Welcome to the Success Starts Within podcast! Sport psychology consultant and mental performance coach, Eli Straw, discusses mental game and sport psychology tips, tools, and techniques you can use to elevate your mindset and reach peak performance.

Mental training techniques can help you stay calm under pressure, control your thoughts, and perform your best when the game is on the line. In this episode, I share four of the most effective mental training techniques I teach to help them compete with more confidence in high-pressure situations.If you're ready to stop letting pressure control your performance and want personalized help building your mental game, click the link below to learn more about my one-on-one mental performance coaching.Work with me!

Fear of making mistakes in sports can cause athletes to play scared, hesitate, and lose confidence. In this episode, I explain why athletes become afraid of mistakes and share 4 practical ways you can help your athlete build confidence, respond better to mistakes, and compete more freely. If your athlete struggles with fear of failure, perfectionism, or performance anxiety, this approach can make a huge difference. If you'd like my help working with your athlete one-on-one, click the link below to learn more.Work with me!

Fear of failure can cause athletes to play cautiously, overthink mistakes, and look completely different in games than they do in practice. In this episode, I explain how parents can recognize when their athlete is playing with fear and help them compete with more freedom and confidence. If fear of failure is holding your athlete back, click the link below to learn more about one-on-one mental performance coaching.Work with me!

Why does a child lose confidence in sports so quickly? If your athlete seems confident one week and full of self-doubt the next, there's usually a deeper reason. In this episode, I explain why confidence becomes so fragile in young athletes, what actually causes it to disappear after mistakes or bad games, and how parents can help build confidence that lasts. If your child struggles with confidence in sports and you'd like personalized help, click the link below to learn more about my one-on-one mental performance coaching.Work with me!

Your mental game may be holding you back even if you have the physical skills to succeed. In this episode, I explain 10 signs that the mental side of sports is hurting your confidence, consistency, and performance in competition. If you want help strengthening your mental game, click the link below to learn more about one-on-one mental performance coaching.Work with me!

Most athletes spend hours training their body but very little time training their mind. If you want to become a more confident, focused, and consistent athlete, your mental game has to be developed just like your physical skills. In this episode, I share five mental skills every athlete should be practicing to perform better under pressure and compete with more confidence.If you'd like to improve your mental game through one-on-one mental performance coaching, click the link below to learn more about working with me.Work with me!

Learning how to be a more consistent athlete does not mean expecting yourself to produce the exact same result every game. In this episode, I share five practical tips to help you become more consistent with your preparation, your focus during competition, and the way you respond to mistakes so that one bad moment does not take over your performance. If inconsistency, overthinking, or confidence swings are holding you back, click the link below to learn more about my one-on-one mental performance coaching.Work with me!

What makes some athletes mentally tougher than others? In this episode, I share 10 habits that mentally tough athletes develop to stay confident, focused, and resilient under pressure. These habits aren't something you're born with. They're skills you can practice and strengthen over time.If you're ready to improve your mental game with one-on-one coaching, click the link below to learn more.Work with me!

If your child plays scared in sports, they may be afraid of making mistakes, disappointing others, losing playing time, or failing under pressure. In this episode, I explain how parents can help young athletes overcome fear of failure, build confidence, and compete more freely during games.If your child needs personalized help with sports anxiety, confidence, or playing scared, click the link below to learn more about my one-on-one mental performance coaching program.Work with me!

In this episode, I explain how to move on from mistakes during games so one bad play does not ruin your confidence, focus, or the rest of your performance. If you struggle with frustration after mistakes, overthinking errors, or letting one mistake affect the rest of your game, this will help you mentally reset and continue competing with confidence. For one-on-one mental performance coaching, click the link below.Work with me!

In this episode, I explain how to perform better under pressure in sports so you can stop playing scared, handle high-pressure moments, and compete with greater confidence. If pressure, fear of making mistakes, or performance anxiety is holding you back, click the link below to learn more about one-on-one mental performance coaching.Work with me!

