Psychological Factors in Sports

In today’s episode #128, I speak to a well respected leadership coach, The Natural Leadership Coach and host for The Game of Leadership Podcast, Paula Eddy Wilcox.  Paula and I discuss how you can regain clarity on your purpose and passion when you’ve lost your way, we chat about vulnerability and how being true to yourself can be frightening, we also touch on links between mental toughness, vulnerability and psychological safety too.  It’s a great listen for those interested in leadership, and the business world though it does roll over to life in general and sport too.

Key Learning Points:

• When you face challenges and you come out the other side it’s important to recognise what strengths you used.
• Being around people who are aligned with your values aids your sense of well-being.
• Having the guts to show up as your true self can be daunting.
• Putting yourself out there, showing your true self makes you vulnerable.
• As you get older, a lot of people seem to care less what others think.
• Some elements of Mental Toughness, eg, risk orientation and interpersonal confidence will explain whether you make yourself vulnerable in different situations.
• A fixed mindset can prevent you from showing vulnerability.
• There are links with showing vulnerability and psychological safety.

Connect with Paula Eddy-Wilcox

LinkedIn

Connect with David Charlton

Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Other Useful Podcast Episodes

Ep065: Dr Amy Izycky – Encouraging Mentally Healthy Cultures in Sport

Ep075: Grant Phyphers – How to Rebuild Your Identity

Ep113: Polly Brennan – The Relationship Between Mental Fitness, Mental Health and Mental Toughness

Ep114: Tim Bradshaw – Because I Can – How To Get Out Of Your Own Way

Ep123: Richard Dorney – What Can You Learn About Resilience From The Military

Other Useful Resources linked to Mental Health

Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

Blog – 3 Tips to Deal with Bullying in Sport

Blog – How to Find Your Why 

Blog – Mental Health Guidance for Coaches When Supporting Athletes

In episode #127 I chat with fellow Mental Toughness Licensee, Paul Trainor.  Paul is a former professional rugby league player, currently a director for Super League team, Salford Red Devils Rugby League Club and a director for Positive Synergy.

We go on to discuss Mental Toughness in professional rugby league, how Mental Toughness applies to his current role as a director. We also touch on his consultancy work.  If you’re looking to learn more about Mental Toughness, the 4 C’s model and its application, this is a great podcast episode to listen too.

Key Learning Points:

• The definition of mental toughness has changed over the years in Rugby where it was more about bravado, not being seen to be injured, seeing how many knocks you could get through to now where it is viewed as the ability to respond well to challenges that we face in the game, to be fully prepared for the challenges, to have trust in the process and to be able to take risks.
• When injured it’s very important as a player to be honest with yourself and others around you.
• Salford Red Devils reached the Super League Grand Final in 2019 and pride ourselves on the way as a club, both on and off the field that we approach what we do. We have a very strong culture of maximising everything you’ve got whether it be players on the field or the resources we’ve got off the field.
• I lead on building future strategy, which looks at developing the next generation of Salford Red Devils players and leaving a legacy in different areas of work. We go into schools and community clubs and are not only concerned about rugby, but we’re also doing work around mental toughness, raising achievement and positive mental health.
• Mental toughness is a crucial life skill that we help develop in youngsters.
• Everyone plays a key role in creating culture and the key behaviours that are expected from people.   

Connect with Paul Trainor

Twitter

LinkedIn 

Connect with David Charlton

Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

To Listen to Rugby Orientated Podcast Episodes

Ep21: Steve Hackney – How to Reach Your Full Potential

Ep29: Lome Faatau – How to Play Professional Rugby with Confidence 

Ep038: Taz Bricknell – Playing Professional Women’s Rugby 

Ep039: John Fletcher – How to Develop Fearless Athletes

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

Helpful Rugby Orientated Resources

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

Case Study – Supporting a Professional Rugby Player Rehabilitating from Injury

Blog – 3 Tips for Playing with Confidence Under Pressure

Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

Rugby Psychology | Mental Skills for Rugby Resources 

In today’s solo episode I talk about golf and what my role as a Sport Psychologist or Golf Performance Psychologist looks like, common challenges that golfers bring to me, difficulties that we experience as Sport Psychologists when working with golfers and a case study to highlight more about my approach to helping golfers shoot lower scores and enjoy the game more.  

Enjoy tuning in!

Key Learning Points:

• Typical challenges that golfers bring to me are; hitting the ball well on the range however they’re not able to transfer this on to the golf course and score well, not being able to stay present and convert after good starts, dealing with feeling anxious and slow starts and temper tantrums.   
• Generally 6 hours+ support with a golfer can make a huge difference to them.
• Many golfers lack commitment when working with a Golf Psychologist.
• Learning from mistakes is a common difficulty for golfers who simply think that the answer is to try and improve their technique.
• I always ask myself the question, is this tool going to help the golfer attain their goals and shoot lower scores?
• It is possible to break through a glass ceiling and turn 69s into 65s.

