The psychology of physical enhancement, attitude, effort and energy with Dan Abrahams (Sports Psychologist)

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is sports psychologist Dan Abrahams. Dan became a psychologist following a stint as a professional golfer with an interest in the mental side of the sport. After calling time on his playing career, he became a coach and followed that up by gaining a master’s degree in sports psychology. He’s been working in this capacity for 16 years now, including for England Rugby, England Golf, and numerous Premier League football clubs.

Following the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games, sports psychology has been in the spotlight more than ever. Dan discusses the impact this has had on the subject, including how an athlete’s mental state can be rated on a three-stage ‘traffic light’ system depending on their current needs. He also addresses the theory that you cannot coach attitude, effort and energy - although the athlete is responsible for their own attitude, Dan explains how coaches and sports psychologists can create an environment that engages athletes and helps them maintain all-important intensity when training. If you’re interested in the mental side of coaching and sports science, then this week’s podcast is for you.

This week’s topics:

• How sports psychology is currently split between athlete performance, wellbeing and mental health
• Why sporting organisations need to address all three as psychology becomes more prominent
• Why sports clubs on a budget could spend time educating their existing coaches in sports psychology
• Why it’s said that you can’t coach attitude, effort and energy
• How coaches can engage athletes and maintain all-important intensity during training
• How to create a positive training environment that gets the best from athletes
• Building relationships with athletes – and maintaining boundaries between the personal and professional