Sport Psychology Tactics - Mental Skills Training Tools Every Athlete Needs
About the Author
Ben Foodman is a licensed psychotherapist & performance specialist. He owns his private practice located in Charlotte North Carolina where he specializes in working with athletes to help them overcome mental blocks (the yips), PTSD, ADD / ADHD and achieve flow states through the techniques of Brainspotting & Neurofeedback. If you are interested in services, use the link here! Enjoy the article below!
Introduction: Sport Psychology Tactics Every Athlete Needs To Train With
When I work with athletes I go through a standard assessment to understand what their strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to the psychological side of training for competition. Over the years what I have found is that there are several key factors in their training that EVERY athlete needs to incorporate into their routine if they are going to achieve a baseline level of success. The efficacy of these mental training skills has been validated by both my subjective experience with athletes as well as the scientific research. So, with that being said odds are if you are reading this you are probably a client of mine that I have referred to use this page. As you go through each section, make sure to incorporate each of these skills into your pre-performance routine.
Part I. Download The Kardia App To Begin Deep Breathwork Routine
Regardless of what sport you play in, you need to keep your body in a low energy-use state for the majority of the day before competition begins. The reason for this is because virtually everyone who competes in sports experiences an increase in sympathetic nervous system activity before competition begins. Athletes that stay in a sympathetic nervous system state will be expending more energy, and if you are unnecessarily expending energy before competition begins, your mental endurance and ability to focus will significantly diminish. So, what can we do to offset this problem from happening? Regularly engage in deep breathwork patterns, specifically diaphragmatic ratio breathing.
Essentially, for every 1 second an athlete inhales, they will then exhale for 2 seconds. These breath counts can look like inhaling for 4 seconds then exhaling for 8 seconds over and over again (note: because we are all built different physically, some athletes will use variations such as 5 seconds inhale, 7 seconds exhale, 3 seconds inhale, 6 seconds exhale). Research strongly suggests that this breathwork pattern be repeated continuously for 20 minutes at least 2 x per day. To really maximize on the efficiency of these breathwork sessions, I recommend downloading the Kardia App listed above to use as a pacer. I usually recommend athletes do one session in the morning, and 1 right before competition.
Part II. Use Quiet Eye As Part Of Your Pre-Performance Routine
Quiet Eye is a technique that athletes can use as a pre-performance routine to shut down overthinking and increase focus. In the book Motor Learning And Performance by Richard Schmidt and Craig Wrisberg, the authors provide an excerpt that helps explain the importance of focal vision and the quiet eye phenomenon: An important challenge for scientists is determining how performers use vision to control their movements. Research by Vickers (1996) suggests that an important difference in the visual control of expert and nonexpert performers is a pre-execution period of visual fixation Vickers called the ‘quiet eye’. The four characteristics of quiet eye are a directing of attention to a critical location or target in the performance environment, an onset that occurs prior to the intended movement, a duration that is longer for elite performers than for those of lesser skill levels, and of course a high level of stability. Recent research examining the quiet eye phenomenon has substantiated Vickers’ predictions and shown that preperformance visual fixations are fewer and longer but cease earlier (as the movement is being executed) for highly skilled than for lesser skilled performers in closed skills such as basketball shooting, billiards, and small-bore rifle shooting, as well as in open skills such as goaltending in ice hockey.
The authors continue: In the study by Janelle and colleagues (2000), participants attempted 40 rounds of target shooting on a simulator. In addition to recording shot accuracy and duration of aiming, the researchers obtained eye-movement and brain-wave data that allowed them to estimate visual gaze behavior of the shooters. Performance accuracy was significantly higher and the visual fixation period preceding shot execution longer for experts than for non-experts. Brain wave results also indicated superior engagement of visuospatial resources by experts compared with nonexperts. The results of all these studies suggest that superior performance in some close and open skill situations is attributable in part to the performer’s capability of achieving a fixation of the eye (i.e. quiet eye) prior to movement execution. Quiet eye is a relatively simple technique that provides large impact outcomes. Before athletes begin any physical performance, I instruct them to place their eyes on a target and use their entire focus to prevent their eyes from moving at all. I point out to athletes that it is essentially impossible to keep your eyes completely still, but the very act of trying to keep them from moving sharpens your focus (e.g. in golf, quiet eye for 5 seconds on the hole then 5 seconds on the ball…or quiet eye the entire time focusing on the ball and hitting it).
