Females: Why Performance Psychology?

For those who know me, they will know that I am very passionate about the mental side of performance, and also how this can be applied in different aspects of life. I believe that the  mental side of the game is something that we don’t train as much as any other  aspects. 10,000 hours to become an expert, however, how many hours of that are  mental skills training? How often do we hear elite athletes talking about the
mental aspects of the game to make them either perform successfully or crumble under pressure? 

If you listen to athletes competing in the  Olympics, Wimbledon etc, they will mention the things like “effort, dealing with pressure, motivation”, but how often do we actually consciously train those things?  When I teach performance  psychology skills, I aim to give athletes strategies to help them improve  performance but also self-awareness, skills to self-evaluate and build confidence. Mental preparation is vital success, and I think sometimes the stigma attached to “psychology” stops people seeking help to be ready in the mind. I believe you can have all the skills and talent in the world, but if you  are unable to manage the psychological demands of performance, then their skills and talents will suffer. For example, a performer who suffers extreme anxiety may not be able to reach peak performance due to the strain on their body from being constantly stressed. Therefore, the role of performance psychology is to assist this person in dealing with anxiety. 
 
Are there differences between male and female athletes?
I believe so. According to research, women are more likely to attribute their success in sport to effort or luck, e.g. “I  tried hard; I put in the effort; I was just lucky on the day!” Whereas men are  more likely to attribute success to their talents, “I am talented, I won because  I am good!”  How can we teach women  to be more confident about their ability. A study completed in the USA asked men and women to predict their exam results. Women predicted grades lower than they received, whereas men overestimated and said they would do better than they actually did. 

What can we do to make women more confident? 
First of all, by motivating females to stay in sport could be beneficial to overall confidence and self esteem. 

According to the Women’s Sport Foundation: 
 High school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved  in an unintended pregnancy; more likely to get better grades in school and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports.Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression. 
 
Girls and women who play sports have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports. 

“Girls lose confidence, so they quit competing in sports, thereby depriving themselves of one of the best ways to  regain it.”(Confidence Gap, 2014)

 Whilst continued involvement in sport has significant benefits to females confidence, I think by teaching women to be  proud of their talents and their participation in sport we can further increase confidence.  Just like learning how to catch a ball, or develop skills in sport, mental skills take time and  training. To build confidence is a journey, and there will be situations in  which an athlete’s confidence is high and others in which it is low, but how can  we get athletes to have high confidence in more situations? 
 
I believe that it is important to teach females to be proud of being different, and being proud of who they are. In many  cases, I feel like sports define athletes, and their self confidence is based on results or sports performance. My favourite quote is “sport is something you do,  not who you are!”. It is important we make females aware of their positive  personality traits, and not just have their self esteem built upon the things
they are good at. Emphasising uniqueness, and be the best person you can be.  Can we teach that it is okay
to be different? And that in fact, more successful athletes are those who aren’t afraid to be different? To be brave and be the one to stay later at training, to  skip parties, to choose healthy foods when friends aren’t. Can we teach that  being different is something you should be proud of and be confident about? To have the confidence to be different?


Lastly, the reason I love my job helping  athletes in gaining psychological skills is because when we can instil
  confidence in young people and empower them to be “their own coach”, it is the most rewarding feeling to see them progress, not just in their sport but in  their self acceptance. For me, this is the most rewarding part of my job. Even  the smallest of changes, can bring around the biggest results, and that is why I love helping people to be more confident and gain psychological skills to  help them in life and competition. 

I am running a series of workshops as part of the Festival of Sport in September.
Culture of Club: Creating a Female-Friendly Climate
It is important to understand the impact a club environment and climate can have on female coaches, female club leaders, female participants and those  females outwith the club itself. This workshop will identify what makes a female  – friendly climate and look at how the characteristics of different team and  individual sports can, in turn, meet athletes’ needs and demands by working with  coaches to develop young athletes.  In order to maintain and increase females  within our clubs at all levels, we must be able to create an optimal environment  in which all females thrive upon and develop.  

Club personnel and Coaches can expect to leave the workshop with the ability  to:
 Identify ways to increase female participation.  
 Create a sporting culture where females feel confident and valued.
  Identify key principles in promoting a female friendly environment. 

Female Coaching: Challenges and Solutions 

By the end of this workshop, you will have an understanding of the following:
 The challenges faced as a female coach e.g. confidence, communication, stress
 Sport and gender differences for coach consideration.
 Solutions and  strategies to overcome challenges. 

This workshop offers an interactive opportunity to share good coaching practice, and gain ideas that can be implemented in a coaching capacity.  

Understanding the Mental Barriers of Female Coaches
Coaches can expect to leave the workshop with knowledge of: 
 Factors and common problems that female coaches may face. 
 Simple guidance on how to overcome the barriers.  
 Why, what, when and how coaches can become more self aware. 

This workshop offers an interactive opportunity to share good coaching  practice, and develop ways to become more self awareness, and reflective as  coaches. 

Coaching Young Females – The Mental Tools 

This workshop will provide ideas for managing potential psychological issues
that may arise when coaching young female athletes. 
Coaches can expect to leave the workshop with the knowledge and understanding of: 
 The psychological differences between males and females and the  implications for coaches. 
 Basic psychological principles which are key for peak mental performance. 
 Understanding ways to implement mental skills training within the coaching  field. 

An important aim of the workshop is to provide an opportunity for exchange of  ideas based on both the attendees’ and the presenters’ experiences.

Feel free to sign up: