The Mental Athlete

Improved mental ability means improved sports performance. Athletes who excel do so not just because of their physical abilities but because of their mental awareness, preparation, and skills as well. The Mental Athlete will help improve your overall performance by providing the tools, guidance, and practical insight you need to sharpen your mental skills. This conditioning manual for the mind will help you •further enhance mental strengths and address weaknesses through effective self-assessments, •increase confidence in personal abilities and avoid the fear of failure, •heighten awareness of inner-thought processes and learn ways to improve them, and •be free of inhibitions to initiate action and to respond intuitively and positively to challenges. No matter what sport you play and at what level you play, you will find this practical, reader-friendly book useful because it not only lets you know what you need to do to improve your mental abilities, but it also shows you how to improve them. It contains exercises, tests, and worksheets that help you move through the steps of mental achievement. In addition, The Mental Athlete contains the following features: •Sections that cover specific sports and issues •Sport-specific visualizations for football, soccer, volleyball, and many other sports •Information on issues such as team building; recovering from injuries; and letting go of mistakes, losses, anger, and fear Take full advantage of your physical skills by fully developing your mental skills—the aim of The Mental Athlete! Contents Chapter 1 Essentials for Effective Mental Training Chapter 2 Developing Mental Training Skills Chapter 3 Gauging Your Mental Aptitude Chapter 4 Taking Steps Toward Positive Thinking Chapter 5 Preparing Your Mind and Body for Mental Training Chapter 6 Unleashing the Power of the Mind Chapter 7 Optimizing Your Performance Chapter 8 Troubleshooting Performance Blocks Chapter 9 Mental Training for Specific Needs Chapter 10 Mental Training for Life