Demystifying Mental Toughness

Welcome to episode #102 of Demystifying Mental Toughness. This is part three of four specially created episodes to celebrate reaching our century! This time the episode is created with soccer and football fanatics in mind where the great guests that have been interviewed on the show to date, and with experiences in soccer or football, go on to share their key take home messages. As you'll note the insights are related to the development of mental toughness. This episode is a must listen for football or soccer coaches, players, parents, sport scientists and those interested in the great game. Relevant Podcast Episodes in Order and Sequence as Relayed in Episode 102 Ep003: Peter Ramage – Developing a Premier League Mindset Ep018: Kieron Brady – From Professional Football to Alcoholism Consultant Ep027: Natalie Henderson – How to Develop Mental Toughness with Young Footballers Ep096: Gary Curneen - Developing Mentally Strong Footballers Ep064: Edu Rubio – How to Support Young Footballers Ep009: Brendan Pearson – Academy Football Professional Football Injuries and Early Retirement Ep049: How Does Sport Psychology in Elite Football Academies Help – James Maurice Ep043: Jamie Forrester – Thriving in Professional Football Ep087: Carl Bell from Professional Football and Goalkeeping to Physiotherapy Ep024: Julian Dowe – Mental Toughness in Professional Football Ep093: Dan Abrahams – How to Overcome Mental Blocks in Football Ep077: Danny Thomas – Before, During and After Professional Football Connect with David Charlton Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Email: info@sport-excellence.co.uk

Welcome to episode #101 of Demystifying Mental Toughness. This is part two of four specially created episodes to celebrate reaching our century! This time the episode is created with golf enthusiasts in mind where the nine first class guests that have been interviewed on the show to date about all things golf and mental toughness share their key take home messages. You'll hear about managing your emotions, getting the most from your practice and a lot more. With the goal helping you or your clients shoot lower scores. Relevant Podcast Episodes in Order and Sequence as Relayed in Episode 101 Ep004: Chris Paisley – Life on the European Tour Ep017: Gio Valiante – How to Play Fearless Golf Ep045: Andy Gorman – Building Confidence in Your Putting Ep099: Trevor Jones - How to Deal with Overthinking on the Golf Course Ep089: Will Shaw - How To Transfer Your Golfing Skills To The Course Ep062: JJ Vallely – Mastering the Mental Side Of Golf Ep068: Andrew Nicholson – How Hard Is It To Become A Tour Professional Golfer? Ep013: Karl Morris – How to Stay Present like a Major Champion Ep009: Andy Paisley - Play Better Golf Under Pressure Connect with David Charlton Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Email: info@sport-excellence.co.uk

Welcome to episode #100 of Demystifying Mental Toughness! One hundred episodes are something that I would like to celebrate because I feel incredibly proud of what I've done with the show. So in this episode, I've collated a large number of take home messages from our guests to date and pieced them together into this episode. There are lots of hugely inspiring messages for you. You're going to hear key takeaways on how to develop your mental toughness, ideas to deal with Covid times, stress, and adversity. Coping with trauma and mental health challenges are also discussed. We also look at health and fitness and share some top tips to help you. Relevant Podcast Episodes in Order and Sequence as Relayed in Episode 100 Ep001: Doug Strycharczyk - The Importance of Mental Toughness Ep028: Peter Clough MBE - Why is Mental Toughness Important? Ep035: Dr John Perry - Thrive, Don't Just Survive 2021 Ep037: Penny Mallory – World Class Thinking, World Class Behaviour Ep002: Steve Judge – How to Deal with Adversity Ep014: Alessia Bruno – The Yips, Crashes, Trauma in Sport there is hope for Athletes Ep065: Dr Amy Izycky – Encouraging Mentally Healthy Cultures in Sport Ep015: Nick Grantham – Essential Elements of Rest and Recovery Ep031 David Jueno – How to Turn Your Life Around and Inspire Others Ep066: Marilyn Okoro – Mental Health and Resilience: Lessons from an Olympic Medalist Ep041: Paul McGee – How to Develop Interpersonal Confidence Ep011: Dave Algeo – Mental Toughness, Mental Health and High Performance Ep075: Grant Phyphers – How to Rebuild Your Identity Ep098: Jon Bartlett - Do You Know Your Why? Ep046: Kate Mackay – Why Snowboarding is a Metaphor for Life Ep092: Dr James Hegarty - ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness Ep022: Robbie Thompson – How to Feel More Confident Ep019: Paul Smith – 5000 Consecutive Days Running and Counting Ep048: Natalie Hurdley – How to Build Mental Toughness through Powerlift Connect with David Charlton Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Email: info@sport-excellence.co.uk

