Photo Credit: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

The Comeback Story of the Winter Olympics

The incredible comeback story of Alysa Liu at the 2026 Winter Olympic games in Milan Cortina has a lot to teach us all. Liu became the first US women’s figure skater to win singles gold since 2002. Multiple times throughout the Olympic event, television announcers and analysts commented on how relaxed, carefree, and playful she seemed in the lead up to the competition. It was as though Alysa Liu was completely detached from the weight of the outcome and genuinely thrilled to get to skate in the Winter Olympics again.

When asked about how she was able to maintain her sense of calm, Liu answered “Winning and losing don’t affect me anymore… Medalling doesn’t fulfill me. I skate because I like to skate.”

But this wasn’t always the case for Liu who retired from figure skating at the age 16 after competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Prior to retirement Liu described the intense pressure as “traumatizing” and talked about feeling like her life was on the line when she skated.

Stepping away from the sport for two years allowed her to gain a sense of control over her life and pursue other interests including fashion, travel, attending college at UCLA, and frequenting karaoke bars with her friends which ultimately made her a much more well rounded person. Pursuing a balanced life outside of the ice rink allowed her to rediscover her love of staking and return to her sport with a renewed sense of creativity and passion.

When she took the ice for her final skate in Milan, her mindset had completely changed. “I didn’t need a medal,’’ she said. “If I fell on every jump, I would still be out there wearing this dress, so no matter what, I was all good.’’

The Unexpected Key to Resilience

Liu’s journey to the Olympic podium reminds me of a talk I heard given to a room full of coaches at the American Volleyball Coaches Association Convention. Let me introduce you to Dr. Roberta Kraus, PhD., the President of the Center for Sports Psychology in Colorado Springs. Dr. Kraus’s presentation titled Resilience Tools and Techniques was focused the importance of giving yourself adequate recovery time and having a balanced athletic identity to avoid career burnout.

“We have to spend time getting them back to the love of their sport, the love of performing and the love of participating the sport,” said Dr. Kraus. “Versus worrying about a ranking, a world record or a podium. As soon as you start focusing on an outcome, you’re adding additional pressure that starts in the mind, and the mind and the heart always decides what your body does.”

Dr. Kraus is a sports psychologist renown for helping athletes and teams reach their peak performance through a holistic approach to mental wellness and mental toughness. The mental training programs that she’s designed and implemented have a proven track record of improving player performance, communication and team dynamics under pressure. She’s worked hand in hand with Olympians and Paralympian’s at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center to support athlete mental health and help athletes achieve their dreams. Given her extensive experience in working with world class athletes, she could have talked about any aspect of sport psychology but she chose to focus on recovery and resilience strategies because career burnout is the greatest threat to your athletic career.

How to Avoid Burnout

According to a poll from the National Alliance for Youth Sports, approximately 70 percent of kids in the United States drop out of sports by time they turn 13 because, “it’s just not fun anymore”.  Staleness syndrome starts at a young age and continues to plague players and coaches at every level. Athletes and coaches who overtrain, lack life balance and deny themselves critical space for rest and recovery experience burnout.

In other words, players and coaches lack resiliency. Dr. Kraus defines resiliency as, “the capacity of a department, team, coach or athlete to maintain their emotional balance, to empathize, to hope and to persist in the face of frustration”. So how we cultivate healthy patterns and habits within our team to support resilience training for elite performers?

The solution is a combination of rest and balance. Rest is critical because it helps prevent injuries, reduce fatigue, and enhance mental clarity, allowing you to bounce back from setbacks and perform your best when it matters most. However effective recovery strategies include more than just your physical needs like sleep, proper nutrition, hydration, rehab and active rest days. Incorporating practices of mindfulness, imagery and individual sports counseling can further support your healing process, reduce stress, strengthen your mental toughness and help you overcome burnout. By prioritizing your mental health and wellness, athletes and coaches not only recover faster but build a foundation for enduring resilience—both physically and mentally.

Let me put it simply, if you want to stay in the game long term, you’ve got to have balance. Allow yourself time to physically recover and explore other passions in life.  Having a balanced athletic identity and being intentional about your recovery time are a critical components to developing resiliency in players and teams. 

Get the Support You Need

Maybe as you read this, the story feels familiar —a spark of recognition that you know there is more to life than your sport, but you don’t know how to access it. The good news is that you don’t have to retire or step away complete, there are other ways to find balance, build mental resilience and extend your career by overcoming burnout. Choosing to invest in your mental health and wellness could be the most important investment you make in your career. You deserve to be in control of your own life and pursue your athletic career with joy and creativity.

At Headstrong Mindset, Dr. Brooke Rundle specializes in guiding elite athletes and coaches, through this very process. As an AASP Certified Mental Performance Consultant and licensed sports counselor in Colorado, Dr. Rundle is dually trained in both clinical mental health and sport psychology. This holistic approach to sport psychology can help you reconnect with your true self and rediscover your passion.

• Schedule your complimentary 15-minute consultation with Dr. Brooke Rundle today.
• Learn more about how mental coaching and sports counseling can help you build resilience and overcome burnout.
• Embrace the next chapter in your athletic career: one rooted in joy, resilience, and a deep love for your sport.

Other Services and Resources

In case you missed it, you can watch Alyssa Liu’s gold medal performance and learn more about her career as a member of the US National Figure Skating Team here.