Connect with David Charlton

Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

To Listen to Other Useful Podcast Episodes

Ep017: Gio Valiante – How to Play Fearless Golf

Ep047: David Charlton – Mental Game Tips For Putting

Ep099: Trevor Jones – How to Deal with Overthinking on the Golf Course

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

Ep118: Dr Bob Winters – How to Help Golfers Overcome their Mental Game Challenges

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

10 Mental Game Tips from Leading Experts to Improve Your Golf

Case Study – Supporting a Professional Golfer Go Really Low

Golfers Mental Scorecard

Golf Psychology FAQs

Psychology of Golf Library

Today I chat with HCPC Registered Sport Psychologist, Jack Hicks-Flynn about his love for the profession.  He goes on to offer helpful insights into to the role of a sport psychologist in professional football clubs, drawing on experiences of working as an applied practitioner and a researcher in Southampton FC, Luton Town FC, Portsmouth FC and West Ham United FC. 

We go on to discuss the complexity of our role, cultural beliefs in football, common misconceptions about the role of sport psychology, we also chat about interpersonal confidence and the importance of it in a football environment and a lot more.    

What You Will Learn In This Episode: 

• It is vital to gain a deep understanding of the football club values and culture.
• A sport psychologist spends time on the pitch working collaboratively with coaches to improve players.   
• Building relationships with the multi disciplinary team (MDT) is essential.
• Jack highlights the 3 R’S, rapport, relationships and respect as important aspects to succeed in the role.
• He helps players raise their level of self-awareness so that they have the ability to think more flexibly in different situations (psychological flexibility).
• Players have to deal with selection biases, relationships with coaches, parental influences, contractual issues, agents which can have a huge impact on their experience within the sport.
• It’s ok to be vulnerable at times which culturally go against what people consider mental toughness to be.
• Statistics are a vital part of football, tracking distance covered, walking distance etc, however how this is communicated with individual players is vital unless confidence can be eroded.
• It’s worth considering that statistics can provoke comparisons with other players and a level of toxicity.
• Mental health screenings, mental health action plans and a clear referral process is vital in clubs.

Connect with Jack Hicks-Flynn:

Website

Twitter

LinkedIn

Connect with David Charlton

Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Helpful Podcast Episodes

Ep027: Natalie Henderson – How to Develop Mental Toughness with Young Footballers

Ep064: Edu Rubio – How to Support Young Footballers

Ep096: Gary Curneen – Developing Mentally Strong Footballers

Ep102: 30 Mental Game Secrets to Improve Your Soccer

Ep105: Hannah Bromley – Overcoming Psychological Challenges in Professional Women’s Football

Ep111: Michael Caulfield – How to be an Effective Sports Psychologist in Elite Professional Football 

Other Useful Resources 

Blog – A Common Mental Game Error Many Footballers Make

Blog – Coach Development: Helping Athletes Overcome Fear of Failure

Blog – 5 Tips to Help You Perform Fearlessly When You Compete

Case Study – Supporting a Young Footballer to Overcome his Fears

Library – Soccer Psychology | Mental Skills for Football

Today’s podcast episode looks at long-term serious injuries, the psychological impact and helpful strategies to help you manage your mental health during the rehabilitation process and afterwards.  My guest, doctor of occupational therapy, Keagen Hadley has recently released a book called Torn: Overcoming the Psychological Challenges Post-ACL Injury which we go on to discuss too.  

Keagen shares his backstory, the motivation behind writing his book, his definition of mental toughness when faced with a long term serious injury, like an ACL.  We also chat about Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a potentially helpful solution and much more. 

Key Learning Points:

• Keagen didn’t intend to write a book initially however he found it became a cathartic process helping him process his thoughts and emotions.
• He personally had two long term ACL injuries which occurred whilst playing American Football, as well as experiencing battles with depression and anxiety.
• Being part of the group was difficult for Keagen when he was injured.
• His identity of who he was shifted hugely.
• Mental toughness in this context is about learning to face and sit with difficult thoughts and emotions.
• Seeking support and discussing your problems is important to process the emotions.
• Acceptance Commitment Therapy helped Keagen greatly during the difficult times and is something he advocates in his work with athletes too.

Connect with Keagen Hadley

LinkedIn

Website 

BOOK: Torn Overcoming Psychological Challenges Post ACL 

Connect with David Charlton

Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

To Listen to the Full Podcast Episodes

Ep011: Dave Algeo – Mental Toughness, Mental Health and High Performance

Ep018: Kieron Brady – From Professional Football to Alcoholism Consultant

Ep075: Grant Phyphers – How to Rebuild Your Identity

Ep113: Polly Brennan – The Relationship Between Mental Fitness, Mental Health and Mental Toughness

Ep124: Richard Dorney MBE – Supporting People: What Can You Learn About Resilience From The Military

Other Useful Resources linked to Mental Health

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 – How to Find Your Why 

Blog – Mental Health Guidance for Coaches When Supporting Athletes