Craig Sigl, Author at Mental Toughness Trainer

What is a sports psychologist and is coach a decent substitute?

Craig Sigl2020-09-29T02:55:10+08:00

In plain language, sports psychologists are coaches who consult and train athletes on improving their mental game. This new type of coaching only began in the 1970’s and has quickly bloomed into a huge part of the sports world. Professional sports teams often employ sports psychologists to help even the highest level athletes reach their potential. Some coaches are very aware that they are not trained and do not have the skills to be able to work with a player’s mental game. Most coaches simply do not have the time to deal with it. You may get excellent advice from a [...]

What is a sports psychologist and is coach a decent substitute?Craig Sigl2020-09-29T02:55:10+08:00

What values can our young athletes learn from sports

Craig Sigl2020-09-29T02:56:39+08:00

“Hello, this is Craig Sigl, how can I help you?” I said as I answered the phone. The sports mom on the other end of the line went on to tell me about her 15 year old daughter who plays softball for club and high school. She went on to tell me how she has paid a lot of money for private hitting coaching, league fees, transportation and everything else that goes along with today’s select sports experience. And, how frustrated she was at how her daughter “just doesn’t seem to want to listen to anybody. Her coach tells her to [...]

What values can our young athletes learn from sportsCraig Sigl2020-09-29T02:56:39+08:00

How I coached a player from “bad attitude” to collegiate all conference

Craig Sigl2020-09-29T02:56:53+08:00

"From Rage to Riches or ... ...how to go from the guy who kicks dirt and water coolers, throws helmets, and breaks bats, to a collegiate first string all conference clean up hitter batting over .400" Three years ago a young man was recommended to the program I conduct for college baseball players. Standard practice is that I invite the player in for an "evaluation" before we begin working. It's pretty simple. I need to see the player in order to ascertain "what" and "how" to do the work. First things first . We begin with defensive skills; "catch and throw" [...]

How I coached a player from “bad attitude” to collegiate all conferenceCraig Sigl2020-09-29T02:56:53+08:00

How Brandon Bostick & Athletes Recover From A Choke

Craig Sigl2015-03-10T16:49:38+08:00

This past weekend, in American Football, we saw an amazing comeback by the Seattle Seahawks over the Greenbay Packers. It was almost miraculous. With the game having only 5 minutes to go, I actually told my friend that the game is over and the Seahawks have lost. (We are in Seattle so it was quite sad at the time). I said that I thought that maybe they had a 2% chance of coming back. The Seahawks did come back and win but, in large part, due to a fumbled on-side kick by a member of the Packers, Brandon Bostick, that opened [...]

How Brandon Bostick & Athletes Recover From A ChokeCraig Sigl2015-03-10T16:49:38+08:00

How To Build Confidence In Young Athletes

Craig Sigl2016-01-14T11:53:33+08:00

You’re a coach (or a parent) interested in developing a strong mental game for your athletes, right? First off, let’s define that so we know what we’re talking about here. I define it as: Focused, Confident, Determined and Resilient, especially under pressure. You also know that if your athletes were to play with more of that, then they would bring their “A” game to competition like you get to see in practice regularly. If you’ve coached athletes for any significant amount of time, you know that performance anxiety and fear of failure are a huge obstacle to playing their best. What [...]

How To Build Confidence In Young AthletesCraig Sigl2016-01-14T11:53:33+08:00

Three Soccer Drills For Kids

Craig Sigl2015-01-17T00:08:47+08:00

Coach U12 and under soccer players to develop confidence through these drills Hello! My name is Goran Popovic, and I'm a football/soccer coach with UEFA A license. Today I'm going to show you some soccer drills for players under 12 years of age. These three soccer drills for kids are just like the ones I demonstrate on the components of football development when I train teens, high schoolers and college soccer players. Modern training tends to be done in a much shorter time and yet achieve maximum effect. Kids of this age are in the sensitive stages of development and [...]

Three Soccer Drills For KidsCraig Sigl2015-01-17T00:08:47+08:00

Should I let my kids quit sports

Craig Sigl2016-01-14T11:58:41+08:00

What to do When Kids Decide to Quit Sports I was recently asked to be a panel member on Huffington Post live (video below) where we discussed the issue whether sports parents should let their kid quit. This is a very delicate subject that sports parents often must face and regularly ask my opinion on. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this. My main idea I want sports parents to get is to make decisions consciously and have the knowledge to consider all the ramifications. Don't just blindly follow the cultural norm or a coach's advice. Here are the points I [...]

Should I let my kids quit sportsCraig Sigl2016-01-14T11:58:41+08:00

The Cause and Solution For Overcoming Mental Blocks In Sports

Craig Sigl2021-03-06T07:04:28+08:00

Many athletes in certain sports such as gymnastics, competitive cheer, trampolining, baseball, pole vaulting and golf are extremely vulnerable to mental blocks that keep them from performing like they do in practice or the past. First of all, what is a mental block in sports? It’s where an athlete physically cannot perform a movement or motion that they have demonstrated talent and ability for in the past. For example, I’ve seen a number of baseball players come to me for a mental block known as “The throwing yips.” This is where a catcher, for instance, cannot throw the ball back [...]

The Cause and Solution For Overcoming Mental Blocks In SportsCraig Sigl2021-03-06T07:04:28+08:00

How To Run A Soccer Practice For Youth Players

Craig Sigl2015-01-09T18:56:37+08:00

How to coach youth soccer The biggest challenge that is faced by a coach is consistently providing an engaging and fun environment for their players. In providing a quality training session soccer coaches assist players to unconsciously improving an array of skills, such as motor, technical, and social, in each training session. For starters, it is rule of thumb to depart from using “The Three L’s”, which is Laps, Lines, and Lectures. This is old school and it isn’t very effective any more. Laps do not fulfill a purpose in the drills since young players are naturally fit. [...]

How To Run A Soccer Practice For Youth PlayersCraig Sigl2015-01-09T18:56:37+08:00

3 Softball Drills You Can Do Indoors

Craig Sigl2021-03-02T06:15:00+08:00

SOFTBALL PITCHING DRILLS One of my favorite indoor pitching drills, shown to me by Bill Hillhouse, uses socks instead of real softballs. The technique is simple...find a mirror or any other reflective surface (a glass door can work in a pinch). Ball up a pair of socks and practice your pitching by pitching the socks at the glass surface! In my house, I happen to have a full length mirror at the end of a hallway. The hallway floor is made of ceramic tile. Not only do the tiles serve as a method for measuring distance to the mirror, they also [...]

3 Softball Drills You Can Do IndoorsCraig Sigl2021-03-02T06:15:00+08:00

About Craig Sigl