For more tips on how to avoid burnout during your season, check out this interview with Utah University’s Head Volleyball Coach Beth Launiere on how to avoid burnout during your college season.

If you don’t already have it, make sure to download the free workbook that provides mental training worksheets to help you improve focus, increase confidence and balance your athletic identity.

Post originally written in 2020 and updated in 2026 in response to Alysa Liu’s Olympic Gold medal performance. Dr. Brooke Rundle is a former collegiate and professional athlete, an AASP Certified Mental Performance Consultant and Licensed Counselor in the state of Colorado. Dr. Rundle provides sports counseling and mental performance consulting to coaches and athletes to optimize mental performance and improve mental health.

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The post What can we learn from Alysa Liu about resilience? appeared first on Headstrong Mindset LLC.

The journey to peak performance is as much mental as it is physical. This guide will explore what a sports psychologist does and how they help athletes. It will also discuss why this work is a transformative force for anyone looking to achieve excellence. Embark on this journey with us and discover how to build the mental fortitude needed to reach your goals.

What’s the difference between Sports Counseling and Mental Performance Coaching?

Your well-being as a person is the foundation for your performance as an athlete. A holistic approach recognizes that mental health and mental performance are deeply connected. Professionals in this field are equipped to support athletes through a wide range of personal challenges. As you are starting out on your journey, the first step is to decide which type of professional you want to work with. To do this, you’ll need to understand the difference between mental health counseling and mental performance coaching within the field of sport psychology.

Sport focused mental health counseling services offer clinical support to reduce mental health symptoms and promote overall mental health within all aspects of athlete life including your performance domain. Some examples of practitioners are licensed sport psychologists, counselors or therapists who can diagnose and treat mental illness. Common areas that mental health providers support athletes include managing symptoms of anxiety, depression, eating disorders and substance use. Therapeutic approaches are always personalized. They may draw from various modalities like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), or somatic techniques. This flexibility ensures that the therapy evolves with you as your needs change over time, allowing for a personalized plan that best suits your unique needs and goals. The high-pressure environment of sports can sometimes contribute to mental health challenges. A sport counselor or sport psychologist in Denver can offer a confidential space to address these issues.

On the other hand, mental performance coaching provides non-clinical support strictly for performance enhancement and the development of mental skills. Sport performance service providers can include Sport psychologists, in addition to AASP Certified Mental Performance Consultants (CMPC’s) or mental performance coaches. Sport performance services are strictly focused on performance optimization for both individuals and teams. Sport performance sessions prioritize  developing mental skills such as creating competition routines, building confidence, learning controlled breath-work techniques and engaging in visualization or imagery. Mental coaching sessions focus on teaching sport based mental skills and providing support without offering a clinical diagnoses. It’s important to understand this distinction when seeking help.

What is Mental Performance Consulting?

Mental performance consulting, also known as mental coaching for athletes, is rooted in sports psychology. Sport Psychology is a field that sits at the powerful intersection of athlete mental wellness and athletic performance. It combines evidence-based research with applied strategies to help athletes, coaches, and performing artists learn how to perform at their best consistently. This approach helps them increase their enjoyment of their craft and improve their overall mental wellness. Working with a mental coach for athletes will help you develop the mental skills needed to excel. They work with you to navigate performance anxiety, improve team dynamics, and address the mental health challenges that can arise from the pressures of competition.

It’s about building a mindset that is as strong and conditioned as your body. One common misconception is that this type of support is only for elite or professional athletes. The truth is, mental performance skills can empower individuals at every level. From youth athletes learning to handle pressure to collegiate players balancing school and sports, the principles are universal. Furthermore, it’s not limited to traditional sports; musicians, dancers, and other performers can also benefit immensely from these techniques.

How Mental Performance Coaching Experts Help Athletes

Working with a professional trained in sports psychology in Boulder or Denver, CO is about building a mental toolkit to help you succeed. Together, you will explore your strengths, address your challenges, and cultivate a mindset that thrives under pressure. This partnership is designed to equip you with the strategies needed to perform at your best, consistently. It’s an empowering process of self-discovery and skill-building that can transform your approach to competition and life.

Performance Focused Mental Skills Training

Your mind is a muscle that you can train. Both a sports counselor and mental coach for athletes  can teach you how to strengthen your mind through specific, actionable techniques.

• Imagery and Visualization: You can use your mind to prepare your body for success. By mentally rehearsing your performance, you build neural pathways that make success feel more natural and achievable when it’s time to compete.
• Building Confidence and Positive Self-Talk: The voice in your head can be your greatest ally or your biggest critic. You can learn to quiet the negative self-talk and replace it with a supportive inner dialogue that builds you up.
• Goal Setting and Overcoming Perfectionism: Setting clear, meaningful goals provides direction and motivation. You can also learn to embrace progress over perfection, freeing yourself from the fear of making mistakes and allowing you to perform with more freedom.

Overcoming Performance Challenges

Every athlete faces obstacles. The key is learning how to navigate them with resilience.

• Addressing Performance Anxiety and Stress: Learn techniques to manage the physical and mental symptoms of anxiety, turning nervous energy into focused excitement.
• Recovering from Injuries: Common sport injuries such as concussions and ACL tears can leave mental scars. A mental performance consultant or mental coach for athletes  provides a safe space to process these experiences, helping you overcome the fear of re-injury and return to your sport with renewed confidence.
• Managing Burnout and Mental Fatigue: The demands of training and competition can be exhausting. You can develop strategies to maintain balance, prevent burnout, and sustain your passion for your sport long-term.
• Parental Pressure and Expectations: Athletes often deal with immense pressure from parents, coaches, and themselves. Learning to manage these expectations is crucial for maintaining joy and motivation in your sport.
• Athletic Identity and Retirement: For many athletes, their sport is a huge part of their identity. Retiring or transitioning away from sport can feel like a loss. Therapy helps you navigate this change, process the stages of grief, and discover how to translate the incredible skills you’ve learned into your next chapter.

