Mindfulness is causing quite a stir lately.  What’s worth knowing? First, a common understanding of mindfulness is being present with attention and curiosity such that our biases and feelings don’t interfere. We can improve our mindfulness through practice, often known as meditation, focusing or grounding. So far, so good.  To be mindful calls for related skills.  A very important one is managing the thoughts and emotions in our heads.  In western cultures many of us were raised to interact politely and effectively with people and organizations that were part of our daily lives.  We weren’t trained to “put a lid on”  what went on in our heads as well as mindfulness calls for.

Thoughts and feelings can “…kind of hook us, and reel us in, … jerk us around, and …pull us all over the place.”(Harris, p. 11). Certainly, managing emotions is a very big part of performance in sports. So controlling emotions and their related cognitions is key. Grasping what we can and cannot control is a second related skill. A lot can fill our heads and lead to anxiety and stress. In much of life, especially sports, it helps to attend to what we can control and put aside, and preferably out of mind, what we can’t. We can put together a football game plan based on film and scouting reports.  But, come game day, we’re best off doing the basics well and staying with the plan, especially at the high school level. There are simply limits to how much we can control the opposition. This leads to the last and very central skill often associated with mindfulness. That skill  is working on the process and minimizing the disruptive influence of thinking about outcomes, especially the final score. Rob Polishook made the distinction quite well for tennis, at least for a brief overview:

Outcome goals focus on  …the end result, while process goals focus on the steps a player must take to have the best chance  to achieve … (an) outcome goal. For example, an outcome goal might be to win a tournament, while a process goal could be to improve serving accuracy, third shot drops, or staying calm … between points.(2025). Building the skill of working with  process goals calls for a workshop all by itself! It’s not an easy skill to acquire. However, the Process formed the cornerstone of the strategy of one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, Nick Saban who won 7 national championships, 6 at Alabama and one at L.S.U. .(Burke, 131-133).   A further component for Saban’s approach is  the educational principle of breaking the parts of a skill into manageable sub-skills for teaching and learning. So, there’s certainly more to mindfulness than first meets the eye.

References

• Burke, Monte.(2015). Saban, the making of a coach.
• Harris, Russ. (2019). ACT made simple, (2nd ed.)
• Polishook, Rob. Goal Setting: How to Plan Your Success? Long Island Tennis. May/June 2025. p. 15.

In an article carried by MSN, Larry Brown (1/25/25) reported that “Madison Keys reveals the big change she made to win her first major (the Australian Open)” Brown quotes Keys saying “I've done a lot of work to no longer need this (a major championship).  What does that mean? The article doesn’t explicitly say. There are a number of paths through sports psychology. In brief (because it takes some work), here is a summary of some steps. 

Building some mental skills count.

What do we mean by mental skills? Think of your brain as a muscle like your biceps or triceps. The tissue is sort of different, but he principle still holds that if you want to get good at something, it takes a good number of “reps” or practice.

So, what are we practicing?

First, is the mindfulness skill of living in the moment, the present, one moment at a time. Our “head” is into what we are presently engaged in. Doing so helps to dislodge and push out disruptive thoughts. For instance, in tennis let’s say you focus on the follow-through of your serve and your forehand. What you’re focusing on in actual play is hitting your serves and your forehand as best as you can and improving that. Here’s an important point: You don’t think about winning, just your serve and forehand. You might say, “Art, that’s pretty hard to do; not think about winning.” You’re absolutely right. That’s why you have to train your brain with lots of reps just like you train the response in your biceps and triceps in following through on the service. “Training your Brain” may include a brief form of meditation practice, like exercises to build your biceps and triceps that you’d do on a gym. This may sound unfamiliar to you. That’s why I recommend working with a sports psychologist or a mental skills coach. This support can give you more specifics than an article or book chapter can offer. In fact, I’ll be speaking at the Nassau Zone Conference of the NYS AHPERD at Adelphi University on March 21. I plan to demonstrate some of specific exercises that make up the “Training Your Brain” noted above.