Part III. Track Stress Using The “What Is Your Number” Tool
Tracking stress that occurs both inside and outside of sport is essential because all stress impacts an athlete’s ability to achieve peak performance. One way that I like to help athletes with this is by using a tool I have called what is your number. On a scale of 1-10 athletes are asked to rate overall how they are doing…1 being terrible, 10 they are amazing. My belief is that this number is representative of an athlete’s energy levels. The reason I preach to athletes to track this number on a daily basis is because when athletes show up to sports competition, 2 things usually happen. First, they unconsciously have 10/10 expectations, and secondly, they usually have not been tracking their stress levels. This is important because usually their stress levels detract from their energy which in turn means that their available energy does not match their expectations. So why is this important?
If an athlete’s energy levels do not match their expectations, they will make performance decisions that do not coincide with what they are actually capable of. For example, if a golfer who specializes in long drives shows up to a tournament feeling like a 3/10, then it doesn’t make sense to have the expectation that they will hit a 10/10 high performance drive. What athletes SHOULD DO, is perform according to what their number is. So, for example in this instance of the golfer who is a 3/10, they should shift their performance focus on keeping the ball in the fairway, instead of trying to create long-distance shots (use an iron instead of a driver). Athletes that regularly AND honestly track their number are more likely to play efficiently and stay competitive. When working with athletes I instruct them on a daily basis to measure overall HOW they are feeling by tracking what social, psychological and physical stress they are experiencing.
Part IV. Order The Dharma Dr. Tabs To Increase Mental Imagery Routine
When working with athletes, I usually have them do some form of imagery before they begin a performance routine. I instruct athletes to close their eyes, visualize the performance outcome that they WANT to have happen, and try to see this outcome from a 3rd person perspective (some athletes prefer 1st person, but most benefit from 3rd person according to research). Lately, I now also highly recommended that athletes invest in a new technology device to use with their pre-performance routine. The new device is the Bilateral Stimulation Tab created by Dharma Dr. Bilateral stimulation naturally helps the body process stress and trauma, but there is another benefit as well. The reason bilateral stimulation is a core element of EMDR therapy is because these repeated, rhythmic inputs—such as eye movements, taps, or sounds—activate the brain's natural ability to process information.
This helps re-evaluate and store distressing memories, often stemming from stressful or traumatic events. By mirroring the brain activity of REM sleep, bilateral stimulation, often facilitated by tools like tappers, supports emotional healing within a safe therapeutic setting. In the context of sport performance, this same mechanism can help reduce pre-competition nerves, strengthen mental imagery routines, and improve cognitive-emotional regulation—giving athletes a clearer, more confident mindset before they compete. Because I have personally seen MANY of my athletes benefit from using this technology, I highly recommend that athletes seriously consider purchasing this device. If this is something they are interested in, they can use my affiliate code link here to receive a discount on the tabs! If you have additional questions about the tabs, use the contact form link here to reach out for more information!
Note To Reader:
If you are an athlete reading this segment of the TRAINING REPORT, hopefully this content was helpful! I put the Training Report together because I felt like many of the discussions on issues such as the Yips/mental blocks, strength training & other subject matter on athlete performance concepts were really missing the mark on these ideas (e.g. how trauma is the direct cause of the Yips). If you are interested in learning more, make sure to subscribe below for when I put out new content on issues related to sport psychology & athlete performance! Also, if you are looking to work with a mental performance specialist, you are in the right place! USE THIS LINK to reach out to me to see if my services are the right fit for your goals!
ARE YOU ON THE LIST?
Make sure you’re signed up to Ben’s mailing list to receive news & updates on new strategies in sport psychology, upcoming workshops & products. Don’t wait, sign up now!
Check Out The Previous Training Reports!
