Eli is a sport psychology consultant and mental game coach who works 1-1 with athletes to help them improve their mental skills and overcome any mental barriers keeping them from performing their best.
He has an M.S. in psychology and his mission is to help athletes and performers reach their goals through the use of sport psychology & mental training.
Three Elements of a Strong Mental Game
Anticipating and Managing Challenges During Competition
Why You Play Well One Day but Not the Next
How to Use Self-Talk During Games
Develop a Better Attitude in Sports
What to Do If You’re Not Doing Well in Practice
Sports Psychology Articles
Three Elements of a Strong Mental Game
Quick Summary:
- The three key elements of a strong mindset: knowing your ideal mindset, creating it, and managing what can pull you out of it.
- Reflect on past great performances to identify the mindset that helps you play your best.
- Use preparation techniques like visualization, mindfulness, and self-talk to build that mindset before competition.
- Anticipate challenges such as mistakes or distractions and plan reset strategies to stay focused.
- Apply these three steps consistently to compete with confidence, calm, and mental toughness.
Anticipating and Managing Challenges During Competition
Quick Summary:
- Strong mental performance comes from anticipating and preparing for challenges before they happen.
- Identify both mental (negative thoughts, frustration, loss of confidence) and physical (off days, bad conditions) challenges you’re likely to face.
- Create resetting strategies — like deep breaths, self-talk, or reframing — to refocus when distractions or setbacks occur.
- This type of preparation builds confidence and consistency, helping you perform freely even when things go wrong.
- Don’t hope for perfection — plan for imperfection so you can stay composed, focused, and mentally tough in competition.
Why You Play Well One Day but Not the Next
Quick Summary:
- Inconsistency often stems from changes in your mental state, not physical skill.
- Good performances come from staying focused, positive, and process-oriented.
- Bad days usually involve self-criticism, outcome thinking, and distraction by others.
- Identify key differences between your good and bad days to find controllable factors.
- Create 2–3 simple mental objectives to build consistent confidence and focus.
How to Use Self-Talk During Games
Quick Summary:
- Self-talk is the internal dialogue that shapes your mindset and performance as an athlete.
- During competition, use self-talk strategically—not constantly—to stay present and confident.
- Replace negative thoughts with positive, productive ones to improve focus and emotional control.
- Use self-talk to: Refocus on your process when you drift toward outcome thinking. Push through pain and fatigue in endurance sports. Recover quickly after mistakes by learning and moving forward.
- The goal isn’t to think more—it’s to make your thoughts helpful when they appear.
Develop a Better Attitude in Sports
Why is attitude so important to you as an athlete? Why is it that when your attitude gets bad, you underperform—but when you keep a
What to Do If You’re Not Doing Well in Practice
If you’re not doing well in practice right now, there are a few questions that you can ask yourself. Now, I talk a lot about
Master Your Mental Game With One-On-One Coaching
Get one-on-one mental performance coaching to help break through mental barriers and become the athlete you’re meant to be!