From my experience, many athletes spend too much energy worrying about things that they cannot control on the athletic field, court, or course. They waste energy on irrelevant thoughts.

 A classic example: have you ever got distracted because you were arguing with an official about a bad call? Even when you knew the official was not going to change his call, you gave energy to an 'uncontrollable.'

The result: You became upset or frustrated, lost your composure, and it affected you for several minutes to follow or even until the end of the game.

If you focus on thoughts or events

I also wanted to take a couple of moments to touch on some of the common concerns and myths I often hear from athletes, coaches and parents about working with a mental game coach or sports psychology expert. Here are the top 3:

MYTH #1: Mental training or sports psychology is only beneficial if you are trying to break loose of a slump.

MYTH #2: Working with a sports psychology expert is a

Many athletes who are perfectionistic with their approach to sports think they have a great attitude about sports - until we talk about how perfectionism can hold them back from reaching their potential.

Don't get me wrong. There are some advantages of perfectionism such as having a strong work ethic, commitment to your goals, and a willingness to learn and improve, which often disguise this m