Mastering the Mental Game

The mental approach to sports matters just as much if not more than the physical approach. The very best professional athletes have mastered not just the rhythms of the game, but also the way that their mind ticks.

In their primes, NBA legends such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant possessed nearly perfect jump shots and elite defensive skills. However, what truly elevated these players above the competition was their unbeatable determination to win at all costs. This disposition, which values success above kindness or sympathy, can rub plenty of people the wrong way. Of course, Jordan and Bryant never cared. They look at their rings and sleep just fine.

Young athletes don’t need to mirror the cocky grit of Jordan or Bryant, but it is important that they understand the mental variables of sports. Coaches have the responsibility of teaching these youngsters about all aspects of a game, not just the touchdown pass or the wrist shot. Team websites can be a great place to talk openly about the psychology of sports.

Red Sox establish new mental health program

​There were times last year when Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr., two young players in the Boston Red Sox organization, struggled to make the transition from the minor leagues to the majors. According to the Boston Globe, mental variables might have had something to do with that.

In response, the team has set up a department of behavioral health. Dr. Richard Ginsburg, co-director of the PACES Institute of Sports Psychology at Massachusetts General Hospital, will run the department.

“A player’s overall behavior in his daily practices, his environment, where he’s coming from in the morning, what he’s putting into his body, all these things go into a player’s overall health,” Ben Cherington, general manager for the Red Sox, told the news outlet. “We’re really just trying to help players be as healthy as they possibly can be, physically and mentally.”

Andy Murray works with sports psychologist

Andy Murray, the hugely successful tennis player from Scotland, has begun talking to a sports psychologist. And while he formerly opposed the concept, he has since found a way to make it work.

“I think when it comes to psychology it has to be something that the player wants and the player buys into,” Murray told the news outlet. “When it’s someone else’s suggestion, in the past, I haven’t felt like it’s worked. But just now I think it’s working well.”