Welcome! Tuesday, November 5, 2024 is the date for the Suffolk Zone’s Mini Conference at Samoset Middle School, 51 School Street, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779. I’ll be doing a workshop in Session 4: 11:30- 12:25 entitled: The World Health Organization’s Mental Health Skills for Everyone: The Self-Help Plus Program. We’ll train in Grounding and other skills  and look at applying them in the classroom and in your favorite sport.  We will also practice problem-solving and making decisions based on our values. I’m looking forward to seeing you there! Art Arthur L. Popp, Ph.D.
Licensed NYS Psychologist

By the time he had retired at the end of the 2023 season, football  Coach Nick Saban of Alabama had won 7 national NCAA national titles.  Saban encouraged his players to disregard the clutter in their heads and focus on what they were doing at the moment, one play at a time. This is a variation on mindfulness-being highly focused on what we’re doing in the here and now. The clutter in our heads can certainly mess things up. Just ask anyone who has served a match point in tennis or pickleball. Russ Harris, a well-known therapist wrote, “Our thoughts and feelings ‘hook’ us: they hook our attention, reel us in, jerk us around, and pull us off track.” (Russ Harris, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Made Simple, 2^nd ed, p. 20). Here’s where some principles of sports psychology help.   Working on our biceps or triceps in the gym strengthens our arms. A brief form of meditation, or even a standard meditation exercise, helps develop key parts of our brain and nervous system so we can stay highly focused on what we’re doing.  Next, we can build our enhanced attention skills into what we do in any sport.  In a serve in pickleball, there are distinct steps, such as taking a stance to serve. Next, we  notice and name any disruptive thought or emotion or clutter, as Saban would call it. Then, we move forward from a back foot, focus intently down on the ball, and follow through with the serve. Note that the skill or habit of the serve includes both the physical movements and distinct actions in our consciousness. The conscious habits are noticing and naming any disruptive thought or emotion and then focusing intently on the ball. These mental skills act to clear out the clutter that can get in the way of improving our performance.

Hi, and Greetings! Tuesday November 7 is the date for the Suffolk Zone’s Mini Conference at Sachem East High School, 177 Granny Road in Farmingville, 11738. I’ll be doing two related back-to-back workshops. Both are in rooms B122.

Session 3: 10:00-10:55

Basics of Mental Well-Being for All from the World Health Organization (W.H.O).

 We’ll look at core skills, train in Grounding or Brief Meditation and look at applying them in the classroom, on teams, and to your favorite sport. These skills are from the W.H.O.’s group program, “Self-Help Plus,” and its parallel for individuals, “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress.”

Session 4: 11:30-12:25

The W.H.O.’s “Self-Help Plus” Program- a Deep Dive into Values Clarification.”

We’ll go into depth with practical applications of Values,  Values Clarification and Making Decisions. This will continue our exploration of the mental skills from the World Health Organization’s “Self-Help Plus” that is used around the world. I’m looking forward to seeing you there! Art Arthur L. Popp, Ph.D.
Licensed NYS Psychologist

A note about my private practice - Besides general psychotherapy, I’m also working with sports-related matters, such as performance anxiety and symptoms of depression.  Almost all teams in the major sports leagues have a behavioral health professional on board to teach core mental skills to improve effectiveness and avoid mental illness. NBA teams are required to have a full-time mental health specialist according to the Players’ Association contract.  Below are articles on the Mets and the  New York Giants. You can reach me at the “Contact” tab on my website, www.arthurpopp.com.

Dunleavy, R. (2022, October 21). Giants’ sports psychologist Dr. Lani Lawrence integral in team’s renaissance. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2022/10/21/giants-sports-psychologist-integral-in-teams-renaissance/

Wagner, J.(2022, June24) For the Mets, deep breaths, a little chatter and a lot of wins. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/sports/baseball/pete-alonso-mets-breathing.html

Now to the S.M.A.R.T. guidelines and goals.

In our last article we talked about a basketball player aiming to hit 70% of her foul shots.  Using the SMART guidelines will help. Here they are:

• S - Specific - Can you imagine seeing this. Yes, we can visualize our player hitting 7 out of 10 foul shots.
• M - Measurable - Certainly. We have a clear number in mind here.
• A - Achievable - Can our player reach this goal?  If we agree she can, game on!
• R - Relevant - Hitting free throws certainly is relevant!
• T - Time sensitive - This is one of the more important guidelines. If she strives to reach this goal by the fourth week of the season, she is more likely to reach 70% by that date.

