Thursday, June 1, 2017

Characteristics Of A Good Mental Skills Coach

By Christine Hall


More athletes are realizing that it is just as important to learn about basic mental skills as it is practical abilities. A mental skills coach helps an athlete perform at their best because they will need to be able to have the confidence and self esteem during tough games and match. Self belief is vital during these periods.

Sometimes, an athlete will lack the mental ability to perform at their top ability. It can happen when they keep on losing games. They will lose motivation. They will lose confidence and their self esteem will drop. Of course, they will still have the talent, but without the drive and the self belief it is difficult to keep on winning games.

You will keep on doubting yourself. You may compare yourself to other athletes, thinking that they are better than you are or that you are not good enough. A coach like this will help you build up these mental skills so that you have the right type of attitude to start winning games again. There are various methods and techniques that they use in order to get to this point.

These goals usually involve general tasks where homework is assigned. The athlete and the coach will discuss the progress which has been made on a weekly basis. They will also work on what needs to be worked on in order to improve the performance. Various emotions can creep into the game and this will affect their lives as well. This is something that they will talk about as well.

These emotions can relate to something like this anxiety. This is very common, especially for top athletes who have a lot of pressure to perform well. They are often being sponsored. They may be paid to compete. Some athletes are faced with negative media reports and this can obviously lead to a drop in their self esteem. This is something that is emphasized during these sessions.

Negative self talk is also very common. This happens when the athlete is not performing well. They will put themselves down and they will begin to lack confidence, which will hinder performance levels. The coach will help raise these levels by using various techniques, such as positive imagery and the ability to manage their negative self talk.

Attitude is everything, and this is what the athlete will come to understand over due course. They will become more positive as they are given various tasks to do and as they are involved in these session. This will lead to a better performance. If they have a bad day, they can be sure that there is someone to talk to and discuss more about what happened in the game or match.

Regular sessions that are short are a lot better than monthly sessions that are more intense. It is recommended that clients participate in weekly sessions in order to persevere with this type of training. It is also important to realize that this can take time and effort. The athlete has to work on this because it is not a simple cure that works overnight.




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