Ok, I know this is a long shot, but what would it take for England to win the World cup? It could be argued that the current squad are not as talented as previous squads, but like any of the 32 teams in the finals they have a chance. So what exactly are the mental challenges that England need to overcome? The first one that jumps to mind when talking about England in major tournaments is wining penalty shootouts. Unfortunately England have a tendency to self destruct. But is

Following a conversation with the Head of Science and Medicine at a professional sports club last week I have been considering whether sport psychology is all the same, and as a result whether some practitioners are better suited to some environments over others. This emerged following the conversation I mentioned previously. The Head of Science and Medicine contacted me for a recommendation for a consultant to work with some of the clubs first team professional players. It t

In the world of performance sport and the drive for results a focus on good general mental health is often lost. In the rush to deliver key mental skills, to test performers under pressure, or to enhance decision-making skills general mental health can get overlooked. This is a concern as a robust bedrock of good mental health is fundamentally important to successful performance, and success over the long term. The pressures associated with performance at the higher levels ar

To coincide with the Launch of my new book titled ‘Psychology of cricket’ that I have co-authored with Dr Jamie Barker I thought I would share a few thoughts on the psychology of the game in my blog post this week. Cricket is an interesting game, with many facets, but I think a significant aspect of cricket – like many sports is confidence. Form is everything in cricket. Players often talk about either being ‘in form’ or ‘out of touch’. But what does this term ‘form’ actuall

I watched with interest the various English Football Association (FA) cup games that took place over the weekend. In particular the Mansfield Town FC Vs Liverpool FC game. For those of you who might not be aware of the result, Liverpool won the game 2-1. The second (and as it turns out decisive) Liverpool goal though was mired in controversy. The infamous Liverpool Striker Luis Suarez clearly handled the ball (which is against the rules) on route to scoring the ultimately dec

The big challenge in any performance environment is to be able to deliver when it counts. Whether it is in sport, medicine, the military, the theatre, or in music the ability to do it when it counts is of fundamental importance. Coping with the associated pressure in these environments is an important aspect of this ability to perform. But, in order to cope with this pressure you need to first understand where pressure comes from. All pressure is ultimately an internal constr