A Coaching Point - Keep in mind that these are guidelines only.  Don’t let them get you or your players in a bind and frustrated! An example is a pickleball player we’ll call Cindy. Cindy is - trying to increase the number of  shots she hits down the middle between her two opponents.  It’s tough to Measure unless you have a camera  to catch all the action. Then, there are judgment calls about what is in the middle!  Yes, the goal is achievable. Is it relevant? Certainly, hitting down the middle, and preferably low to the opponents’ feet, is definitely relevant.  What about time-sensitive? Yes, Cindy can aim to do better at hitting down the middle within 3 weeks time.  Again, we have to keep in mind that Cindy is playing pickleball in part for the challenge and for recreation. She’s got a full-time job and a family.  Plus, if she sets this goal in early April, spring showers can get in the way of getting in practice time and playing! For sure, goal-setting and using the S.M.A.R.T. guidelines are not easy tasks. We benefit from these skills when we treat them like an art –  something we work on and cultivate over time. Enjoy the summer! I’m looking forward to seeing you at the Suffolk Zone’s (NYS-AHPERD) November 7^th Conference where I’ll be presenting on a sports psychology topic.

I had exchanged some emails with Noom, the company that has a very successful and behavioral approach to weight loss.  On the top of one of their emails was the phrase, “A Goal without a Plan is Just a Wish.” It really struck a chord for me.  So, a few words about planning in this and my next blog. Let’s start out with a youth basketball player who wants to make 70% of her free throws.  A  GPS like Google Maps or Waze is a good example of a plan. If I tap the “Directions” tab on my GPS, it will give me each turn. That’s the plan to get where I’m going.  By the same token, a basketball player benefits from a plan to reach 70% success in foul-shooting. The steps could include:

1. Check in with her coach for what she can improve in her foul shooting.
2. The coach may recommend doing planks, modified push-ups, and some free weights to improve arm and upper body strength.
3. Her coach may suggest a set of steps  at the foul line that include taking a deep breath, focusing on the basket’s rim, bending the knees, inhaling, lifting the ball up and exhaling as she shoots.   

So, we have steps in our plan. To make sure our goal is not just a wish, in our next blog I’ll take up the value of the S.M.A.R.T. guidelines. In the future we’ll also touch on social support in reaching goals.

Tuesday, November 8th

Our Suffolk Zone Conference of the NYS AHPERD  is on Tuesday, November 8^th at Ward Melville High School in East Setauket.  I’ll be doing two presentations in the school library that day.

• Session IV, 11:30-12:25 – Sports Psychology Applied to Teaching H.S. P.E. Students and Athletes
• Session V, 12:30-1:25 – Self Help Plus, the World Health Organization’s stress management program, applied to sports.

Also, meet me in the Vendor Area.  I’ll be there in the morning.

Friday, November 18th

On November 18^th I’ll be presenting at the NYS AHPERD STATE CONFERENCE at Turning Stone Convention Center near Syracuse.

• 7:30am/Birch Room – I’ll be leading a discussion on our personal values and their role in planning retirement.
• 12:05pm/Oak Room – My second talk is on how basic stress management skills can benefit any athlete or team.  We'll be talking about the Self Help Plus Program from the World Health Organization.