Do you get caught up overthinking when playing golf? Do you suffer from paralysis by analysis? Or maybe you stand overpressure shots and visualise topping the ball, thinning the ball, or even shanking it! If you do, it's OK even the best players in the world think this way every so often! In this episode, Trevor Jones a PGA Professional Golf coach and mental performance coach and I have great chat about this topic and how you can best deal with these challenges. We also touch on Trevor's playing background on the European tour, his coaching philosophy and a shared passion of ours Mindfulness. Enjoy tuning in. Key Learning Points: We don't have to feel comfortable to play good golf. We all experience self-doubt. When Tiger Woods won at Eastlake, in the Tour Championship in 2019 he found the bunker on the 18th hole. The interviewer said, "Is that when you thought you had won?" Tiger said, "No, because I could have bladed the ball out of bounds." Nurturing psychological flexibility is very powerful. Focusing on the next task is a helpful thing to think about when you find yourself getting distracted. Failing is ok, you win or you learn. Connect with Trevor Jones Instagram Performance Psychology Podcast Connect with David Charlton Accelerator Course: Achieving Your Goals Faster Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn To Listen to the Full Podcast Episodes Podcast Ep004: Chris Paisley – Life on the European Tour Podcast Ep013: Karl Morris - How to Stay Present like a Major Champion Podcast Ep017: Gio Valiante - How to Play Fearless Golf Podcast Ep047: David Charlton – Mental Game Tips for Putting Podcast Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness For More Resources so You Can Shoot Lower Scores on The Golf Course Golfers Mental Scorecard Golf Psychology FAQs Golf Blogs Golf Podcasts

Today's episode will help you reflect on how you want to behave moving forwards. My guest Jon Bartlett, who works as a Performance & Program Operations Advisor for the National Basketball Association (NBA) and I go on to discuss his why. He tells me about his background in Premier League and International Football, Australian Rules Football and a lot more, explaining what has shaped his why. Jon also shares some ideas on how you can go about finding your why and how important it is. What You Will Learn In This Episode: Cultures within the countries and how that manifests itself in the people that you work with can shape your Why. Your Why is rooted in your identity and purpose. You why will change over the course of your career and life, it's likely to be situational. Some Great Questions To Ask Yourself: Why do I do …….. on a daily basis. How many hours do I work on …... each week? Why? What are my team, club or organisations values? Are my team, club or organisations values aligned with my own? Connect with Jon Bartlett LinkedIn Twitter Connect with David Charlton Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Relevant Podcast Episodes Podcast Ep035: Dr John Perry - Thrive, Don't Just Survive 2021 Podcast Ep075: Grant Phyphers - How to Rebuild Your Identity Podcast Ep097: David Charlton - What Have You Learned From Last Year? Relevant Blogs and Resources Blog: How to Find Your Why Blog: How To Learn From Last Year Blog: What Did You Learn From Last Year? Motivation for Sport Quiz Blog: Make Better Decisions to Help Your Sport Performance including VALUES LIST

This episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness is going to help you learn from the past year so that you can make 2022 a better year. Included are different exercises and important questions that you can consider and reflect on. Improving your own or supporting your clients or athletes to improve their learning orientation, a part of Mental Toughness, where you look to seek the learning out of situations is the thinking behind the design of the episode. Key Takeaways Why do you do what you do? Look to give yourself a better understanding of how you want to live your life and perform in your sport by thinking about your funeral and passing in more depth. *Please do consider the suitability of this exercise if you are grieving the loss of a loved one. Personal core values can exist at home, at work, in your sport or any area of your life. They should determine your priorities. Look to understand your own core values and any conflicts that are influencing your actions. Connect with David Charlton Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Relevant Podcast Episodes Podcast Ep005: David Charlton - Observations: The Art of Learning Podcast Ep016: David Charlton - Observations: Learning From Your Mistakes Podcast Ep086: David Charlton - Observations: How to Learn from Setbacks Relevant Blogs and Resources Blog: How To Learn From Last Year Blog: What Did You Learn From Last Year? Motivation for Sport Quiz Blog: Make Better Decisions to Help Your Sport Performance including VALUES LIST

