r/sportspsychology

I’ve been noticing this a lot with younger players. They’ll be completely fine in training. Confident, making plays, no hesitation. Then in a game, one mistake happens… and it’s like a switch flips.

They start second guessing everything. Passing when they should shoot. Hesitating on things they normally do easily. Nothing actually changed with their ability.

But mentally they’re gone for a few minutes. Feels like it’s not really about skill. More about how they react to mistakes in the moment. Some kids just brush it off and keep going. Others carry it into the next few plays and it snowballs.

A couple things seem to help (from what I’ve seen):

• When they’re not focused only on results (points, stats, etc.)
• When they don’t tear themselves down after every mistake
• When they can treat it more like “okay, adjust next play” instead of “I messed up again”

Curious what others have seen.

Do you think it’s more a confidence thing… or just lack of game reps/experience?

Why I Chose to Research Everyday Sexism in Sport

If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be designing a Masters research project on sexism in sport, I probably would have laughed and said, “Well, that feels painfully on brand.” Yet here we are.

My research project explores everyday sexism in sport and examines how factors such as ethnicity, sexuality, and disability may shape women’s experiences of discrimination. On paper, it sounds highly academic—and it is—but the reality is that this topic feels deeply personal.

Like many women, I have experienced sexism in ways that were often subtle enough to be dismissed, yet significant enough to stay with me. The comments disguised as jokes. Being spoken over. Having competence questioned in situations where male colleagues were automatically assumed capable. The expectation to remain agreeable, smile more, and avoid being labelled “difficult” for simply asserting boundaries or expertise. These experiences are frustrating because they rarely appear dramatic in isolation, yet collectively they can be exhausting.

What has always struck me is how normalised these experiences often are. Women are frequently expected to tolerate these behaviours as part of everyday life, particularly within environments that continue to privilege traditionally masculine norms—sport being a prime example.

This project has given me the opportunity to channel personal frustration into meaningful research. Through designing a quantitative study, I aim to explore whether experiences of sexism vary across women with different intersecting identities, an area that remains significantly under-researched within sport psychology literature.

The process itself has been challenging. There have been moments of self-doubt, endless literature reviews, methodological headaches, and far too many drafts. However, it has also been incredibly empowering. Turning lived experiences into research that could contribute to change feels both rewarding and necessary.

If this project has taught me anything, it is that research is often at its most powerful when it is driven by both intellectual curiosity and personal purpose. And perhaps most importantly—women should not have to keep proving they belong in spaces they have already earned the right to occupy.

Join me, and complete the survey. Link https://openss.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV\_40Kt7tovdFiFn38

Hey all,

I've played golf practically my entire life. Started young, played through high school at a relatively high level but never good enough to play past that. I've never had a great short game, but over the last 5-7 years, I've developed crippling performance anxiety, especially around the green. I can go out and hit crips chips and put fine, but as soon as I step onto a course to play a round with other people, my body literally will convulse. When chipping I either skull it across the green or chunk it one foot. Every time. When putting, my hands will flinch when I am about to contact the ball. It's like I'm scared of making contact. The annoying part is that as soon as I throw down a second ball to hit it again out of frustration, I'll swing it smooth as butter and hit a great shot or putt. It's 100% mental . I am desperate. It has taken fun out of a game that i've loved for my entire life. Instead of looking forward to rounds, especially at nice courses, I'm nervous and dreading getting out there and embarrassing myself. To be clear, I don't want to play well in tournaments, I just want to be respectable when playing with friends and strangers and bring the fun back into the game.

If I start drinking, my body loosens up and I'll play fine. My brain shuts down and I just play nice and easy. But obviously this isn't a long term solution.

I've seen a doctor and they've prescribed Propranolol 10mg for performance anxiety. They didn't really give any guidance on dosage other than to just try it out and gradually test to see what works. Taking about an hour before my round starts, I started with a couple and didn't really notice anything. Even at 70-80mg I feel like there's little to no impact. I guess I could try taking more but wanted to hear from you all

1. I know everyone deals with this to some extent, but for anyone that's had it as crippling as me, how did you overcome it?
2. For anyone that uses propranolol, any tips? How much do you take how often during a round? I'm 6'1 185lb and feel like 70-80mg is doing nothing.

