Connect with Dr Paul Gorczynski

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Email

Relevant Podcast Episodes

Ep158: Paul Gorczynski – How to Develop and Implement Mental Health Literacy Strategies

Ep159: Dr Andrew Shafic – How To Prevent Burnout In Elite Professional Football To Maximise Performance

Ep177: Lisa Avery – How to Help Young People Develop a “Can Do” Attitude

Ep205: Dr Carl Bescoby – Rehabilitation And Returning To Sport: How To Support Injured Athletes

Ep207: Nicole Posner – And Breathe: How To Prevent, Manage and Master Difficult Conversations

Relevant Blogs

Blog – Make Better Decisions to Help Your Sport Performance

Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

Blog – 3 Tips to Deal with Bullying in Sport

Blog - Creating a Mentally Healthy Sporting Environment

Blog - Life After Professional Sport and its Challenges