The human brain is still, in this year of 2012, a mystery of somewhat epic proportion. Yes...we have made huge strides in the past decades and will continue to do so, but we still have a long way to go in our understanding and treatment of many devastating mental illnesses.
And on the reverse side, we are moving deeper and deeper into the territory of understanding, educating and training athletes the science of optimal mental performance. Sport and Performance Psychology is not "positive self talk" (although that never hurts). It is an ever-evolving blend of what we continue to learn from brain research using such cutting edge technology as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), mindfulness research and utilizing other applied work based upon volumes of research on optimal human performance.
Sport Psychology is a decades-long study of why athletes blessed with optimal genetics, coaching and training fail, while the "genetically physically inferior" thrive. We study micro and macro techniques that when built into an athlete's daily routines will make huge differences in optimizing individual performance.
And, at the end of the day, Applied Sport and Performance Psychologists teach athletes, coaches and support staff the essentials of maximixing and maintaining optimal performance states, which translates into greater success, however measured. And yes...we are the builders of neurons and synaptic connections in our brains. Optimal performers, in any form, have different brains. They are organically superior and effectively light up differently in fMRI studies.
And that... is the enormously abridged version of Building the Elite Athlete Brain.
And on the reverse side, we are moving deeper and deeper into the territory of understanding, educating and training athletes the science of optimal mental performance. Sport and Performance Psychology is not "positive self talk" (although that never hurts). It is an ever-evolving blend of what we continue to learn from brain research using such cutting edge technology as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), mindfulness research and utilizing other applied work based upon volumes of research on optimal human performance.
Sport Psychology is a decades-long study of why athletes blessed with optimal genetics, coaching and training fail, while the "genetically physically inferior" thrive. We study micro and macro techniques that when built into an athlete's daily routines will make huge differences in optimizing individual performance.
And, at the end of the day, Applied Sport and Performance Psychologists teach athletes, coaches and support staff the essentials of maximixing and maintaining optimal performance states, which translates into greater success, however measured. And yes...we are the builders of neurons and synaptic connections in our brains. Optimal performers, in any form, have different brains. They are organically superior and effectively light up differently in fMRI studies.
And that... is the enormously abridged version of Building the Elite Athlete Brain.