Enhancing Team Dynamics

Success in team sports relies on more than individual talent. It requires cohesion, trust, and effective communication. A mental coach for teams can help improve communication between teammates and foster a supportive environment where everyone can thrive. It also helps in navigating the complex relationships with coaches, ensuring that feedback is received constructively and that team goals are aligned.

How a Mental Performance Session Works

Stepping into a session with a mental coach is a proactive step toward growth. These sessions can take place in-person or online, offering flexibility for busy schedules. They are available for individuals or for entire teams who want to build collective mental strength. A session often feels like a conversation—a collaborative exploration of your goals, challenges, and mindset. It’s a space where you can speak openly without judgment.

Your mental performance consultant won’t just listen; they will actively teach you techniques and strategies tailored to your situation. You might work on visualization exercises to prepare for a big game, develop a pre-performance routine to manage anxiety, or practice mindfulness to stay present under pressure. The goal is to equip you with practical tools that you can use immediately.

Why Mental Coaching Matters for Athletes

Investing in your mental game is one of the most powerful decisions you can make for your athletic career and your life. The benefits extend far beyond the playing field. By working with a mental coach in Denver, you learn to overcome the mental blocks that hold you back. Build the resilience to bounce back from injuries and setbacks, often returning stronger than before. Develop unshakable self-esteem that isn’t dependent on your latest result. Most importantly, you learn to cultivate a healthy identity outside of your sport, ensuring your well-being long after your competitive days are over. The skills you gain (discipline, resilience, focus, and self-awareness) are life skills. They will serve you in your future career, your relationships, and your personal growth.

Take the Next Step

Your mind is your most valuable asset. Taking care of it is not a sign of weakness but a mark of strength. If you are ready to unlock a new level of performance and well-being, exploring mental coaching for athletes or counseling for athletes in Denver, CO, could be the transformative step you’ve been looking for. You have the power to build a resilient, confident, and focused mindset. Embrace the opportunity to invest in yourself and watch how it elevates every aspect of your life. Your journey to peak performance begins now.

Are You Ready to Unlock Your Potential with Counseling for Athletes in Denver, CO?

Perhaps as you read this, something inside you felt a spark of recognition—a quiet understanding that your performance and well-being could feel different. Please know that this feeling is where your growth begins. Choosing to invest in your mental game is one of the most powerful and transformative things you can do for yourself, both as an athlete and as a person. You deserve to pursue your passion with a sense of confidence, inner strength, and joy, free from the weight of pressure and self-doubt.

Here at Headstrong Mindset, Dr. Brooke Rundle specializes in guiding athletes and performers through this very process. As an AASP Certified Mental Performance Consultant and licensed sports counselor in Colorado, Dr. Rundle is dually trained in both clinical mental health counseling and sport performance psychology. This supportive and effective approach can help you reconnect with your resilient, centered self. Together, we can help you process challenges, overcome obstacles, and unlock your full potential.

• Schedule your complimentary 15-minute consultation today.
• Learn more about how mental coaching and sports counseling can support you on your journey.
• Embrace a new chapter in your athletic career: one rooted in confidence, resilience, and a deep love for your sport, tailored just for you.

Other Services at Headstrong Mindset

The pursuit of excellence is deeply personal and often intersects with broader experiences like the weight of leadership, teamwork dynamics, or embracing your true identity. Whether you’re an athlete, coach, or someone juggling the pressures of performance and connection, it’s natural to feel the strain of being “on” all the time. These challenges can lead to moments of doubt or exhaustion, making it hard to find balance. At Headstrong Mindset, I provide a space where you can set aside the need to perform, feel understood, and receive the support needed to build confidence, resilience, and balance as you work toward your goals.

Headstrong Mindset offers specialized services tailored to every step of your journey, including sports counseling, mental coaching for athletes or teams, as well as consultation for coaches. Whether you’re looking to manage stress, strengthen communication, embrace your authentic self, or lead with renewed energy, these services are designed to support your whole self. Together, we’ll create a path forward, helping you reconnect with a steady, empowered, and authentic life.

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This is not your typical reading list of sport psychology books. At Headstrong Mindset, I want to start by acknowledging that there are a ton of fantastic books out there on mental toughness, navigating pressure, and overcoming mental obstacles for athletes in sports. The problem is that most of them are written by men about male professional athletes. As a former professional and collegiate athlete who has spent a lifetime competing and working in women’s sports, I don’t find most psychology books relatable.

I have always enjoyed reading the books of Hall of Fame level coaches such as John Wooden’s A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog and Pete Carroll’s Win Forever . There are also fantastic books by sport psychology giants such as George Mumford’s The Mindful Athlete and Timothy Galloway’s classic The Inner Game of Tennis. I have deep respect for these sports legends. However, the experiences they describe in the books often feel otherworldly to female high school and collegiate athletes or coaches who don’t have access to the same level of resources or privilege.

