Ep 28. How Can Coaches Alleviate Performance Anxiety in Sports? Ft. Sean Poitras

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Is choking in sports a real thing? Can athletes burn out? Do athletes face performance anxiety? If you are a coach and you've seen these affect your players, how can we help them? Many coaches do not have training in sports psychology, and find it difficult to help our athletes face their mental challenges. So what can coaches do?

Today I bring on my colleague and office mate Sean Poitras! Sean is a Social Science teacher at Appleby College and coaches the Varsity Boys Hockey team and Soccer team. Sean has dedicated his life and career to the study of psychology. He received his Bachelors degree in Sports and Exercise Psychology at Laurentian University and went on to receive his Masters of Education in Athletic Counselling Psychology from Springfield College. He also served as an adjunct professor at Sheridan College various psychology courses, and worked as a consultant  for several firms as a sports psychologist. He was also a previous owners of his own private practice called Focus North Performance a sports psychology consulting firm.

Today I chat with Sean about:

1. What does a sports psychologist do? What value can they bring to a team?
2. Performance Anxiety/"Choking": What does the research say? How can athletes overcome this? How can coaches help our athletes? 
3. Mindfulness: How can coaches incorporate mindfulness into their practices? What are the benefits of mindfulness? 

This is a two part episode! Next week we talk about the mental toll rehab takes on athletes, and discuss. the importance of team dynamics. What does research say about game performance versus team cohesion? Plus much more!

LinkedIn: Sean Poitras
Instagram: FocusnPerform

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