Dan Abrahams – Sports Psychologist – Building a High Performance Mindset, Creating Mental Frameworks, & Developing a Winning Game Face! – EP129
Season 3
Episode 129

Dan Abrahams – Sports Psychologist – Building a High Performance Mindset, Creating Mental Frameworks, & Developing a Winning Game Face! – EP129

This week’s guest is one I’ve been looking forward to talking with for a while and it did not disappoint at all, in any way, whatsoever. Daniel Abrahams is a sports psychologist, author, blogger, & podcaster (Sportspsychshow), former professional golfers and from following him on twitter has a very high level of curiosity and passion for learning, personal growth and figuring out why in many areas! Dan is currently consultant Sport Psychologist to AFC Bournemouth in the English Premier League and to Ostersunds in Swedish Division One.  His passion is to de-mystify sport psychology theories, tools and techniques which enables him to provide a simple, powerful, fun, and engaging sport psychology consultancy that works. Don’t take my word for it. Check out testiminonials from Eddie Jones - “Dan’s professional approach in his role as a Sport Psychologist would fit into any club or organisation” & Eddie Howe – “With his deep knowledge of sport psychology, Dan helps coaches understand the science behind high performance and the methods that underpin effective training” Here are just some of the topics covered during the show you might be interested in learning about:
  • Having a 1% Better Mindset – the small increments to get the small advantage
  • Helping Sports Professionals find their nudges
  • Focusing on the Adult Elite Levels
  • How to help players improve
  • The 1 to 5 Guy focusing on a 1% to 5% increase in performance
  • Goal Setting Processes
  • Life as a Professional Golfer
  • Becoming aware of the mental game in his own head while playing golf!
  • Performance being Paradoxical – less is more!
  • Nature & Nurture Debate – Nurtured Nature as the most accurate term!
  • Being Trait Anxious – a term in psychology where the nervous system impacts performance
  • Representational Learning Design – Putting more Consequence into the practice
  • Deep dive into Practice – the quality of your practice is key! Making Practice more like the game!
  • 4 Levels of Practice to create a RLD – 1) Technical Practices (lots of shots) 2) Routine 3) Adding in a Game/Objective 4) Nervous System (consequence)
  • Firing your nervous systems and adding cortisol into your practice
  • Having a Solid Mental Frameworkto compete with to improve your performance
    • Having specific objectives here
  • Knowing what you want to achieve in the moment
  • What are your performance moments to achieve well at?
  • Mental Models & Mental Frameworks in Business & Sport!
  • 3 Key Mental skills for High Performance Mindset – getting these right!
    • Attention – paying attention and manage distractions
    • Intensity – activation
    • Positive Intent – am I getting myself over with positive intent?
  • The sweet between authentic and inauthentic – there are times for this in sport!
  • The Game Face – being Authentic & Inauthentic
    • Who you want to me?
    • How you want to go about your business?
    • Built from memory, imagination and perception
  • Game Face – you have to be an actor on the pitch!
  1. What is your very best game? – tapping into your memory?
  2. What is your dream game/meeting look like? – tapping into your imagination?
  3. Illicit key words from players/professionals, eg – alert, alive, cool, calm, driven, etc…….goal is to get a mix of inauthentic & authenticity
  4. Create a metaphor and a key player or animal to use here!
  • The brain working in Metaphors – George Lakhoff
  • Embodiment & Embodied Cognition – Cognition is dispersed through your body!
  • The Confident Relentless Lion – Be, Do & Act – Who do I want to be?
  • Extrovert v Introverts on the field & in leadership?
  • Agreeableness and Competitiveness – Roy Keane with a Game Face!
  • Leadership – Traits & Qualities – Servant, Empower, Inspire,
  • The importance of people skills in sport today
  • A Coach having 2 dials – Support & Stretch – e.g. Gareth Southgate’s approach with England!
  • Experience and learning from Eddie Jones & Eddie Howe
  • How can these tools can be applied to business & corporate environments
  • Tools & Techniques you find very useful in 1-1 interventions & teams
  • The Writing Process and the success of the books created – telling stories and make it simple
  • Bob Rotella’s influence in Dan’s writing
  • A listener question from twitter – dealing with the fear coming back from an ACL injury!
Books:
  • You can check out the four bestselling books - 'Soccer Tough', 'Soccer Tough II', 'Soccer Brain' and 'Golf Tough'.
Connect in with Dan: Website – DanAbrahams.com Twitter - @DanAbrahamas77

Follow Rob of the Green