Therefore I have compiled a list of books that are mostly written by women for everyone. These books seek to support the whole athlete and coach. These are the books I share with my current college and elite athletes and coaches. These are the books I wish I had when I was playing.

Achieving Excellence: Mastering Mindset for Peak Performance in Sport and Life

This book by Dr. Colleen Hacker and Mallery Mann is my absolutely go-to favorite Sport Psychology book. Dr. Colleen Hacker was the U.S. National Team Mental Skills coach for Team USA when they won 1999 Women’s World Cup. She’s also a 6x member of the Olympic coaching staff. It’s a fantastic read for players, coaches, sport psychologists and mental performance consultants. In her book she identifies self-awareness and self-regulation as two of the most important mental skills that impact athlete performance.

Dear Coach

Full disclaimer – I am a super fan of Der. Erdner’s book because I had the great privilege of being mentored by Dr. Erdner throughout my doctorate program and CMPC certification process for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. I cannot say enough about how the athlete’s vulnerable letters in this book resonated with my personal experience as a former NCAA athlete and collegiate volleyball player. This is required reading for any coach that works with me. This book combines evidence-based research with athletes real life stories about their collegiate athletic experience to address systemic communication issues in college athletics.

In this book, Dr. Erdner asks all the athletes one single question: What do you wish you could have told your coach but, for whatever reason, never did?  It’s a must read book for college coaches. The answers will change the way you see your athletes and transform your relationships with them.

Rebound: Train your mind to bounce back from sport injuries

Rebound is the book I wish I had read when I was recovering from wrist surgery and trying to find my way back into the starting the line-up of my college volleyball team. In this book Carrie Jackson Cheadle and Cindy Kuzma created a guide to support injured athletes with building psychological resilience needed to recover from injury and return to sport stronger than before. They also have an inspiring podcast for injured athletes called The Injured Athlete club.

Wolfpack: How to come together, unleash our power, and change the game.

If you are looking for a fun, engaging and inspiring book to read with your entire team during the season, than look no further than Abby Wambach’s Wolfpack. The two-time Olympic Gold Medalist & FIFA World Cup Champion shares pearls of wisdom about leadership, teamwork, and balancing athletic identity. My favorite quote: “I’ve never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else.” We all have something to learn from Abby in this feminist athlete call to arms. There is also a version of Wolfpack adapted for young readers.

Coaching Athletes to Be Their Best: Motivational Interviewing in Sport

Attention Leaders & Coaches: If you want to learn how to explore your athlete’s resistance to change and learn how to navigate team conflict, this is the book for you. The authors take this person-centered approach to evaluating intrinsic motivation and apply it to directly to athletes in sport. I use motivational interviewing all the time with my athletes and highly recommend this book to coaches and sport psychologists. This book goes beyond coaching… it teaches a philosophy of curiosity and human empathy. It’s guaranteed to make you a better coach and leader.

Applied Sport Psychology: Personal Growth to Peak Performance

This is the sport psychology textbook that I return to again and again. I consider this book to be the “bible” of sport psychology techniques. It was required for me in grad school and I find myself continuing to reference the teachings, activities and techniques shared in this book by Dr. Jean Williams and Dr. Vikki Krane. Warning: it’s not a quick and easy read, but it covers a broad variety of topics and performance concerns that athletes and coaches experience, so you can jump to the chapter on the theme you need support around. Dr. Krane is one of my favorite sport psychology authors and researchers. She also published Sex, Gender, & Sexuality in Sport.

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

This book isn’t exactly a Sport Psychology per se, but the principles in this book are absolutely transferrable to coaches and athletes. In her book, Dare to Lead, Brené Brown (researcher, social worker &  New York Times bestselling author) answers this critical question: How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?

Brown writes, “One of the most important findings of my career is that daring leadership is a collection of skills and practices that are 100 percent teachable. It’s learning and unlearning that requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with your whole heart. Easy? No. Because choosing courage over comfort is not always our default. Worth it? Always. We want to be brave with our lives and our work. It’s why we’re here.”

If you’re new to Brené Brown’s work, add her book to the top of your reading list. My personal favorite of hers is: Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience.

The ATHMINDSET Workbook: Training your mind for optimal mental health in sport and in life.

This work book was create by Lisa Bonta Sumii, who is a Licensed Social Worker and Certified Mental Performance Consultant. I’m a huge fan of Lisa’s podcast Athlete Mindset. The ATHMINDSET podcast and the workbook are full of gold nuggets for players, coaches, and parents supporting the mental performance and wellbeing of athletes and teams.

Headstrong

Last but not least, my mindset training guidebook was created specifically for volleyball teams to read and discuss together in the form of a book club to enhance pre-season team-building. You can buy the paperback on Amazon.

Got other book recommendations that should be added to this list? I want to hear from you. Drop me a line with a book recommendation for you favorite book on sport psychology, athlete mental health and wellness, or athlete memoirs.

The post Must Read Sport Psychology Books for Athletes, Coaches & Teams appeared first on Headstrong Mindset LLC.

Performance errors and setbacks are a part of a every sport, for every athlete, at every level. We all understand this concept and yet oftentimes have a difficult time recovering from the previous play and shifting the focus to the next one. If you find yourself worrying about the future, or dwelling on past mistakes during games, try this.

After making a performance error, it is common to re-play the event in your mind. The mental re-replay will either reinforce the impact of the error by dwelling on it, or help you recover and prepare for the next play by visualizing the correction and engaging in positive self-talk. Mentally fixing the error will prepare you for the next play and help you return to focusing on the present moment.

