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

2020-09-29T02:55:10+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?2020-09-29T02:55:10+08:00

What values can our young athletes learn from sports

2020-09-29T02:56:39+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 sports2020-09-29T02:56:39+08:00

How To Build Confidence In Young Athletes

2016-01-14T11:53:33+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 Athletes2016-01-14T11:53:33+08:00

Should I let my kids quit sports

2016-01-14T11:58:41+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 sports2016-01-14T11:58:41+08:00

3 Reasons Your Athletes Should Practice Active Visualization

2017-10-18T22:54:10+08:00

I’ve written extensively on “How” to visualize and the actual steps. This is actually the easy part. The hard part is developing the discipline to do it on a regular basis. In my work with athletes, I’ve discovered that those who don’t do it much, it’s because they are basically not convinced enough that it will actually improve performance. They are convinced that physical practice, training and drills will improve their performance and so they do that. Think about this for a minute. You are driving a car to go somewhere and you get a flat tire. The car will not [...]

3 Reasons Your Athletes Should Practice Active Visualization2017-10-18T22:54:10+08:00

Helping Your Child With Sports: 3 Tips For Parents

2016-01-14T12:19:19+08:00

What can you do, as a parent to help your child build confidence in sports? All parents want our children to have more confidence and lack of it is the second most common issue parents bring their kids to me for.  (The first is fear of failure). When I work with young athletes in my office, I often have one or both parents with us for the first part of the session. I do this to find out with our interactions how much of an influence the parent has on the young athlete. Sometimes I get the helicopter sports parent who [...]

Helping Your Child With Sports: 3 Tips For Parents2016-01-14T12:19:19+08:00

5 Tips For Avoiding The Crazy Parents and Sports Dilemma

2016-01-14T12:21:29+08:00

All over the world, every day, a scene plays out in the sports world: Dad (or mom) is a helicopter parent or living their dreams vicariously through their kid.  Parent spends a lot of time and energy to advocate for the kid with the coaching staff. Parent has as his highest value in life - “success” and he usually defines it by wins and losses, good and bad performances.  Parent desperately want the child to get a college scholarship and maybe go pro or to the Olympics and will do whatever it takes to help child get there. (All of that [...]

5 Tips For Avoiding The Crazy Parents and Sports Dilemma2016-01-14T12:21:29+08:00

Mental Training, Sport Coaches, and Parents

2016-01-14T12:27:19+08:00

There have been numerous studies conducted to find out what do highly successful athletes have in common.  Besides the obvious - talent and hard work - a number of surprising conclusions have come to light.  At the top of the list are how much the athlete had support at home and the high quality of the coaching. I work with young athletes every day in my office and I always start out by telling the parent how impressed I am by their recognizing the value of mental training by bringing their young athlete to a performance coach like me. Winning championships, [...]

Mental Training, Sport Coaches, and Parents2016-01-14T12:27:19+08:00

The Benefits Of Sports Participation

2020-09-29T03:05:17+08:00

As a sports parent or youth sports coach, you know that sometimes it can feel like it’s the most thankless job on the planet. There’s a million things you could be doing for all the time you spend with young athletes and sometimes, the lack of appreciation can get you down. So, I’m writing this post to give you boost! To help you feel great about what you are doing for kids, your own and others on the teams, and to encourage you to keep doing it! Just the fact that you are here on my site and following tells [...]

The Benefits Of Sports Participation2020-09-29T03:05:17+08:00

Sports And Life Coaching

2020-09-29T03:36:18+08:00

You might have seen or heard the term “life coach” and wondered if this is anything like regular sports coaching. Actually, sports coaches and parents can learn a lot from this profession that will definitely help their athletes performance at any age. First off, what is life coaching? It’s guiding, assisting, and inspiring you to close a gap between where you are now and where you want to be. In my opinion, the biggest value of any coach or trainer is in providing accountability. For example... Nobody really needs a personal trainer to work out in a gym for more than [...]

Sports And Life Coaching2020-09-29T03:36:18+08:00
Go to Top