The nature versus nurture debate is still an ongoing debate concerning athletic expertise. As I have written before I believe athletes are made rather than born. My view thus leans more towards nurture than nature and from what I’ve been reading lately scientists are holding such a view more and more too. This view is also […]
The nature vs. nurture debate is one that has divided sports fans for years. How are world-class athletes created? Are innate characteristics passed down the generations, through DNA encoded within genes — a fixed mindset? Or is practice, opportunity and an attitude to persevere, the recipe for success — a growth mindset? Individuals who hold […]
The term ‘mental toughness’ is probably the most used psychological term used by pundits, writers, journalists, coaches and athletes alike. Yet the definition of the term is probably the most contested theory in sport psychology. As for myself, I feel that the term ‘resilience’ best articulates the underlying characteristics great teams and individuals possess to […]
You begin your journey from the pavilion to the middle. Maybe you’re a club cricketer, you’ve been waiting all week to play your favourite sport, been standing in the field all afternoon watching the bowlers do their thing, waiting for the opportunity to do yours. Maybe you’re an international cricketer, you’re playing in a test […]
During the last two decades, advancements in technology have allowed music to grow into being an effective intervention to achieve a range of desirable psychological and performance effects among athletes. Lead researcher in the field of music in sport and exercise, Dr Costas Karageorghis has primarily explored the psychological, psychophysical, psychophysiological, and ergogenic effects of […]
We’ve all seen or heard of elite sports people performing ritual movements before competitions, from a 100m runner blessing themselves before a race, to a footballer with his lucky pants or the Golfer with his favourite putter. From the outside looking in it may seem odd and strange; however in all sports, superstitions and rituals […]
Why is it that some player’s who are labeled as being “less talented” become more successful than their “more talented” peers? This question has frustrated many coaches over the years, and Carol Dweck a professor from Stanford University, believes the answer is down to mindset. Dweck has extensively examined mindset, and argues that there are two […]