This “fix-it” and “play forward” mentality encourages athletes to control their reaction to error by re-directing attention towards the next play. Rather than responding to a mistake with a barrage of negative self-talk, try correcting the error in your mind and returning to the present moment in preparation for the next play.

Errors do not have to be catastrophic. The goal is not to never make mistakes in games or tournaments. The goal is to mentally recover from mistakes faster and move on to the next play. The question athletes need to answer is: how quickly do you move from an emotion focus to a task, problem-solving focus in competition? (Lodato, 2022).  By creating intentional, consistent, and repeatable routines for handling errors in competition, you will learn to let go of the past and mentally prepare for the next play.

Practical Strategies

Here’s a few examples of practical and tangible strategies to embody the “fix-it” mentality and mentally move on to the next play. 

• Step away from the baseline in tennis or service line in volleyball
•  Redirect attention to a focus point or cue to clear the mind.
• Take a big inhale and mentally release the error on the exhale.
• Make a physical movement to symbolically “wipe it away”. Some volleyball players will wipe the sweat off their forehead or beach volleyball players may pick up sand and throw it to get rid of the error.
•  Imagine flushing the away and going down a drain (Ravizza).

References

Lodato, V.A. (2022). Imagery and Visualization Week 7 [PowerPoint slides]. Sport Performance & Psychology, University of Western States. 

Lodato, V.A. (2022). Handling Competitive Stress [Handout]. Sport Performance & Psychology, University of Western States. 

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What does it mean to have an athletic identity?

Your athletic identity is the degree to which you identify with your role as an athlete competing in your sport ¹ It’s basically a framework for an athlete’s self-concept. Sometimes, being an athlete can become such a big part of who you are that it overshadows other aspects of yourself and life can feel unbalanced.

Evaluating your athletic identity.

To assess athletic identity you can use the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, also known as (AIMS) ².  AIMS is a 10 item self-reporting assessment based on a 1 to 7 Likert-scale that athletes can do to determine their level of athletic identity. The assessment includes statements such as “I consider myself an athlete”, “most of my friends are athletes”, & “I spend more time thinking about sport than anything else”. However the simplest way to check if your athletic identity is out of balance is to describe who you are without mentioning your sport.

Can you do it?

If you struggle to describe yourself without reference to your sport, that might be a sign that you have an unhealthy or imbalanced athletic identity and it’s time to balance the scale.

Warning signs to watch out for.

There are several risks and costs associated with having an imbalanced or unhealthy athletic identity. Athletes with an imbalanced athletic identity are more susceptible to depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and early burnout from sport. Signs to watch out for include reduced self-esteem or low confidence, irrational fear of failure, feelings of guilt, increased aggression, and difficulty in decision-making.

Finding a healthy balance.

One of the most of effective ways you can balance your athletic identity is to make and maintain friendships outside of your sport that don’t care about your performance or the amount of playing time you get. ³

Another way to maintain a healthy athletic identity is to find hobbies to do outside of your sport like cooking, gardening or making art and music. Having a healthy balance will not only improve your overall mental health, but it will also strengthen your mental toughness and resilience in sport during transitions in playing time, during periods of injury and retirement from sport. ⁴

Your sport should not define you. As an athlete, or a coach, your athletic identity is just one of part of you are. ⁵ A healthy athletic identity maintains a balance between your sport and life outside of sport. This includes prioritizing family, maintaining friendships outside of your sport, hobbies that have nothing to do with your sport. ⁶ It is critical to have a social support network that extends beyond on your sport or professional career. It is also important to have some ideas about what you might want to do after your athletic career is over. That’s what a healthy balance looks like. You are more than just your sport.

Are you ready to the take the next step?

Maybe you read this and resonated with the difficulty of balancing elite sports with your personal life. Conscious awareness is the first step to achieving personal growth and professional balance. Choosing to invest in your mental health and well-being can be life-changing and life-giving as an athlete and a person.

At Headstrong Mindset, Dr. Brooke Rundle specializes in supporting athletes, performers, and coaches with sports counseling Denver. Ask any sports expert who has been in the game a long time and they will tell you that balancing your athletic identity is the secret to enjoying a long career in sports and avoiding burnout . You deserve to walk away from your sport on your own terms. As a mental coach for athletes and sport psychology provider in Denver, Dr. Rundle can help you balance your career demands and learn to thrive. You don’t have to search any farther for sport psychology services in Denver.

• Schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation with Dr. Rundle.
• Learn more about how a mental coach for athletes can support you on your journey.
• Learn more about the importance of having a balanced athletic identity to avoid experiencing the yips.
• Start a new chapter in your athletic career by finding balance in your professional career and personal life.

References

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Mental toughness is an athlete’s ability to perform their best in every competitive situation, regardless of the environmental obstacles or adversity faced (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). Mental toughness is not a single skill, but rather an entire set of mental skills that contribute to consistent optimal performance under pressure in competition. Mental skills are sport-specific psychological skills that contribute to an athlete’s ability to optimally perform (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). Below are a few examples of key mental skills foundational to sport & performance psychology. Learn more about how to develop mental resilience in sport and beyond.

