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This Ted talk is done by Martin Hagger, a well known professor and sports psychologist. He speaks about a few different examples of how an athlete's mentality can make or break their game, and also how their mind may help them achieve in everyday life as well.

- An athlete's mentality can also help them in real life, with negative thoughts from losing

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Sport psychology - inside the mind of champion athletes: Martin Hagger at TEDxPerth

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Sports Psychologist Analyzes the Mentality Behind A Few Historical Athletic Losses

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Sports Psychologist Analyzes the Mentality Behind A Few Historical Athletic Losses

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Sports psychologist breaks down points shown on the docuseries "Losers", which dives into the athletes behind some of sports history's greatest losses

-Interestingly, aspects of life outside of sports can affect sports just as much as sports influence life, with happy marriages and life skills being an important part of many athlete's success stories, showing just how effective a positive and strong mentality is when participating in sports, and by extension, life.

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Heavyweight boxer Michael Bentt. French competitive figure skater Surya Bonaly. Golfer Jean van de Velde. Marathoner Mauro Prosperi.

" Losers," a new eight-part Netflix original docuseries, gives viewers access to athletes behind some of the world's most well-publicized sports defeats and the surprisingly sweet life lessons they found in failure.

We asked Brad Donohue - a UNLV clinical psychologist who specializes in sports psychology and a former competitive boxer himself - to watch the series and offer his perspective on one of the series' recurring themes: The importance of mental wellness for athletes before ever competing, and its role in navigating the range of emotions they felt after their loss and the public fallout.

Donohue is the creator of The Optimum Performance Program in Sports ( TOPPS), which blends traditional mental health services with sport culture and customized performance coaching - essentially meeting athletes where they are to develop ways to enhance both mental wellness and performance. Through a partnership with UNLV Athletics, the program conducted the first National Institutes of Health-funded mental health study involving college athletes. And the TOPPS mission is growing. Donohue and his students continue to work closely with partners across the region and internationally.

The documentary claims we live in a "winner-take-all society where losing is laughed off, dismissed, and shamed." What are your thoughts on society's view of loss and the pressures today's athletes feel to win?

I think there is some truth to that statement: Negative public reactions to big athletic losses have been around since the beginning of sport. However, I think most of our society reacts to losing most of the time in a civil manner and wouldn't find laughing, dismissing, and shaming an athlete for losing as acceptable behavior.

The hurtful part of criticism now as compared to the past is perhaps that the internet and media have made it increasingly possible for fans to know more about athletes, so their criticism is often more personal. Kids are also entering sport much younger, when it's developmentally hard for them to manage criticism, and most athletes are now focusing on one sport in order to be competitive. Therefore, fewer options are available if they have a physical injury or become bored or frustrated with their sport. Having fewer options intensifies the sting of criticism.

Several "Losers" interviewees cite the importance of mental fortitude in helping them turn the agony of defeat into triumph. Why is mental wellness important for athletes?

One of the advantages of sport participation is that it speeds up the learning process in life by routinely creating pressure situations that provide opportunities to develop focused, objective thinking that has a positive bent. These are optimum thinking patterns that generalize from sport settings to real-world scenarios, like taking a math test in school or managing an upset co-worker. The intensity of sport also creates opportunities for athletes to develop behavioral skills, such as those required to build strong relationships with teammates. Again, these skills are likely to generalize to real-world settings.

Interestingly, life skills also have an impact on sport performance. For instance, a successful marriage usually improves focus in sport and problem-solving skills learned in a psychology class may assist a wide receiver in determining an optimal route. Emotions, thought patterns, and actions in general life and sport settings are intertwined. The task at hand changes across these settings, but the process needed for performance optimization is largely the same. In an optimization approach, like TOPPS, the objective is to establish optimal patterns of thinking and behaving using positive and inspiring methods without a focus on criticism. Indeed, criticism destroys creativity and effort.

Is it sometimes therapeutic to reflect on defeat?

Athletes can, and do, learn from their losses and mistakes. In most elite athletes, such as the ones in this brilliant documentary series, losses act to increase motivation and signal that something in their tool set has to be adjusted.

Learning after loss usually occurs when athletes are able to objectively focus on the process that could be improved while keeping in mind their positive efforts. In an optimization approach the athlete would be taught, whenever possible, not to think about the loss, or things associated with the it immediately after the event. Rather, the focus should be on things unrelated to the defeat immediately after the event or positive things that were performed in the loss.

One of the reasons for this is that memory, particularly during stressful or emotional situations, will be amplified for things that are judged to be important. If an athlete focuses on things that were done wrong when emotion or passion is high immediately after a loss, the attention to problem behavior makes it more likely that the mistakes could negatively affect future performance in similar situations - a phenomenon more commonly known as "choking." Teaching athletes to focus first on things done well, and subsequently things that could be done more optimally, puts attention and memory on the positives.

You're expanding the TOPPS program to athletes as young as grade-school age. Why?

