Are we in this for the long haul? Or are we looking for a quick fix? Mental Game Training takes time and commitment.

Quick vs. Long term Mental Training programs

Recently there has been some discussion on mental training programs among some of us that are practitioners of the dark arts. (You will need to read my book to get the inside joke, as I often refer to my transition from wanting to be a college coach to being persuaded by my mentors to come over to the dark side (Academia and sport psych).

Much of the discussion has been about quick fixes vs. long-term results. Too many people, not just athletes are looking for instant gratification and instant results. When I work with athletes I am helping them get long-term results, but quickly.  No this is not an oxymoron. It is simply that in traditional psychotherapy progress takes place over the long haul. Sport Psychology and mental skills training are not traditional psychotherapy, so I believe we must look at our area a bit differently. Sport Psych is an educational process that uses psychological research, philosophy and technique to help athletes learn to perform at a higher level. It is a process and contrary to some beliefs, magic is not involved.

I am making this point because while I do believe helping athletes is a process, I also believe it is an accelerated one. Think of it from the perspective of the professional athlete. If they are not performing to their own or the management’s expectations, very shortly they are going to be looking for a new job. So mental training needs to have an effect rather quickly or the athlete might not need our services, as unemployed athletes may not need services of this nature. There is not much difference if we consider youth players trying to make the team they want to play on or the adult golfer that would just want to break 85 to make them a more popular business partner on the golf course.

Now I have helped many athletes get past issues in single sessions. I recently worked with a gymnast that could not release from the uneven bars. It took me just 10 minutes to help her with that. She was off and competing at the state level the next day. We spent another 5 weeks making sure that her mental skills were where they needed to be for her journey to Nationals after that. My point is that we can get some instant results, but in order to maintain and yes perform at a higher level, work must be done over a longer period of time. I offer programs in six session packages because that is economically viable for most of my clients. I also offer year programs. The only time I see someone on a single session is to make sure that we are the right fit for each other.

Another reason I work with athletes for longer time periods is because it is easy to give lip service to mental training, but it requires commitment and conviction to make it work for you. Everyone buys into the fact that a huge part of performance at every level is mental, but commitment to following a plan is hard. Go back and re read my “Follow the Coin” offerings. And that is a seven-day test.  Skill improvement takes time and it takes time to see real long-term results.

I’ve often used an analogy to explain resistance to sport psychology by comparing it to physical training with a personal trainer. You use a personal trainer. To make it simple they give you a 10 pound dumbbell and tell you to do 3 sets of 10 twice a week (bicep curls) for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks they hand you a 15 pound dumbbell. Wow you just got stronger. Real results in a relatively short space of time. You see others doing it and they are getting stronger and fitter. Easy!

Now you work with a sport psychology consultant like me. I give you an exercise to practice for the next two weeks (metal exercise). During the week that follows, you notice you are starting to play better. But because you can’t draw a line connecting the dots, your improvement is more difficult to rationalize.

One thing I find interesting is that when you stop doing bicep curls you will shortly get weaker again. Depending on the mental exercise you were being taught, if it had the impact we were looking for, your performance will likely continue in the direction you wanted it to go, given that you stayed with the training long enough for it to have an impact.  Very subtle difference I think you will find. Let’s say it was getting over a small fear. Once you have gotten past that, you are unlikely to head back in that direction.

Another thing with mental training programs to be effective they have more components than one on one consulting sessions. Sometimes there are sessions at practice. Sometimes there are sessions at competitions. There will always be homework exercises to work on until the new mental skills become habituated and the athletes thought processes have improved.

One other benefit of this type of program is accountability. With your coach you are held accountable for what you do during competition and practice. Coaches rarely are in a position to really monitor or focus on an athlete’s mental training and so for the time that an athlete is in a mental training program they are held accountable. This is very important because it reinforces the importance to the athlete to be ever vigilant that they are focused on their mental skills, as well as their physical improvement. In the end this can have a great impact on the athlete’s entire career.

This is some text prior to the author information. You can change this text from the admin section of WP-Gravatar  Mike Margolies: Sport Psychology Consultants ; TheMental-Game.com Mike Margolies is a Sport Psychology Consultant, Certified Mental Trainer® (CMT), Author, and Professional Speaker. When you want to be the best that you can be and the one thing you might be missing is the right mental game - what can you do? Well, athletes from all over the country have been seeking out Mike Margolies for over three decades to help them reach their potential. His clients include professional, elite, colligate and youth athletes in every sport. They have sought his counsel and unique teaching style to learn about the game within the game, or what mental training can do to help them become the athlete they want to be. He has trained professional and elite athletes and helped guide many to world championships and even the Super Bowl. Mike has trained more than 2000+ athletes. He has taught at four Universities and completed research at the United States Olympic Training Center. His new book is called The Athlete within You- A Mental Approach to Sports and Business. He currently works with individual athletes, teams and businesses around the world, both in person and via SKYPE. Mike is based out of the Pacific Northwest. Let him encourage you to play the game within the game. The Athlete within You is waiting to come out play. Learn the rules to the mental game to help realize your potential. Read more from this author