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Thursday, December 13 2018 / Published in General

How Sports Psychology Helps Performance

Margie Sugarman
Photo by Lauri Foster

By Margie Sugarman

Margie Sugarman is a leading board-certified psychotherapist and sports consultant based in New York. Margie’s desire is to enhance performance through the connection between the mind and body, and her current client list includes Olympic, professional and amateur athletes across the country. Her experience employing various therapeutic modalities has helped equestrians win classics, junior medals and grand prix. Do you have a question you want Margie to answer? Send questions to editor@sidelinesnews.com.

I’m looking to up my sports game and improve my performance. I work out, eat healthy foods and practice diligently with my horse and trainer. Someone recently suggested adding a sports psychologist to my team. How can a sports psychologist help me reach my goals?

When we think about an athlete’s physicality, a specific description typically comes to mind: strong, high endurance, lean, muscled and fast. However, physical abilities alone are never enough to achieve notoriety in any sport. The field of sports psychology is based on the concept that mental skills and psychological attributes, along with physical qualities, are the true ingredients for athletic success.

Remaining calm under pressure, analyzing the competitive arena, maintaining motivation to follow the training regime and many other innate skills shape the differences in performance personality and go far beyond muscle mass. To achieve and maintain the gold standard of performance, athletes need to be able to perform at a very high level while under an incredible amount of pressure. This leads us to the question: How much are personality types and athletic success related?

What’s interesting is that studies have shown that, despite popular opinion, no athletic personality type truly exists. An interesting place to begin is by asking, “Is the athlete’s ability innate, or does he/she really need to work at it?”

What we do know is that the research has pinpointed specific personality characteristics in successful athletes as compared to unsuccessful athletes. One of the biggest differences is related to the way we think and the way we respond to the challenges in our chosen sport; in other words, our mental toughness. Mental toughness is either the natural or psychological edge that the athlete develops that helps them cope with the competitive demands of their sport: the focus, confidence and ability to stay in control under pressure.

Upper-level athletes identify critical personality qualities that have to be developed for their mental toughness:

  • Reacting positively to and ultimately loving the pressure of the competitive arena
  • Coping with and adapting to the sudden changes that occur in the competitive arena
  • Positively channeling their anxiety
  • Not being hindered by mistakes and allowing those mistakes to be part of the process
  • Being aware of the negative self-talk statements that might be thought and immediately changing them to positive statements
  • Learning from failure and allowing that failure to be a driving force
  • Knowing how to deal with success

Equestrian sports, and sports in general, are social, mental and physical activities. The same personality traits that make social situations a breeze for some and a chore for others may also have an impact on athletic success. Extroverts feel energized by the clapping and cheering of the crowd, while introverts become progressively drained by the noise around them. Assertive individuals take extreme glory in their victories, but accept defeat with aplomb. Self-conscious perfectionists dread losing so badly that it interferes with their chances of winning.

This is where sports psychologists can intervene and help with changing/enhancing the perspectives of the athlete. Techniques can be taught that add depth to the athlete’s attitude and allow for mind/body changes to occur. The winning combination is then to include the coach so they can tailor their methods to meet the specific needs of the individual athlete. The result is improved athletic performance.

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Tagged under: margie sugarman, Sports Psychology

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Hello April!!! 🌻🌷 This month's edition of Si Hello April!!! 🌻🌷
This month's edition of Sidelines is our eventing edition and it will not disappoint! Of the many things happening this month one of the most exciting things coming up is Sidelines will be at The Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event held in Lexington KY 🤩

This month's issue of Sidelines features the beautiful and talented Liz Halliday-Sharp and her never-give-up attitude!!

Of the many lessons that Elisabeth “Liz” Halliday-Sharp learned from her father, resilience was perhaps the most important. Liz’s innate ability to overcome adversity has served her well in her quest to become one of the top event riders in the world. Through the highs and lows of a career with horses, Liz’s “can do” attitude has helped propel her through both triumph and defeat. 

Liz, who has won more events globally during the past three years than any other rider in her discipline, continues to set records—with her sights set firmly on the 2024 Olympic Games.

This is truly a can't miss article! Read more in the link in our bio! 

Never miss a moment with Sidelines by following all our social media and subscribing to get your own edition of Sidelines, the magazine for horse people about horse people 🦄

📸Portraits by Melissa Fuller

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Sports Psychology column🐎 By Margie Sugarman I Sports Psychology column🐎
By Margie Sugarman

I just bought a new horse. I think he’s amazing, but I miss the feeling of just “clicking” with my old horse. I know that it takes time to grow that connection, but do you have any tips that can help me be confident and in tune with my new horse in the short term?

You kick off your sneakers and realize that there’s a big hole in the sole of one shoe. Well, you’ve had them for quite a while and have worn them everywhere, from hiking to riding. They’ve served you well but it’s time for new ones. (It’s time to move on to a new horse.) You turn on your computer and order a new pair. You wait in anticipation. You’re excited, they’re cool looking. (He’s pretty!)

Upon arrival, you quickly open the box and slip your feet in. They’re great sneakers, but they aren’t as comfortable as the pair they’re replacing. They don’t bend as well—the sole is stiff. They don’t feel as comfortable—they have to be broken in. They don’t fit like the others did—the old ones were so well molded to your feet. (He’s a new ride, a different ride. He needs some suppling work.)

Of utmost importance in the human/horse relationship (especially the ones with the strongest bonds) is the horse looking to their owner as the leader and respecting their personal space. This important dynamic comes from groundwork—no matter what discipline you’re involved in. Just as it is with friendships, there needs to be respect. Respect is developed when one is on the ground and not mounted.

The things you do might seem small, but if done consistently and in a positive way, the results are huge. The confidence and trust you develop between the two of you will carry your relationship to wherever you want it to go.

To read Margies full column click the link in our bio! Never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄

Photo by Ali Kelman

#psychology #mentalhealth #love #therapy #mentalhealthawareness #anxiety #motivation #psychologist #selfcare #mindfulness #selflove #life #mentalhealthmatters  #mindset #wellness #meditation #inspiration #mind #Sidelinesmagazine
Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! W Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.
 
Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.
 
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Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.

Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.

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❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
up as the end of the qualifying period for both the Western European League (WEL) and the 
North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
my column, I’m now looking at the results from Amsterdam. While the list of the top contenders 
for the WEL hasn’t changed, they’re definitely moving around on the ranking list. The WEL has 
three more legs, as they’re referred to: Neumünster February 16–19, Goteborg February 23–26, 
and ’s-Hertogenbosch March 9–12, and they could change things dramatically.
Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
from Germany, three from the Netherlands and one each from Great Britain, Denmark

➡️Read Georges's full column by clicking the link in our bio, and never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄 

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #horselover #instahorse #love #cheval #showjumping #horselife #photography #nature #pferde #horseofinstagram #caballo #riding #horsebackriding #pferdeliebe #caballos #horsepower #horsephotography #instagram #Sidelinesmagazine
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