In our previous studies, the family-based approach underlying TOPPS was shown to be effective with emerging adult collegiate athletes. However, in the general population it appears to be particularly effective in youth, and parents have been reported by youth to be their greatest influence in sport performance. Therefore, we think adolescent athletes will find TOPPS especially exciting and effective due to its emphasis on sport. We also believe TOPPS will expedite the learning curve that naturally happens in sport through its overarching goals, such as doing good deeds for others, focusing on positive thoughts, and school performance.

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Good Sport? The Psychology Behind Losing

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Heavyweight boxer Michael Bentt. French competitive figure skater Surya Bonaly. Golfer Jean van de Velde. Marathoner Mauro Prosperi. "Losers," a new eight-part Netflix original docuseries, gives viewers access to athletes behind some of the world's most well-publicized sports defeats and the surprisingly sweet life lessons they found in failure.

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Kill A Man is a graphic novel in which the main character's father dies in a martial arts bout, and the main character must now face the person who killed his father and ask him to help him train to become a revolutionary athlete. Along with this, the main character is homosexual, and the book explores how he navigates and deals with homophobia and stereotype, using martial arts as an outlet.

- The main character has to deal with the loss of his father and society's prejudice against homosexuals, and by using martial arts to help train his body and his mind, he is able to overcome these challenges and become a great athlete and competitor. The mindset that training in martial arts provides him is invaluable for him, as it helps him stay calm in moments of anger or disrespect, such as when he is insulted for his sexuality, or when he has his father's death disrespected in front of him

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Read 32 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. A brand new original graphic novel from writers Steve Orlando and Phillip Kennedy Johnson f...

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How The Mindset of Athletes Contributes to Their Success

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How The Mindset of Athletes Contributes to Their Success

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This source details how the psychology of an athlete affects not just their play, but also how they deal with loss, injuries, and stress

- An athlete's skill and talent are only part of the necessary ingredients for success, a strong mentality is also required to be able to adapt to everything that gets thrown their way. This can be applied to real life as well, since being able to adapt is an important part of growing.

- After getting injured, many athletes go through a sort of "grief" period in which they have negative thoughts and beliefs. This feeling can be directly related to regular life, as loss and negative feelings are encountered on a daily basis, and a good mentality is important for getting through these struggles

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Often referred to as the "Freud of Football," John F. Murray, Ph.D., both a clinical and sports psychologist, describes sports psychology as a "new frontier." Psychology is often the difference between good and great athletes. It usually is the deciding factor. Why? Because skill and talent is only one part of the game. Athletes have to be able to focus on the mental side of playing the game, although enhancing an athlete's performance is also only a single part of sports psychology.

What is Sports Psychology?
Sports psychology is a very specific area of psychology dealing with the mental factors that may influence sports performance, as well as the mental well-being of athletes. While psychologists working in this field use similar techniques and methods as other types of psychologists, there's a very distinct focus on working with athletes. Their job may include helping athletes with performance enhancement using psychological techniques, motivation for improved performance, and stress and anxiety control. They may also provide research on various related issues, such as group sports psychology. However, it's important to note that sports psychology goes beyond just using psychological principles to enable athletes to improve performance and enjoy optimal mental health. It also focuses on better understand how physical activity, exercise, and participating in a sport can affect the athlete's well-being, health, and psychological development throughout their life.

Sports Psychology and Stress Reduction
Playing sports, particularly on a professional level, comes with a significant amount of mental pressure, and stress has multiple effects on performance, including psychological, emotional, and physical effects. Athletes need to perform well, but they're often faced with criticism from coaches, family members, media personalities, and more. Critical talk and other stresses of the job can be mentally draining, keeping athletes from performing their best. Sports psychologists work with athletes to combat the stresses that come with playing their sport, teaching important skills like positive self-talk, relaxation, life skills planning, and imagery. They may also provide counseling, treating the overall mental health of the athlete and addressing any mental issues that come up along the way.

Sports Psychology and Sports Performance
Sports psychology also focuses on providing psychological training to help improve performance. Physical training is important, but how athletes show up mentally on the day of competition and how they manage mental focus throughout their performance plays a huge part in the outcome. Some sports psychologists may specialize in certain areas, including cohesion and team building, mental preparation for performance, enhancing performance, leadership, self-esteem and confidence, and motivators for effective training and performance. All of these specialties can help athletes improve how they perform in their sport, focusing on the mental parts of the game to complement the physical prowess they already have.

A closer look at the psychology behind exceptional sports performance has found that certain psychological characteristics are essential to perform well athletically. Even the most physically talented athletes can have a tough time being successful if they don't have the psychological characteristics required to excel in the sports world. Some of the most important psychological characteristics that must be developed by athletes to be successful include volition and drive, confidence, calmness, emotional control, and mental focus.