Today I'm joined by Gary Curneen a football or soccer coach, an author and a coach educator who shares with me some great nougats of advice for coaches involved in a range of sports. Gary and I go on to chat about his experiences as a football coach and how important the psychological side of the game is, as well as how effective it is used. We chat about the role of video analysis and sport science in producing confident footballers. How you communicate and what and when you say it as a coach were also things we discussed. Key Learning Points: It's a really interesting era for coaches because there's more pressure, more distractions and more information to decipher through. Knowing the individual player is vitally important. Comparing players in a team is not a good way to build confidence. Perfection v effectiveness should be questioned by players and coaches. Connect with Gary Curneen Modern Soccer Coach Website Modern Soccer Coach Podcast Twitter Connect with David Charlton Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn To Listen to Football or Soccer Podcast Episodes Podcast Episode Ep27: Natalie Henderson - How to Develop Mental Toughness with Young Footballers Podcast Episode Ep43: Jamie Forrester - Thriving in Professional Football Podcast Ep49: How Does Sport Psychology in Elite Football Academies Help - James Maurice Podcast Ep51: Peter Ramage, Brendan Pearson and Julian Dowe - Why Talking Matters Podcast Ep64: Edu Rubio - How to Support Young Footballers Other Football or Soccer Resources Psychology in Football or Soccer Blogs Blog 5 Coaching Tips to Develop Mentally Tough Footballers Blog: Does Your Warm Up Influence How You Perform? Blog: How To Overcome Self-Doubt When You're A Goalkeeper Blog: 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment Blog Supporting a Professional Footballer during Challenging Times

If you are an athlete, do you struggle to transfer your skills from training or practice to competitive situations? Or if you're a coach, does your team or athletes fail to express themselves fully when the pressure is on? In this solo podcast episode, I address this hugely common challenge that athletes young and old, amateur and professional have, where I review recent podcast episodes and articles that I've created on the topic and go on to share 10 common reasons why this is the case. You'll also find a range of practical tips and suggestions to challenge your thinking and help you overcome these challenges. 10 Common Reasons Why Athletes Fail to Transfer their Skills from Practice to Competitive Situations: Your practice or training isn't designed to help you feel more confident under pressure. Your practice or training doesn't challenge you enough. You don't mentally prepare for difficulties. You don't have a strategy to stay present. Your mindset towards your warm up sets you up to fail. You fail to learn from past mistakes. You don't have consistent performance or pre-shot routines. Your core values are compromised and negatively influence your actions. You focus or your coaching team focus too much on results or the scoreboard. Your culture is psychologically unsafe, causing fear responses. Connect with David Charlton Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Previous Podcast Episode on Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin Podcast Ep069: David Charlton - David on Being Tough Vs Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin Part 1 Podcast Ep073: David Charlton - David on Being Tough Vs Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin Part 2 Podcast Ep079: David Charlton - David on Being Tough Vs Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin Part 3 Podcast Ep085: David Charlton - David on Being Tough Vs Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin Part 4 Relevant Podcast Episodes Podcast Ep094: Professor Adam Nicholls - How to Develop Mentally Strong Rugby Players Podcast Ep093: Dan Abrahams - How to Overcome Mental Blocks in Football Podcast Ep092: Dr James Hegarty - ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness Podcast Ep091: Jarrod Leathem - How to Transfer Your Cricket Skills to Matches Podcast Ep089: Will Shaw - How To Transfer Your Golfing Skills To The Course Podcast Ep088: Dre Baldwin - How To Play As Well As You Practice Podcast Ep087: Carl Bell 0 From Professional Football and Goalkeeping to Physiotherapy Podcast Ep086: David Charlton - Observations: How to Learn from Setbacks Podcast Ep004: Chris Paisley - Life on the European Tour Relevant Blogs and Resources Blog: How To Play Well When You Aren't Feeling Great Blog: 5 Coaching Tips to Develop Mentally Tough Footballers Blog: Using ACT and Mindfulness to Improve Your Sporting Performances Blog: Mental Preparation for Combat Sports Blog: Mental Toughness is a Hugely Valuable Trait Blog: Does Your Warm Up Influence How You Perform? Blog: Make Better Decisions to Help Your Sport Performance Gibbs Reflective Cycle

