Sports Mental

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Michael Phelps began swimming at age seven at the urging of his mom. As a young boy, Michael was brimming with energy—more energy than most other kids his age—and Mrs. Phelps thought this sport could help keep him calm and focused. As Michael grew older, his skills improved, and he transformed into one of the greatest swimmers in the world, winning twenty-eight Olympic medals.

Few names in college football command respect like Scott Cochran, affectionately known as "Coach Yeah," the 8-time National Championship-winning strength and conditioning coach whose booming voice and relentless energy turned boys into champions at Alabama and Georgia. But behind the rings, ESPN appearances, and hall-of-fame-level hype, Cochran faced an opponent far tougher than any SEC rival: addiction.

In the high-pressure world of sports, female athletes often face a unique set of challenges. The expectations to be tough, competitive & to win, can conflict with the expectations to be feminine, flexible, and to conform to idealized body standards can be overwhelming. These pressures can impact performance, self-esteem, and well-being.

Bob Bourne was everything a son wants to emulate—an NHL All-Star, a Sports Illustrated “Sportsman of the Year,” a Stanley Cup champion. Justin Bourne followed in those huge footsteps, leading his teams in scoring year after year, and finally garnering an invitation to the New York Islanders’ training camp—the same team his father had played for.

Nile Wilson has always been one of life's winners; a charismatic young man with an Olympic bronze medal in the Horizontal Bar at just 21 years old. But after a serious neck injury, forcing him to retire early and miss taking part in the Tokyo Olympics, Nile's world fell apart. Swamped with depression, anxiety and addictive behaviours, his mental health went over a cliff. Over the past few years, Nile has had to face down his demons and accept his new reality, and this is the book he wish he'd been given before it all began.

Elizabeth Clor wanted nothing more than to qualify for the prestigious Boston Marathon. Dead-set on achieving this goal, she found herself bound up in a vicious cycle of perfectionism and anxiety that thwarted her at every turn, despite making significant gains in her physical abilities over seven years. Boston Bound is the story of how Elizabeth discovered that her own brain was the culprit, and explains the steps she took to completely overhaul her mindset about her running and her life.

While other profilers tend to conceal the clear facts behind complex technical language and psychobabble, investigator Pat Brown actually tells it like it is. With the same dark wit that gets people who work with the criminally insane through their workday, Brown speaks frankly about the monsters among us who kill for sport. In Killing for Sport, Brown provides an honest portrayal of the predator-next-door, how he hunts for him victims, why he likes to torture them, where he tends to stash their bodies, and more.

Courage Over Confidence offers a new approach to conquering the mental game of sports. Written for competitive young athletes, as well as professionals and Olympians, it is also a game changer for coaches and parents looking for ways to further help their aspiring athletes. In this book, renowned clinical and sport psychologist Dr. Mitchell Greene explodes one of the field’s most common and malicious myths—that confidence is a prerequisite for athletic success.

Mental training is just as important as physical training when it comes to success in sport. Like physical fitness, mental toughness is something that can be taught and learned. Bring Your "A" Game introduces key strategies for mental training, such as goal-setting, pre-performance routines, confidence building, and imagery. Each of the 17 chapters focuses on a single mental skill and offers key points and exercises designed to reinforce the concepts.

Ever felt nerves jeopardize your performance? Lost focus in a game, or had a mental block at a critical moment? You're not alone. The secret to overcoming these moments? Mental Strength. Perfect for young athletes, parents, and coaches, this book is your ultimate guide to developing the mental toughness that sets champions apart.

Drew Millard loves golf. As a kid, he enjoyed the game, but since college, his clubs had been gathering dust in his parents' basement. And then, a bout with depression led him back home to haul them out of the unfinished storage. It was what the doctor had ordered. In addition to medication and therapy, Drew needed to exercise. Exercise was not something he did. But golf? Sure, why not? As Drew fumbled his way through his first round in years, he discovered that sucking at golf was his new calling, one that helped him find a sense of balance and rhythm—both on the course and in his own mind.

How would you like a fitness and weight-loss plan that's easy to start, fun to do, personal to you, and is guaranteed to give you real fitness results that will change your life forever? What if you could finally achieve long-term weight loss or other fitness goals? What if you could easily implement mindset tricks, small diet tweaks, and quick exercise routines to enhance your whole lifestyle? Imagine making small, simple, positive changes to your lifestyle that will have a huge impact and last forever!

Hope Not Nope powerfully moves you towards a more positive existence by equipping you with the tools to update your mindset and become a modern-day champion. In the title and writing the term “Lifelong Athlete” is utilized to imply hope is cultivated in this identity, but also adds a fresh perspective: Hope is not wishful thinking, it’s learned and earned. The “Lifelong Athlete” identity is not just related to competitive events, it’s living out the values of servant-based leadership to achieve wholeness: Health.

Audrey "Sunshine" Monke, mother of five and camp owner-director, shares nine powerful parenting techniques - inspired by the research-based practices of summer camp - to help kids thrive and families become closer. Research has proven that kids are happier and gain essential social and emotional skills at camp.

A story about the 15 keys that unlock true mental toughness.

In this revelatory and original book, the award-winning author of the acclaimed surf memoir On a Wave illuminates the connection between waves, addiction, and recovery, exploring what surfing can teach us about the powerful undertow of addictive behaviors and the ways to swim free of them.

Want to become more mentally tough? This audiobook will teach you how. Whether you are an athlete, coach, parent, dancer, musician, or any other performer, this book gives you strategies you can start using today that will help enhance your performances and ultimately, your life. Focusing on the five cardinal skills of mental toughness as taught by Dr. Keith Henschen for over 40 years, you will learn the same techniques used by elite athletes and performers around the world.

In The I of the Tiger, retired athlete and sports researcher Kimberly Carducci analyzes the psychology behind forming an athlete identity and its impact on mental health in today’s sports world. With a basis of who we are as athletes, Carducci guides listeners through the toughest moments athletes face along their journey (defeat, injury, retirement), and how to get through them. In this timely audiobook, Carducci demonstrates how ignoring athlete’s emotional struggle in modern competition is a harmful, outdated approach to sport.

Sport Psychology for Beginners is a skill that uses psychological expertise and skills to discuss the optimum performance and well-being of athletes, the developmental and social dimensions of sport activity, and the structural problems associated with sports settings and organisations.

If you're ready to thrive in sports and life, The Balanced Athlete will show you how to train smarter, think stronger, and live better—starting today.