Helping athletes perform at their best is an ongoing challenge for coaches. It is essential that coaches prepare their athletes to cope with uncontrollable factors that affect performance that occur during game or event competition.

This article focuses on the theoretical underpinnings and associated practical applications of the individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) model. This model can help coaches simplify the way they teach athletes to use enhancing emotions, elude impairing emotions, sustain an optimal range of emotional functioning, and achieve elevated…

Gaming addiction is a behavioural disorder that requires clinical therapy because of its symptoms, which often overwhelm children's sense of self-control. However, the credibility of the screening test for gaming addiction is contentious in the literature, resulting in some ambiguous distinctions between excessive video gaming and the disorder.…

Not all schools are obsessed with ensuring high test scores for students. Some schools have designed themselves around a priority of creating safe, empathetic learning environments. The Chrysalis Charter School in Palo Cedro, California, has a mission of developing a culture of kindness. The Minnesota New Country School in Henderson, Minnesota,…

This article provides recommendations for best practices for basketball coaches to maximize the instructional effectiveness of a timeout during competition. Practical applications are derived from research findings linking emotional intelligence to effective coaching behaviors. Additionally, recommendations are based on the implications of the…

Performance outcomes are influenced by two psychological needs: the need to feel competent and the need to feel in control. To avoid competitive stress and create motivation, the athletic coach should: (1) take the emphasis off winning and place it on the process of skill development and improvement; and (2) encourage the athlete to set realistic…

An athlete needs to be taught to identify strengths and weaknesses, to concentrate for longer periods of time and regain lost concentration, to develop greater self-discipline and self control, and to deal with performance anxiety. Instructions are given for teaching relaxation methods to athletes, improving concentration, and setting realistic…