Sports Psychology and Sports Injuries
Another part of sports psychology is helping athletes deal with sports injuries, which can have a huge psychological effect on athletes, particularly those of the younger generation. Injured athletes have been found to have lower self-esteem, an increase in negative thoughts, and higher levels of depression. Although injury can result in significant psychological issues for older adults, it can be catastrophic for younger athletes to get knocked down by injuries. Adolescent athletes especially experience high risk for depression after an injury.

Some athletes go through a grieving period after injury, feeling that they have lost a huge part of their "self," which can lead to negative beliefs and thoughts. After injury, they may need help navigating through the feelings of loss, which can include denial, anger, depression, and eventually resignation. Even after recovering from an injury, athletes may continue to have emotional responses to the fear of re-injury, which can result in further problems with both anger and depression. The emotional response resulting from fear may even increase recovery times for athletes.

Psychological post-injury help is essential for athletes, not only helping them to recover physically from a sports injury, but mentally as well. Teaching athletes basic stress reduction techniques and relaxation techniques can help reduce problems with negative emotional responses.

Sports psychology is becoming more and more prevalent in the world of sports, and this multidisciplinary field spans sports science, sports medicine, and psychology. If you're passionate about sports and helping athletes go from being good to great, then this career could be an excellent fit for you.

If you're interested in sports psychology and looking for a school that will help you reach your goals while providing you with a Christ-centered education, OKWU may be the perfect fit for you. To learn more about how Oklahoma Wesleyan University can help you pursue your passion in sports psychology, contact us today by emailing info@okwu.edu or calling 918-335-6200.

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Sports Psychology: Mindset Can Make or Break an Athlete

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Often referred to as the "Freud of Football," John F. Murray, Ph.D., both a clinical and sports psychologist, describes sports psychology as a "new frontier." Psychology is often the difference between good and great athletes. It usually is the deciding factor. Why? Because skill and talent is only one part of the game.

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Data Regarding Academic Achievement and Sports Participation

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Data Regarding Academic Achievement and Sports Participation

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Studies involving self esteem and academic achievement and their relation to sports participation in middle and high school

-Recent studies show that both academics and self-esteem improve with sports participation, attributed to the mental strength provided by participating in such activities.

-Past studies also detail how sports participation has affected academics over the past few decades, with an increase in academic achievement in the more recent years, as more of a focus has been put on athletes also being good students. This has likely shifted the mentality of many school athletes, with the connections and mentality created by sports allowing them to score higher and focus better in school.

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Long Term Effects of Sports on High School Students

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Long Term Effects of Sports on High School Students

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An explanation The connections created between an athlete and their teammates/fellow athletes can build strong empathy and create a willingness to take initiative in social situations.

Sports are constantly asking students to push their limitations, and these habits of challenging oneself extend outside of sports and benefit students in other endeavors

Provides a chance for making friendships and creating bonds that one may have missed outside of sport.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo Press Conference About Failure In Sports

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Giannis Antetokounmpo Press Conference About Failure In Sports

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- There is no failure in sports, only steps to success
- This applies to other parts of life as well, there cannot be success without first learning from failure, and this mindset was created thanks to being a part of a team and playing sports

- Losing to the lowest seed was a big setback, but Giannis keeps a positive mindset about the loss and controls himself when answering the question
- Keeping composure and a positive outlook go a long way in other aspects of life

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Sports Illustrated Milwaukee Bucks News, Analysis and More

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Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was not in an amicable mood, and understandably so. After all, his Bucks-owners of the league's best record after the regular season and the odds-on favorite to win the NBA title season-had just been eliminated from the NBA Playoffs by the eighth-seeded Miami Heat. And so, when asked by a reporter if the season was an abject failure, Giannis got testy and tried his very best to keep composed.

Steps to success

Giannis then took a deep breath before answering that no, the season was not a failure. He then went on to cite Michael Jordan's struggles during his early years in the league and how Jordan's resilience paved the way for him to become one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

"It's not a failure; it's steps to success," Giannis said. "There's always steps to it. Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six championships. The other nine years was a failure? That's what you're telling me?"

No failure in sports

Giannis went on to describe the simplistic nature of the game in that one was going to win while the other was going to lose.
"It's a wrong question; there's no failure in sports. There's good days, bad days. Some days you're able to be successful, some days you're not. Some days it's your turn, some days, it's not your turn. And that's what sports is about. You don't always win. Sometimes other people win. And this year, somebody else is going to win, simple as that."
Words fail in describing how disappointing this result was for the Milwaukee Bucks. They had an NBA title in sight but lost track of a rolling Miami Heat squad that had their sights squared on unseating the top seed.

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"MJ played 15 years, won six titles - the other nine years, was it a failure?" - A frustrated Giannis Antetokounmpo gives a passionate response after the #1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks get eliminated in the first round

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Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was not in an amicable mood, and understandably so. After all, his Bucks-owners of the league's best record after the regular season and the odds-on favorite to win the NBA title season-had just been eliminated from the NBA Playoffs by the eighth-seeded Miami Heat.