FAQs
Will sports psychology help my child?
Since I started competing at such a young age, I am able to relate to young athletes and understand the stressors and issues that are unique to them. In addition, I have worked with young athletes from a variety of sports including equestrian, soccer, and bike racing. I have found that for young people, sports psychology can really help to increase their enjoyment of and commitment to their sport, as well as enhance their performance.
I no longer compete but I’d like to help the students I coach, will this be useful for me?
Coaches are still competitors but in the frustrating position of standing on the sidelines as their students either perform or don’t perform. I can advise coaches on how to instruct their students in the basics of mental training. I can also, by using some of the same techniques, help coaches to be more effective leaders and trainers.
How will it work?
Your appointment will be either in person or on the phone. The first appointment is 1 hour. Initially, we’ll talk about your athletic history and the specific issue that prompted you to contact me. We will explore your goals and then move on to consider which aspects of your mental approach are working for you and which need building or refining. We’ll investigate what’s holding you back, what’s keeping you from achieving what you want, be it a clear cross country round, a podium finish or a place on the Olympic team. Subsequent appointments are 50 minutes long and are tailored specifically to your needs. We may spend time deconstructing a recent competition or creating strategies for an upcoming event. I may guide you in a visualization session to help you work through an area where you are feeling particularly stuck. Depending on your needs, I’ll assign exercises and practice drills to supplement our work between sessions. Mental training is very like physical training, the more you practice, the more you improve. In our sessions together, we become co-creators of the strategies and mental skills that will propel you to achieve your dreams.
I’ve read books on sports psychology, so how will this be any different?
My experience with different athletes has shown me that we all have basically some version of the same issue; fear, performance anxiety, a tendency to “Choke” or “Freeze,” problems when we try to advance a level, problems coming back from injuries. But I have also seen how for each individual, the expression of these issues, their “symptoms,” are unique; the manifestation of the problem is different for different people. For this reason, the cookie cutter programs provided by books, while interesting and informative, will not provide the benefits or deliver the results that an individually designed program will.