Key Mental Skills in Sport & Performance Psychology

Concentration

Concentration is much more than just an on/off switch that the athlete flips during competition. Concentration is a mental skill that that needs to be broken down, learned, and practiced in athletes just like any other mental and physical skill in sports. Concentration is selective attention that focuses on relevant cues for optimal performance (Weinberg, 2019).  Concentration contains four distinct elements or foundational pillars (selective attention, maintaining attentional focus, situational awareness, and attentional flexibility (Weinberg, 2019). Learn more about obstacles to concentration.

Performance Routines

Routines can be broken down into three distinct categories, pre-performance routines, in-performance routines, and post-performance routines. Pre-performance, also referred to as pre-competition routines, are actions taken prior to the start of competition to prepare the athlete for psychological readiness for competition. In-performance routines are actions that an athlete does while competing either in-between plays or during timeouts. Post-performance routines take place after the competition has finished either in the locker-room, on the bus, or at home when the athlete has time to reflect alone. Learn the differences between routines and rituals.

Goal-Setting

Goal setting is a powerful strategy to get and stay motivated on the journey towards your dreams. Goal setting is the road map to the future that you want. Goal setting is the process by which you can achieve your accomplishments if you stay disciplined and continue to put forth the effort. However, there is more to goal setting, then just writing lofty dreams down on a piece of paper. Goal setting is an ongoing process that needs to be reflected upon, measured, monitored, assessed, and reassessed. When done well, goal setting can be a powerful motivator and play a critical role in achieving desired success. Learn how to make more effective performance goals.

Imagery

Imagery is a mental training tool in which athletes use all their senses to mentally rehearse, create, or re-create an experience in the mind (Vealey & Forlenza, 2015). The difference between visualization and imagery is that visualization only engages the sense of vision, while imagery is a polysensory experience, meaning all senses are engaged including visual, auditory, physical, olfactory, gustatory and the kinesthetic (Vealey & Forlenza, 2015). Imagery is a way for athletes to refine technique and practice specific sports skills in one’s mind regardless of whether they are sidelined by an injury or without access to a training facility. You can use imagery to reduce stress, return from injury and perform at your best. Learn how to write an imagery script here.

Self-Talk

Internal self-talk is intentional and productive internal dialogue that athletes have with themselves in their mind (Lodato, 2022). It is a form of intrapersonal communication that impacts athlete emotions, behavior, actions, and motivation (Lodato, 2022). Self-talk often surfaces within athletes in reaction to the outcome of a play, situation, or event in competition in which the athlete desires change for the future (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). Self-talk can enhance concentration, assist with breaking bad habits, sustain athlete motivation, and ultimately increase effort (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). However, self-talk can also be a lethal distraction during competition. How you speak to yourself matters. Self-talk can help you achieve your performance goals.

Deconstruct Perfectionism

Perfectionism is characterized by unrealistically high expectations of self and a tendency to be over critical of one’s performance. Learn effective techniques for to combat maladaptive perfection concerns with self-compassion to improve your performance and increase your well-being. Learn more about how to overcome perfectionism in sports.

Communication

Learn how to express your thoughts and desires clearly and effectively to the people on your performance team and in your life. Explore how attachment patterns are impacting your communication style.

Error Recovery

Performance errors and setbacks are a part of a every sport, for every athlete, at every level. Oftentimes athletes understand this concept and yet have a difficult time recovering from the previous play and shift their focus to the next one. Athletes who dwell on past mistakes inadvertently increase their arousal level by worrying about the future without realizing the attentional drift. Errors do not have to be catastrophic. The goal is not to never make mistakes in competition. The goal is to mentally recover from mistakes faster and move on to the next play.

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What types of sport psychology techniques can injured runners benefit from the most?

One of the most widely used and powerful sport psychology techniques to support injury recovery is the use of imagery. Imagery is a mental training tool in which athletes use all their senses to mentally rehearse, create, or re-create an experience in the mind.  

The difference between visualization and imagery is that visualization only engages the sense of vision, while imagery is a polysensory experience, meaning all senses are engaged including visual (what do you see?), auditory (what do you hear?), physical touch (what do you feel?), olfactory (what do you smell?), gustatory (what do you taste?) and the kinesthetic (what does the movement in your body feel like?).  

Runners can use imagery to mentally prepare for difficult race conditions, imagine desired race results, or refine your running technique. Injured runners can use imagery techniques to imagine the injured body part healing, reduce muscle tension, manage pain, decrease stress or re-injury anxiety, increase motivation for rehabilitation exercises, and imagine successfully returning to running.

Creating an Imagery Program

Holmes and Collins (2001) created the PETTLEP program to provide a framework for athletes to practice and integrate imagery into training. PETTLEP is an acronym for the model’s following seven key elements: physical, environment, task, timing, learning, emotion, and perspective. When designing and implementing imagery into your recovery program, runners should consider the following PETTLEP guidelines.

Your imagery should reflect the physical movement of running and the exact environment in which you plan to run in the future (i.e.. the New York Marathon). You should imagine the identical movement and task that you want to execute, in addition to the timing of the skill for the exact duration of time it takes to execute that skill. The learning element should be in alignment with your developmental stage of learning. Your imagery should incorporate as many race emotions as possible to make it feel real. Lastly you should engage in imagery using either an external or internal perspective, depending on whichever you find most effective.

External vs Imagery Perspectives

When practicing imagery, there are two different vantage points: external imagery and internal imagery. External imagery is viewing the action from outside of one’s body such as taken from the perspective of a video camera behind, above, or on the side of the runner. Alternatively, internal imagery is viewing the action from inside one’s body through your eyes. There is no right or wrong way to picture it. Both external and internal perspectives are effective. However, if you are having trouble with controllability or vividness, it might be helpful to try an alternative perspective when using imagery.

