Life After Pro Sports Research suggests that approximately 70% of elite athletes experience post-professional career depression[1], making athletic retirement one of the most psychologically demanding periods a person can face. Researchers describe this transition as a biopsychosocial disruption[2] – a layered unravelling of structure, identity, and purpose that sport had quietly scaffolded for years. Lost goals and a fractured sense of self emerge as two of the most formidab

Getting better at running Runners seeking to improve their performance often assume that simply logging more miles will carry them forward. More miles might help, yet getting better at running means something richer and more considered than that; it means running faster, covering longer distances without the weight of fatigue, recovering more efficiently, and reducing the risk of injury that so often interrupts progress[1]. The encouraging reality is that most runners begin n

The game of pool is not just about skill and practice; it is also a mental challenge. Professionals know that the mental aspect of pool can significantly impact their performance. Staying focused and maintaining concentration during a match can make the difference between winning and losing. In this article, we explore seven proven strategies that professionals employ to stay focused during intense games. Understanding the Mental Game of Pool The mental game of pool involves

Everyone has heard about setting goals. Everyone has heard that goal setting helps with our motivation. Though we know how important it is to set goals, it’s not so easy to set them. And even when we set goals, they can challenge us to be the right goals at the right time for the right purpose. In sport, goals help athletes and coaches to direct their attention, to focus on the task at hand, to increase the level of difficulty so that athletes keep progressing, but what if th

Sports performers logically set challenging, specific goals to stretch them towards success. The research to date argues in their favour (Kremer et al., 2019). But what if setting teeny tiny goals helps along the way too? We can all learn a wonderful lesson from one of the most famous examples of a systematic goal-setting procedure, taking off in Munich in 1972 and landing in Olympic gold in 1976 at Montreal. One man, Joh Naber, sat at home on his living room floor watching M

Taekwondo Psychology My first step onto the taekwondo mat as a complete beginner left me clueless about what lay ahead . At age 11, I wasn't ready to perform in front of 400 people , but that experience kicked off my amazing 11-year trip with this life-changing martial art . Taekwondo goes way beyond just kicks and punches. My search for taekwondo classes led me to find not just training partners but a whole taekwondo family . Starting as a white belt , I found that there was