Malhar Mali

Psychology of Injury

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

Apr 14, 2026

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5 min read

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

Mindfulness for Performance

How mindfulness can improve athletic performance — #13

Apr 6, 2026

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7 min read

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

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

Mar 31, 2026

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7 min read

“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

Leadership and Coaching

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

Mar 24, 2026

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7 min read

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

Motivation

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

Mar 10, 2026

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7 min read

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

Encourage your athletes to avoid basing their self-esteem on results. Performance-based self-esteem has high associations with burnout and physical and emotional exhaustion.

Malhar Mali

Challenge vs Threat Framework

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

Mar 3, 2026

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7 min read

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

How an athlete interprets a pressure situation has strong impacts on their cardiovascular system, attention, and skill execution. Understand what happens in the mind and the body of your athletes.

Malhar Mali

Motivation

Why athletes burnout and leave their sport — #8

Feb 24, 2026

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8 min read

Why athletes burnout and leave their sport — #8

When authority figures use 4 specific types of controlling behaviors, these can thwart the psychological needs of athletes. These behaviors can lead to fear, frustration, and burnout. Learn what to avoid as program directors and coaches and what to emphasize instead with your performers.

Malhar Mali

Psychological Skills Training

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

Feb 17, 2026

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6 min read

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

Olympians who earn medals report using more psychological skills than Olympians who don't earn medals. Learn which ones and how to use this information to help your athletes improve their mental performance.

Malhar Mali

Psychology of Injury

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

Feb 10, 2026

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6 min read

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

Athletes returning from injury struggle with 5 specific concerns. These challenges also negatively impact performance and increase chance of re-injury. Understand how to best help athletes returning from injury.

Malhar Mali

Motor Imagery

Feb 3, 2026

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5 min read

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

Study finds that skilled tennis players are able to improve their serving performance by using imagery and breathing techniques. Findings potentially apply to more sporting skills.

Malhar Mali

Choking

Jan 27, 2026

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5 min read

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

What type of competitive environments are you creating? Are athletes worried about how they appear to each other, coaches, or people in power? This could be increasing their chances of choking.

Malhar Mali

Performance Anxiety

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

Jan 20, 2026

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4 min read

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

Does "pressure" make your athletes play safer? Do they mess up skills that they normally execute with ease in practice?

Malhar Mali

Self-Compassion for Performance

Why some athletes struggle after setbacks and failure—and why others adapt — #2

Jan 13, 2026

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5 min read

Why some athletes struggle after setbacks and failure—and why others adapt — #2

Self-compassion is thought of as "weak" or "feminine" in "macho" performance and sporting cultures. It could actually be the key toward resilience.

Malhar Mali

Mindfulness for Performance

How mindfulness reduced choking susceptibility in a D1 track & field athlete — #1

Jan 6, 2026

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5 min read

How mindfulness reduced choking susceptibility in a D1 track & field athlete — #1

Consistent mindfulness practice helped an athlete achieve a PR. More importantly, he improved his scores in key psychological areas related to choking.

Malhar Mali

Malhar Mali

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

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

Why some athletes struggle after setbacks and failure—and why others adapt — #2

How mindfulness reduced choking susceptibility in a D1 track & field athlete — #1

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