Controllability & Vividness

When practicing imagery, the two primary factors that impact the effectiveness are controllability and vividness. Controllability is one’s ability to imagine or control exactly what you desire to see in your mind.  Vividness refers to the level of detail and clarity that the image contains. It is important to remember that imagery, like all mental and physical skills, takes time to learn and master. The more you practice, the better you will improve, and the more effective the imagery will become.

Mental Performance Coaching & Consulting

Imagery is just one of many mental skills rooted in sport psychology that can help runners return to running. To learn more mental skills and sport psychology techniques to mitigate injury anxiety, manage stress, overcome injuries and help you achieve your optimal performance level, consult with a sport psychologist or mental performance coach for athletes. Mental performance consulting is a non-clinical alternative to traditional talk therapy using mental skills and sport psychology techniques to enhance performance, overcome obstacles, and increase enjoyment.

Originally published on Custom Performance.

References

Arvinen-Barrow, Monna, & Walker, Natalie (2013). Imagery in Sport Injury Rehabilitation. (1^st ed.). Routledge.

Holmes, P.S., & Collins, D.J. (2001). The PETTLEP approach to motor imagery: A functional equivalence model for sport psychologist. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13, 60-83.

Vealy, Robin S. & Forlenza, Samuel T. (2015). Understanding and Using Imagery in Sport. In J.M. Williams and V. Krane (Eds.) Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance. McGraw Hill Education. https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/applied-sport-psychology-personal-growth-peak-performance-williams-krane/M9780078022708.html

Scott, M. W., Wright, D. J., Smith, D., & Holmes, P. S. (2022). Twenty years of PETTLEP imagery: An update and new direction for simulation-based training. Asia Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2(2), 70–79. https://doi-org.uws.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.ajsep.2022.07.002

Weinberg, Robert S. & Gould, Daniel (2019). Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology (7^th ed.). Human Kinetics.

Williams, J. M. & Krane, Vikki (2015). Applied sport psychology: personal growth to peak performance. Seventh edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/applied-sport-psychology-personal-growth-peak-performance-williams-krane/M9780078022708.html

Olympians Use Imagery as Mental Training, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/sports/olympics/olympians-use-imagery-as-mental-training.html

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Carron & Hausenblas (1998) offer a conceptual framework for team cohesion that includes the environment (i.e., group size), leadership (both peer and coaching behavior), team (i.e., roles), and personal factors (i.e., satisfaction). This framework is based upon Carron’s (1985) two principles of group integration and the individual’s attractive to the group (Burke et al., 2014). The principle of group integration is the concept that each athlete has a unique perspective about the closeness or bondedness of the team (Burke et al., 2014). The concept of an individual’s attractive to the group reflects the athlete’s personal benefits of being on the team or how each athlete’s individual needs are being met by other team members throughout the course of a season (Burke et al., 2014).

Both group integration and the individual’s attractive to the group ultimately impact whether the team sticks together over time. The factors that contribute to a team members motivation for group integration or attractiveness to the group can be broken down into the two categories of either task or social factors (Burke et al., 2014). Task factors represent a team’s objectives or goals (Burke et al., 2014). Social factors consist of social relationships and activities within the team (Burke et al., 2014).

Questions to Ask

As a sport psychology consultant, I primarily evaluate the quality of trust in the relationships between players to players, and between players to the coaching staff. I would also examine the quality and strength of team leadership.

• Are there clear leaders on the team?
• Are the leadership roles and responsibilities clear?
• Do those leaders have the respect of their teammates and serve as a communication conduit between the team and coaches?

It’s also critical to examine the individual sport satisfaction and burnout levels of the players.

• Do the players enjoy practicing and competing together?
• Do they share common goals?
• Do they enjoy being with one another outside of the gym or competition realm?
• Do the athletes show respect one another’s differences?

Assessments

The Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) created by Widmeyer, Brawley, & Carron (1985) can be used to evaluate the level of team cohesion by assessing how the team members relate to and work together (Aoyagi et al., 2008). The Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ) by Riemer & Chelladurai (1998) can also be used to evaluate athlete satisfaction (Aoyagi et al., 2008).

Closing

One important factor about team cohesion to keep in mind is that team cohesion alone does not necessarily always result in optimal or desired performance. A group of athletes could have a high level of team cohesion, but low levels of motivation or lack leadership and ultimately perform poorly. Successful teams require both cohesion and leadership to achieve optimal performance results.

References

Aoyagi, M., Cox, R., & McGuire, R. (2008). Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Sport: Relationships with Leadership, Team Cohesion, and Athlete Satisfaction. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20(1), 25–41.

Burke, S.M., Davies, K., & Carron, A.V. (2014). Group Cohesion in Sport and Exercise Settings. In Mark R. Beauchamp, & Mark A. Eys. (2014). Group dynamics in exercise and sport psychology: Vol. Second edition. Routledge.

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The History of IFS

IFS is a non-pathologizing evidence-based integrative theory that was pioneered by Richard Schwartz (Schwartz, 1994). Over the past few decades, IFS informed techniques have become increasingly popular beyond the field of psychotherapy among a wide variety of professionals including first responders, school administrators, religious leaders, legal mediators, and life coaches (IFS Institute, n.d.). IFS draws heavily from person-centered therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and a family systems approach (Schwartz, 2013). Most other mindfulness-based techniques teach individuals to notice and accept one’s thoughts and emotions from the position of what Schwartz refers to as a “passive observer” (Schwartz, 2013).  IFS, on the contrary, promotes an interactive approach that actively engages with a person’s inner ecology of parts (Haddock et al., 2017).