Mental mistakes can hurt your athletic performance even when you have the physical skills to succeed. In this episode, I explain the most common mental mistakes athletes make and how improving your mindset can help you build confidence, stay focused, and perform more consistently under pressure. To learn more about one-on-one mental performance coaching, click the link below.Work with me!

Every athlete needs a strong mental game, but most athletes don't know which mental skills they need to develop or how to improve them. In this episode, I break down the 10 most important mental skills for athletes so you can build confidence, stay focused, handle pressure, and perform more consistently in competition. To learn more about one-on-one mental performance coaching, click the link below.Work with me!

Overthinking during games can cause athletes to hesitate, play tight, lose confidence, and perform differently than they do in practice. In this episode, you'll learn how to stop overthinking in sports, stay focused during competition, and trust your skills under pressure. If overthinking is hurting your performance, click the link below to learn more about one-on-one mental performance coaching.Work with me!

Do you play better in practice than in games? Pressure, fear of mistakes, and overthinking can make you tense, hesitant, and unable to trust the skills you consistently show during practice. In this episode, I explain why the practice-to-game gap happens, give you three steps to close it, and walk you through a simple exercise to create your own game-day performance plan.If you're ready to perform with more confidence and consistency in competition, click the link below to learn more about one-on-one mental performance coaching.Work with me!

What is sports psychology, and how can it help athletes perform better? In this episode, I explain how thoughts and emotions affect sports performance, how sports psychology becomes practical mental training, and how athletes can strengthen the mental side of their game. If you want personalized help improving your mental performance, click the link below to learn more about 1-on-1 mental performance coaching.Work with me!

These 10 ways to improve your mental game in sports will help you develop greater confidence, focus, mental toughness, and composure under pressure. Learn how mental training and sports psychology can help you manage your thoughts, prepare your mind for competition, and perform more consistently as an athlete. If you want a personalized plan to strengthen your mental game, click below to learn more about 1-on-1 mental performance coaching.Work with me!

Is your child struggling with sports anxiety, nervousness before games, fear of mistakes, or pressure to perform? In this episode, I explain how to help your child overcome sports anxiety so they can manage nerves, build confidence, and play more like themselves in competition. If your young athlete needs personalized help with youth sports anxiety or sports performance anxiety, click the link below to learn more about 1-on-1 mental performance coaching.Work with me!

Fear of failure in sports can cause athletes to hesitate, play scared, and judge their performance only by the result. In this episode, I walk you through a three-step mental training plan to understand what you're truly afraid of, prepare yourself to handle it, redefine success around your actions, and mentally rehearse the way you want to compete.Work with me!

Sports performance anxiety can leave athletes feeling nervous, tight, and unable to play like themselves before games. Learn three practical steps to manage pregame anxiety, release physical tension, and regain control of your focus so you can compete with more confidence. Work with me!

Learn how to build confidence in sports and stop doubting yourself before and during games. Discover how athletes can use past success to strengthen confidence and focus on controllable goals instead of relying on results.Work with me!

In this episode, I explain how 1-on-1 mental coaching helps athletes stop playing scared by identifying what's causing the fear, how it shows up in their game, and what mental skills they need to train.Work with me!

Learn how sports psychology for kids can help young athletes build confidence, handle pressure, stop playing scared, and recover quickly after mistakes.In this episode, I share practical mental training exercises parents can use to help their child perform more freely and translate what they can do in practice into games. If your athlete needs personalized support, click the link below to learn more about my one-on-one mental performance coaching program.Work with me!

Fear of failure doesn't always look like nerves — sometimes it looks like playing safe, shutting down after mistakes, holding back effort, or acting like they don't care. In this episode, I break down 5 signs your athlete may be playing with fear of failure and how 1-on-1 mental performance coaching can help them compete with more confidence, freedom, and trust in themselves.Work with me!

Do you spiral after making mistakes in games? In this episode, I'll teach you a simple mistake reset routine athletes can use to stop replaying the last play, refocus in the present moment, and get ready for what's next.Work with me!

You can train hard, prepare well, and still feel nervous before a game. In this episode, I explain why athletes get nervous even when they're prepared and walk you through a simple mental exercise you can use to shift your focus back to what you can control.Work with me!

