Sports psychologists have developed a multi-step program based on the practice of mindfulness to increase coaches’ and athletes’ mental readiness for the game.
Mindfulness involves being aware of the present moment and accepting things as they are without judgment. When it comes to sports, athletes who are able to simply observe moments as they come and go rather than latch onto them and overthink are better able to focus on their performance rather than on distracting negative experiences.
“It’s been suggested that many coaches regard sport as at least 50 percent mental when competing against opponents of similar ability. In some sports, that percentage can be as high as 80 to 90 percent mental,” said Keith Kaufman, Ph.D., a Washington, D.C.-area sports psychology practitioner and research associate at the Catholic University of America presenting at the APA convention.
[For more of this story, written by Traci Pedersen, go to https://psychcentral.com/news/...the-zone/124254.html]
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