The Performance Psychology Brief | The Performance Psychology Brief

Psychology of Injury

Why do some athletes keep getting injured? Despite doing all the physical rehab? — #14

Risk of injury is not purely physical, and psychological interventions can reduce risk of injury in athletes. Use sport and performance psychology to reduce the likelihood that your athletes get injured and to reduce the amount of time that they stay injured.

Malhar Mali

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Apr 14, 2026

Mindfulness for Performance

How mindfulness can improve athletic performance — #13

Mindfulness helps athletes improve their attention, how they manage challenges, and better regulate their physiological arousal. It is not Eastern "woo-woo."

Malhar Mali

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Apr 6, 2026

“We need to win this,” is bad coaching (according to research) — #12

Teach your athletes the difference between outcome, performance, and process goals. A meta-analysis and systematic review shows that process goals are the most effective at improving performance.

Malhar Mali

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Mar 31, 2026

Leadership and Coaching

Results-focused coaching tends to increase anxiety in athletes — #11

Coaches should emphasize mastery and improvement over purely results. They should also be careful with how they interact with their athletes making mistakes. These changes can reduce performance anxiety as the season progresses.

Malhar Mali

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Mar 24, 2026

Latest

Motivation

Athletes whose self-worth depends on results face higher risk of burnout — #10

Malhar Mali

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Mar 10, 2026

Challenge vs Threat Framework

Athletes who viewed pressure situations as a challenge outperformed those who viewed it as a threat — #9

Malhar Mali

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Mar 3, 2026

Motivation

Why athletes burnout and leave their sport — #8

Malhar Mali

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Feb 24, 2026

Psychological Skills Training

Which mental skills separate Olympians who earn medals from those who don’t? — #7

Malhar Mali

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Feb 17, 2026

Psychology of Injury

Being medically cleared does not mean psychologically ready to perform — #6

Malhar Mali

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Feb 10, 2026

Motor Imagery

Combining motor imagery and breathing improves tennis serve performance — #5

Malhar Mali

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Feb 3, 2026

Choking

Choking may be driven by social anxiety and self-presentation concerns — #4

Malhar Mali

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Jan 27, 2026

Performance Anxiety

Review: anxiety not only impacts attention—but also alters threat perception and motor skill execution — #3

Malhar Mali

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Jan 20, 2026

Turn sport & performance psychology research into smarter performance decisions for your teams and athletes

Why do some athletes keep getting injured? Despite doing all the physical rehab? — #14

How mindfulness can improve athletic performance — #13

“We need to win this,” is bad coaching (according to research) — #12

Results-focused coaching tends to increase anxiety in athletes — #11

Latest

Athletes whose self-worth depends on results face higher risk of burnout — #10

Athletes who viewed pressure situations as a challenge outperformed those who viewed it as a threat — #9

Why athletes burnout and leave their sport — #8

Which mental skills separate Olympians who earn medals from those who don’t? — #7

Being medically cleared does not mean psychologically ready to perform — #6

Combining motor imagery and breathing improves tennis serve performance — #5

Choking may be driven by social anxiety and self-presentation concerns — #4

Review: anxiety not only impacts attention—but also alters threat perception and motor skill execution — #3

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