Hi, recently I’ve been stressing out a whole lot, as I finally kind of brought up to my parents about how drained Im feeling from playing. Im a 13F goalkeeper (yes very young :() and I have played soccer since I was 2, I currently play NPL 1, and I have reached state teams and national teams. I always kind of thought about whether I’d be happier not playing but I guess I’ve just pushed through despite constantly questioning. The problem is the pressure. And my situation amplifies it I suppose. After playing for my state, I unfortunately got a knee injury that had me out for about 4 months, and I returned in April. Except, this was the year I had moved to a higher level team, so I missed out on like all these trials matches and a quarter of the season, and I didn’t do well socially to begin with so I struggled to become friends with these girls, worse now because I wasn’t even playing. I never had much soccer friends anyway, so usually I can deal with being alone and just doing my thing but now I’ve gotten back I’ve been playing horrible. Like I don’t even feel like myself. obviously I am aware it’s normal to feel like this when you’ve jsut returned but it’s been about 4 weeks now, and sometimes after training and games I’ll just ball my eyes out. Not to mention getting ignored by other girls makes it worse. Now the thing is, I also struggle quite a bit with mental health unfortunately, I have diagnosed depression, adhd and anxiety (they’re a bit overlapping though) and a strong chance of autism which I’m getting checked for soon. And the way I feel is really just disappointing. it’s like a constant feeling of dread, and it feels hard to breath, like I’m breathing through a sheet, and early this year I had a huge burnout and started not finding enjoyment in many things, and had worse struggles with suicidal and self harm stuff. So when I got back and I’m playing crap, being ignored and feeling just completely drained, my mental health has gone down hill. and I wonder to myself if life would be a bit easier without all the stress and unhappiness caused by soccer. except, I’m scared that if I take a break, that my mental health could get worse, as I find soccer gives me somewhat a reason to be liked and stuff. Except thanks to that, I only feel somewhat satisfied in soccer if I’ve had a perfect game, any mistakes and I can’t move on from it. And I’m constantly so drained out from worrying and thinking about soccer, to the point that even if ive had a good game I’m already feeling overwhelmed by the next thing, and sometimes I worry so much people say it’s like I’m not even in the room. which is slightly worrying. and it makes me think if all the pressure, worrying, anxiety, and negative emotions is worth the chance of being satisfied,

repost from the rowing forrum

f you know me no you don’t

I’m a junior in high school and have been in rowing since around 5th grade summer. I’ve been coxing since freshman year.

Last year I was in the U17 8+, but moved up to varsity this season after aging out and because a lot of senior coxswains graduated or switched to rowing. So, our two top coxswains graduated and I ended up stepping into the 1V.

I’ve been coxing the 1V all season (fall through regionals). Recently, though, I’ve had a major drop in confidence as a coxswain.

I know I’m not completely incompetent, earlier this season I was speaking with some top programs (Cal, UW, Harvard, Yale, ect on the men’s side, and Texas, Michigan, etc. on the women’s side). So I know that atleast I have had something going for me.

But over the past few months I’ve gone through some major personal things, which affected my grades along with the other aspects of my life. I stopped keeping up with coaches and recruiting communication- my grades dropped and I started to feel like college was becoming less and less guaranteed. Then steering and race anxiety only got worse with this.

At practice, I feel fine and I steer straight. But in races, I get in my head and start making mistakes. I feel like I lose control of my own execution.

On top of that, my boat has high expectations (we’re a fairly fast crew), and lately I’ve felt like I’m not meeting them. Sometimes it feels like they have to help guide me through races, which makes me feel like I’m becoming a burden rather than helping the boat.

I also know the previous 1V coxswain was very trusted and well-liked, and I feel like I’m being compared to that standard as well. She was genuinely one of the best coxswains I think our team has had.

We just had regionals, and I’m really disappointed in my performance. Nothing went like wrong, but it still felt like I didn’t contribute enough and have held the boat back. I see the work these boys do and all I want is to watch them and help them do great things- btu I feel like im hindering that if anything.

At this point I’ve even considered quitting coxing or switching back to rowing next season. Rowing used to be something I really loved, but now it feels like one of my biggest sources of anxiety and doubt.

I’m also stressed about recruiting. I had a 4.0 freshman and sophomore year, but this year I’ve probably been around a 2.5 not only because of harder classes, but moving schools/cities mid first semester and almost getting removed out of school/sent to inpatient programs- I’ve had to retake some classes online, and I’m worried that combination (academics + current performance) has hurt my chances.

Right now I just feel overwhelmed. I get told what I need to do in the boat, but in races it feels like I can’t translate it and everything gets mentally scrambled. I feel like nothing I do is good enough, and everyone is trying to help me yet I just am at a mental wall im scared I cant break. Im worried that the guys wont be able to trust me for nationals, or that I wont trust myself.

I guess I’m just looking for advice from other coxswains or rowers who’ve been in a similar place. Has anyone dealt with a major confidence drop like this? How did you recover from it? And how do you figure out whether it’s something you push through or stepping away from? I want to love this sport again, and I do sometimes, but I feel like Im in a spot I dont know how to get out of.

Hi , I’m considering enrolling in Brian Cain’s MPM Certification during the next window. I’ve seen his marketing and it looks great, but I’d love to hear from someone who has actually finished the course.

• Is the content practical or mostly motivational?
• Do you feel it was worth the price?
• How has it impacted your coaching/career?
• Are there any other certifications you'd recommend over this one?

Thanks in advance!