MindFullSports: A Sports Psychology Podcast

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://mindfullsports.wordpress.com/2021/02/10/beyond-the-physical-injury-blog-2/

We all use self talk in some form or fashion. This is especially true for athletes. They are seen muttering to themselves after plays, analyzing what they did wrong, or even trying to hype themselves for a big game or play. What exactly is self talk and does it really help?
In this episode, we look at three published studies from the Journal of Applied Sports Psychology (all cited below) that look into self talk. Will we find that self talk helps? Can we utilize negative self talk to our advantage? We will even see a comparison of self talk to other ways that athlete's attempt to improve performance such as the utilization of caffeine or the mysticism of that lucky article of clothing.
Studies Cited:
Cooper, K. B., Wilson, M. R., & Jones, M. I. (2020). Fast talkers? Investigating the influence of self-talk on mental toughness and finish times in 800-meter runners. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(5), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2020.1735574
DeWolfe, C. E. J., Scott, D., & Seaman, K. A. (2020). Embrace the challenge: Acknowledging a challenge following negative Self-Talk improves performance. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(5), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2020.1795951
Wolch, N. J., Arthur-Cameselle, J. N., Keeler, L. A., & Suprak, D. N. (2020). The effects of a brief mindfulness intervention on basketball free-throw shooting performance under pressure. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(5), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2020.1720044

And we are back!!! In today's episode, we talk about momentum swings in games and how they can impact our mental performance.
The Las Vegas Raiders hosted the Baltimore Ravens on September 13, 2021 for Monday Night Football. After a long and hard fought game, we enter the discussion in overtime as the Raiders completed what was initially believed to be a game-winning touchdown pass.
The sequences that followed after had a definitive and clear effect on the mental performance of the athletes on the field.
Momentum plays a massive role in sports. But it also robs us of our cognitive focus if we do not have the ability to process the emotions and not allow them to take over our mental state.
Segment Breakdown:
1. We layout what the moment was and set the scene.
2. Why momentum is important and the impact it has.
3. How the direction of momentum swing effects its impact.

On the heels of the Naomi Osaka episode, a question is raised. What is the difference between sports psychologists and a psychologist who does therapy? In this episode we answer that question and what can be done to help athletes.

There are 2 main ways to change our mindset. We can either try to break old habits or create new habits.