Sport Psychology Essentials

Achieve the mindset of a superior athlete with Sport Psychology Essentials! This book is packed with research-based strategies for developing the mental skills necessary to reach your sport performance goals. Coeditor Dave Collins, PhD, is an expert sport psychology practitioner who has been a consultant to more than 80 world-class athletes or Olympic medalists as well as professional teams and performers. Coeditor Andrew Cruickshank, PhD, has also consulted with multiple elite teams and athletes, including world-class athletes and Olympic and Paralympic medalists. The coeditors’ blended approach emphasizes the importance of integrating mental skills training into a holistic training approach to achieve competition-day success.

Sport Psychology Essentials will teach you to do the following:

• Practice your mental skills during physical training so you are prepared to bring an elite athlete mindset to the arena.
• Assess your athlete’s or team’s mental skills.
• Use advanced sport psychology techniques that fit your unique personality and lifestyle to improve motivation, confidence, imagery, self-regulation, and concentration.
• Enhance the performance potential of your team through leadership, team culture, and shared mental models.
• Implement plans for optimal team and individual performance using program development, motor skills training, talent development, and strategies to persevere through slumps and adversity.

Success Story sidebars reveal how real-life teams, athletes, and coaches have succeeded in using proven mental training techniques. Learn foundational sport psychology concepts by exploring the scientific background behind mental strategies in athletic performance. Sport Psychology Essentials will help you unlock your sport performance potential and stay ahead of the competition.

Dave Collins, PhD, earned a doctorate in psychology from the University of Surrey in 1990. He is currently the director of Grey Matters UK, a performance-focused company that offers applied consultancy services in sport, business, performing arts, and more. He is also a professor at Edinburgh University, an institution ranked in the world’s top 20 by QS World University Rankings. Dr. Collins has written over 350 peer-reviewed publications and has authored or contributed to 80 books. His research interests include performer and coach development, expertise, and peak performance. As a practitioner, Dr. Collins has worked with more than 70 world-class athletes or Olympic medalists as well as professional athletic teams and performers. He is the director of the Rugby Coaches Association and is a fellow of the Society of Martial Arts, a fellow of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES), and an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society. Dr. Collins is a former Royal Marine and a fifth-degree dan in karate.

Andrew Cruickshank, PhD, earned a doctorate in sport psychology from the University of Central Lancashire in 2013. He has led or contributed to more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and book projects, all with direct relevance to elite performance. He is a former professional footballer who now works with Grey Matters UK as a senior performance psychologist. Within his applied activities, Dr. Cruickshank is currently working with performance directors, coaches, support staff, and athletes in international golf; Olympic, Paralympic, and national judo; and professional rugby. Previous consultancies have included work in a range of other elite-level sports, including soccer, cycling, motor sports, and hockey, as well as other performance domains, including business and policing. Dr. Cruickshank is also a qualified coach and an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society, and he supervises psychologists working toward professional accreditation.