Foundational Tenets of IFS

IFS is made up of three foundational tenants: the multiplicity of the mind or mindfully separate “parts”, a family systems approach that recognizes the value of each member in the system, and the concept of a core Self (Schwartz, 2013). IFS asserts that the mind is a dynamic system made up of multiple parts, and that everyone’s inner world operates much like relationship systems in the external world (Schwartz, 2013; Lucero et al., 2018). Through communication with each part, individuals can gain self-insight, “unburden” or heal their wounded parts, and ultimately achieve self-leadership from a core sense of Self (Schwartz, 2013). To achieve self-leadership, the IFS approach teaches a process of inner focus and dialogue between the individual’s various parts of the system (Schwartz, 2013).

Parts of the System

IFS posits that everyone’s internal system is made up of a core Self, burdened Exiles, and protective parts that function as either Firefighters or Managers (Lucero et al., 2018).In IFS, Self is referred to as the core of a person, best equipped to lead the system, and distinguishable by its display of leadership characteristics resembling the 8 Cs (confidence, calm, compassion, courage, creativity, clarity, curiosity, and connectedness)(IFS Institute, n.d.; Schwartz et al., 2023). True to their name, Exiles are parts that have been separated or contained within the system to suppress a history of trauma or pain (IFS Institute, n.d.). Exiles are often very young, sensitive, and child-like parts (Lucero et al., 2018) that are stuck in the moment of time they were originally wounded (Schwartz et al., 2023). Managers are proactive protective parts that attempt to control or “manage” the individual’s system to mitigate activation of the exiled parts(IFS Institute, n.d.). It is common for managers to take on the role of the self-critic, caretaker, controller, analyzer, and worrier (Schwartz et al., 2024). Firefighters are reactive protective parts that attempt to numb or escape the exile’s pain by taking extreme measures in the form of either externalized behaviors such as addiction or violence, or internalized behaviors such as disassociation or depression (Schwartz, 1994; Schwartz et al., 2024).

How IFS Uniquely Benefits Athletes and Performing Artists

The application of IFS to the field of Sport & Performance Psychology has the potential to make a profound impact on athletes’ performance, relationships, and lives. When closely examining common behaviors of competitive athletes, it is easy to spot the protective behaviors of parts. In the context of sports, the role of the self-critical manager often manifests itself in athletes when mistakes are made, competitions are lost, or athletes fall short of their goals. The role of the firefighter often manifests when athletes exhibit extreme and addictive behaviors or outbursts of rage. Ultimately IFS offers a new framework for teaching athletes to increase their self-awareness and ability to self-regulate before, during, and after competition. For athletes, IFS’s mindfulness-based approach to self-acceptance and somatic awareness can quiet their inner-critic, resolve internal conflicts, and slow emotional reactivity through guided mindfulness exercises.

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History is full of stories about athletes that have been cut from teams, experienced heartbreaking losses, and devastating injuries. However because the focus is usually on the career highlights of the winners, the heroic stories of their persevering journeys are often missed.

Michael Jordan was famously cut in high school from his varsity basketball team in the 10th grade. Later in his career, Jordan reflected back on the experience, “It was embarrassing not making that team. They posted the roster and it was there for a long, long time without my name on it. I remember being really mad, too.” The experienced seeded his famously resilient work ethic. “Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it and that usually got me going again.” Jordan finished his career as a global icon named MVP of the NBA Finals 6x with 6 NBA championship rings, 2 Olympic Gold Medals, and widely acclaimed as the NBA’s the greatest basketball player of all time.

The experience of getting cut from a team or sidelined, and bouncing back stronger is not a unique narrative for elite athletes. The list goes on and on.

Bill Russell was cut from his junior varsity basketball team in high school and mostly ignored from college recruiters prior to winning 11 NBA Championships.

Abby Wambach suffered devastating World Cup losses in 2003, 2007, and 2011 before eventually accomplishing her dream of winning the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup at the end of her soccer career.

Crystal Dunn was the very last player cut from the US Women’s 2015 World Cup roster. She described the experience, “getting that phone call and being told you’re not going to the World Cup was soul crushing. I really doubted myself in that moment…I had to make the decision to pick myself up, dust myself off, just get back to work and enjoy the game again.” Four years later, in 2019, Dunn became a FIFA World Cup Champion. In 2021 she was the only American World Cup player to start in every match at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Tom Brady was looked over in the first 5 rounds of the 2000 NFL draft. Eventually selected as pick number 199, Brady was the 7th quarterback selected in the NFL draft that year. Two years later Brady led the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl in 2002. He would go on to win 7 Super Bowls in throughout career.

If you were recently cut or sidelined, you are in good company. It hurts now but might just be the extra fuel you need to sustain in the future. All of these athletes maintained a growth mindset to work harder and come back stronger. Take a tip from MJ, Wamback, Dunn and Brady. All of these athletes are examples of overcoming adversity in sports before rising to the top. It is the history of failures that pave the way to future success.

Do you know of other comeback stories about great athletes? I want to hear them! Drop me a line and share stories about famous athletes coming back from being cut.

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