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.

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.

Learn how you can use your mindset to increase your performance in games. I break down a simple three-part structure you can begin applying today!

Learn a simple way you can generate a state of confidence and trust on game day. Confidence on game day is needed because it gives you the freedom you need to let go of the result and be present. When you are present, you play your best.

Do your emotions get the best of you during practices and games? Learn what's at the core of your emotions getting the best of you, and an exercise you can go through to manage your emotions better when you play.

Learn the two types of goals you can set for games and how each one can be used to improve your performance.

Does the game speed up on you? Learn a simple way you can slow the game down and play with more confidence and composure.

Do you overthink mistakes? Many athletes try to learn from their mistakes during games, but this only leads to overthinking, self-criticism, and distraction. Learn what you need to do instead, and when you should actually learn from your mistakes.

Does coach pull you after you make one mistake? This can cause athletes to play scared and actually cause more mistakes to happen. Learn 3 tips you can apply to play freely, even if coach pulls you after you make a mistake.

Do you freeze up, hesitate, or play tight at the start of games even though you know how good you are? In this episode, I explain why athletes freeze under pressure and what you can do mentally to stop overthinking, trust yourself, and compete freely.

Does your child struggle with losing their composure? In this episode, I share a strategy I have used to help hundreds of athletes manage anger and frustration within sports.

Athletes often play their best when they feel free, confident, and not afraid of mistakes. In this episode, I explain why athletes often perform better when they know they're the best player on the team, when they aren't afraid of being benched, or when they stop trying to prove themselves.

Do you struggle with trusting your training during games? Learn what blocks trust and three tips you can apply to trust your training more in competition.

If you struggle with sports anxiety, moving on from mistakes, self-doubt, or any other mental game challenge, acceptance will help! In this video, I explain why acceptance matters, what it involves, and how to apply it to your game.

How do I stop being so hard on myself during games? In this episode, I provide three tips that answer that exact question. To help you go from criticizing yourself to supporting yourself and getting the best out of yourself during games.