Playing scared during games can lead to hesitation, overthinking, and trying not to make mistakes. In this episode, I share three in-game tips athletes can use to reset their focus, handle fear of failure, and compete with more confidence and freedom.Work with me!

The off-season isn't just a time to get stronger physically. It's also one of the best times to improve your mental game by reviewing last season, identifying the challenges that held you back, and building a daily mental training plan that helps you prepare for next season with more confidence, focus, and control.Work with me!

I break down three practical keys to helping athletes play more freely, stop overthinking, and trust their game. Work with me!

In this episode, I share five self-talk tips athletes can use to build confidence, stay focused, and respond better to mistakes. You'll learn how to replace negative judgment with helpful cues and create self-talk that actually improves your performance.Work with me!

In this episode, you'll learn five daily mental exercises to help reduce sports anxiety and strengthen your mindset as an athlete. Work with me!

In this episode, I explain five common goal-setting mistakes that can hurt an athlete's confidence, including focusing only on outcomes, setting goals outside your control, constantly judging yourself, and giving up after setbacks. You'll also learn how to set goals in a way that helps you stay focused, measure progress, and build confidence throughout the process.Work with me!

In this episode, I explain three common reasons athletes are so hard on themselves:They believe being hard on themselves motivates them.They do not want to make the same mistake again.They believe criticizing themselves proves how much they care.I also discuss how athletes can learn from mistakes and hold themselves accountable without relying on constant self-criticism.Work with me!

Learn 5 characteristics of playing freely in sports, and what you can do to take steps to begin playing more freely in games, and get closer to reaching your full athletic potential. Work with me!

Learn 5 characteristics of mentally tough athletes. Mental toughness in sports is a skill that can be developed by understanding what it takes to truly have a strong mindset. Work with me!

Learn what it means to be proactive with your mental game in sports, and what you can do to train your mind as a way to elevate your performance. Work with me!

As athletes, it is easy to label a day as either good or bad based on how you performed. But most days are not that simple. There is usually some good and some bad mixed together. And even when things do not go the way you wanted, there is still something you can learn from the experience. Work with me!

Visualization is one of the most powerful mental training tools available to athletes. In this episode, I walk you through four simple pre-game visualization exercises that can help you feel more confident, focused, prepared, and ready to perform when competition begins. Work with me!

In this episode, I break down why your performance can change depending on the situation, who's watching, the importance of the game, and the pressure you place on yourself. You'll learn why you may feel confident and free in one environment but tight, hesitant, and overthinking in another.More importantly, you'll learn what these differences reveal about your mental game and how to start becoming a more consistent competitor. Work with me!

Learn a routine you can begin applying today to strengthen your confidence as an athlete and build more trust in yourself and your skills. Work with me!

Being present is a superpower in sports! Learn a two-part strategy you can use to be more present when you compete.Cyclical breathing article: https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2023/02/cyclic-sighing-can-help-breathe-away-anxiety.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com Work with me!

Do distractions cause you to underperform? Learn the main reasons distractions affect performance and a powerful strategy you can apply to your next game to manage distractions. Work with me!

Have you ever started a game playing great, only to become aware of how well you're doing and suddenly start overthinking? Many athletes fall into the trap of thinking, "I hope I can keep playing well," which creates pressure, tension, and a desire to force good results. In this episode, I explain why this happens and share three practical strategies to help you stay present, trust your abilities, and continue performing at your best without getting in your own way. Work with me!

Does fear hold you back in games? Learn how to play without fear as an athlete and get yourself to the point where you can play aggressively and freely. Work with me!

Why does one mistake snowball into a horrible game? Learn what causes this, and what you can do to reset and stop letting one mistake ruin your performance.

Do you get stressed in big games? Learn 4 tips to keep in mind to help you perform your best in big games!

Learn a simple yet powerful exercise you can go through after every practice and game to help you gain more control over your thinking as an athlete.

What is your mindset like on game day? We need to be careful not to take a practice mindset into games, where we overthink and try to fix everything. We need to just focus on letting ourselves play freely, be present, and trust the skills that we've built through training.