In this episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness, I'm joined by Professor Adam Nicholls where our conversation is mostly based around the sport of Rugby, though there are crossovers into other sports. We discuss how do you define Mental Toughness in rugby terms, coping with stressors and pressure in professional rugby and at a youth level. How coaches can best help players to develop their mental toughness at different stages as well as a lot more. Enjoy tuning in! Key Learning Points: Mental Toughness is about a rugby player's ability to be able to perform well under pressure. Training can be stressful for some players because they may be fighting for their place within the team. Stress is more amplified on match day, and that's when those who are mentally tough will more likely to shine. In a study we found experienced athletes were more mentally tough, indicating that that experience is really important in the development of the trait. One way for coaches to help develop mental toughness with their players is through exposing them to increased stress with effective support on hand. Self awareness is really important to be able to make good decisions, especially under pressure. Individual differences and personality preferences have to be taken into account by coaches. Consistent pre-shot routines are a critical element to trusting your skills under pressure. Connect with Adam Nicholls Book: Psychology in Sports Coaches: Theory and Practice LinkedIn Email Connect with David Charlton Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn To Listen to Rugby Related Podcast Episodes Podcast Ep07: Toby Flood - How Elite Athletes Mentally Prepare Podcast Ep21: Steve Hackney – How to Reach Your Full Potential Podcast Ep29: Lome Faatau – How to Play Professional Rugby with Confidence Podcast Ep038: Taz Bricknell - Playing Professional Women's Rugby Podcast Ep039: John Fletcher – How to Develop Fearless Athletes Helpful Rugby Orientated Resources Rugby Blogs Rugby Podcasts

Today I chat with leading Sport Psychologist Dan Abrahams about the mental blocks that footballers present that can go on to influence why they struggle to replicate their form from the training pitch to match days. Despite our conversation in the main, being football related it does crossover to other sports where we touch on performance anxiety, Dan's approach to the use of mental skills and how as Sports Psychologists we can educate coaches on the importance of psychological and social factors as well as a whole lot more. Enjoy listening! Key Learning Points: When it comes to game day, footballers are going to experience a higher volume of anxiety than when they train. Some players will experience anxiety, doubt, worry or fear as a consequence and possibly a drop in confidence. Some players will become easily distracted and when they play they'll be inhibited. Other players will see a drop off in intensity levels. Players need a mental skills framework to deal with these challenges. Dan talks to players about having a match day script, about squashing ANTS, using controllers, raising bars and a high performance mindset. The story or narrative a player tells themself is very important going into a game. A key message for coaches is that a task and mastery focus should take precedent over ego or outcome and performance factors that are out of a player's control. Connect with Dan Abrahams Website LinkedIn Twitter Connect with David Charlton Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn To Listen to Football or Soccer Podcast Episodes Podcast Episode Ep27: Natalie Henderson - How to Develop Mental Toughness with Young Footballers Podcast Episode Ep43: Jamie Forrester - Thriving in Professional Football Podcast Ep49: How Does Sport Psychology in Elite Football Academies Help - James Maurice Podcast Ep51: Peter Ramage, Brendan Pearson and Julian Dowe - Why Talking Matters Podcast Ep64: Edu Rubio - How to Support Young Footballers Other Football or Soccer Resources Psychology in Football or Soccer Blogs Blog: Does Your Warm Up Influence How You Perform? Blog: How To Overcome Self-Doubt When You're A Goalkeeper Blog: 7 Tips on Taking Penalty Kicks Under Pressure Blog: 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment