Sport Case Studies

How the Human Performance Clinic Works

Here are some recent examples of some clients we have worked with for sports and general performance enhancement.  This demonstrates the range of clients who benefit from mental training and performance enhancement psychology. As in all interactions with the HPC, confidentiality is paramount therefore there are no names.

  1. ScotlandU16 and U21 Football Teams. Mental Training workshops to improve positivity, focus, ability to goal set and feel confident, mental rehearsal, relaxing before games etc. Working with players before matches to psych up.
  2. Golfer, male, 24yrs. Getting the ‘yips’ whilst  putting, and high anxiety driving off tees with tight fairways resulting in one or two catastrophic holes per round ruining otherwise excellent score. Was focusing on what he wanted to avoid rather than on what he wanted to happen, and that understanding was enough to change him. Also taught mental rehearsal and other pre-programming techniques and gave him a relaxation anchor (trigger). Three sessions.
  3.  Kick boxer, mate, 28yrs. Title fight approaching, de-motivated, not training, low confidence. Identified anxiety source, which was focusing on opponent’s strengths. We changed negative images into positive, re- focused him back on his abilities, taught positive self-talk, motivation ‘anchor’ and relaxation techniques to switch off afterwards. He restarted his training and took the title. Three x 1.5 hour sessions.
  4.  Pursuit cyclist, male, 23yrs. Making a comeback, low confidence, only 65% sold on idea of ‘whether it ‘s worth the effort or not’. By focusing on product goals rather than end goals he was immediately able to give himself a training structure whereby he came fourth inScotlandand now believes he can go on and take theUKtitle in a year’s time. Seven sessions.
  5. Clay pigeon shooter, male, 35yrs. ‘Something missing. It’s ‘just not happening the way I want.’ Trying ‘too hard’ – - was actually seeing spots in front of his eyes as he tried to focus. Taught self-hypnosis for relaxation, and integrated this using ‘inner game’ approach of using the player to find his own focus of attention. Also anchors, pre-programming techniques, goal setting. Six sessions.
  6. Irish dancer, female, 11yrs. Current World Champion about to defend her title with sudden pre-match nerves. Mental and physical relaxation techniques plus mental rehearsal and pre-programming techniques to trigger off feelings of confidence and relaxation on cue. She retained the title. Two sessions.
  7. Scottish Football Association. ‘B’ level Coaching Course Introduction to Sports Psychology. Taught basic mental skills training concepts, including desensitisation and competition training, physical relaxation techniques, and the ‘good better best’ mental rehearsal. This is official SFA training for future coaches and managers.