I’ve talked to lots of teachers over the past 2 years. As you well know, many have faced high stress during the pandemic and that’s been very hard on them and their students. I am confident that we can do a better job equipping ourselves with the skills and habits needed to face the challenges of adversities like the pandemic. The CDC has said that Covid may be back in a form that could have an impact this fall, especially when the weather turns colder. Hopefully, whatever variant appears will be nowhere as harmful as those we’ve already faced. And, many Americans are fully vaccinated.  Dr. Ann Eckardt Erlanger of Suffolk County Psychological Association (SCPA) looked into programs available for large groups on training in mental health.  It appears there are few quality programs out there. This could affect you and your school or district.  So I’d like to suggest a program that we’ve already paid for with our tax dollars.  The United Nations, through the World Health Organization, initially developed “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress” for aid workers in war-torn countries, particularly Syria and Uganda. As a service created by the W.H.O., the research is substantial. It comes in many languages. The English version is about 40 pages. I found it easy to grasp and practice.  There are also five audio tapes that support the reading. You can download the manual and the audio tapes for no charge. Again, we’ve already paid for the program’s development. Very importantly, learning “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress (a Self-Help + program of the W.H.O.)” can be done on your own or in a relatively large group up to 30. The program teaches five skills. I’ve tweaked versions of the skills for use with the teams I’ve coached including boy’s football, girl’s flag football, and soccer. Here’s a video by the W.H.O. about “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress.” It’s just over two minutes long: The program does something very important: It emphasizes lots of practice so we’re ready to use the skills when needed. This addresses a weakness of many mental health and social-emotional learning programs - not including sufficient practice to build the skills. Check it out. Here’s the reference for an English version. This is the version I was referring to above. Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide. Adapted Version for the Caribbean. Washington, D.C. Pan American Health Organization.2021. License: C By-NC. SA 3.0 IGO. https://doi.org/10.37774/9789275123935. If you'd like help in implementing, email me or call.  A disclaimer- I receive no remuneration from the W.H.O. or the U.N.! Have a great summer!

I hope you can join me this spring for three presentations I’ll be doing. March 16^th at 4:00 PM. – Selecting a Social-Emotional Learning Program: Key Factors (virtual)  for school psychologists of the Suffolk County Psychological Association as well as anyone who is interested. Contact me if you’d like to attend. I’ll send you the link. March 25 at the Nassau Zone Conference of NYS AHPERD at Adelphi University,
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Skills in Varsity & Youth Sports. NYS AHPERD emails will have the pertinent information. May 6^th- I’ll be participating on a panel with Drs. Deena Abbe and Greg Haggerty on Building a Better Athlete: Using Psychology to Help Athletes, for the Suffolk County Psychological Association (SCPA). Again, everyone is welcome. Here’s the link.  On that page the workshops are listed along the right side. We’re May 6^th. Here’s our follow-up to the December 2021 blog about the Learning & Performance climate. What I’ll do here is suggest a visual to use in making the point that our goal is to get our players in an optimal place or “frame of mind.” I’ll also list four additional steps to build your team’s learning and performance climate. You can access the December 2021 blog here. Let’s take an example.  Angie is a fictitious player on our girls’ flag football team. Let’s say she joined the team in her 9^th grade year, and showed a lot of promise. Angie is a bit shy. As a new team member, she seemed to often be “treading lightly,” as if she didn’t want to make a mistake or draw attention to herself. She was athletic and had done well, but seemed  anxious. How can we help her? First, we use the two heads graphic that we described last time and is inserted just below.  On the left side is a player’s head full of thoughts and worries.  On the right side, that player has “dealt” with those concerns in a variety of ways, at least for the time that she is playing.  As a result, she can focus better. Another way to help get this idea across is through the Yerkes-Dodson Inverted U-curve. Yes, it is a “mouthful.” It relates motivation and drive to performance.  Motivation and drive can also include anxiety. This is a teaching device that has been used for decades.  Here it is: On the chart the left (vertical or y-axis) is performance or how we do in a practice or game. The horizontal axis (x-axis) is motivation or drive. If we move along the x-axis just a bit, we can then  go vertically until we reach the curve. By then going horizontally back to the left to the y-axis, we see the “Performance” level which isn’t too high. Once our motivation or drive (x-axis) is in a moderate to fairly high range (space with the diagonal lines), we’re at a high level on the curve. When we go horizontally to the y-axis, the corresponding point on the y-axis is near or close to the top of the y-axis or absissa- maximum performance.  However, and here’s a key point- if Angie  is too driven or overly anxious,  performance( the far right on the x-axis) begins to drop off. That optimal level of drive is also known as "flow" (Kaufman, Glass, & Pineau, 2018, pp. 48-59) or “being in the zone.” I’ve often heard athletes from the 2022 Winter Games talking about being in a place where they’re having fun.  This is the optimal level of the curve (with the diagonal lines). So, we can help our athletes get to a comfortable place, a place “in the zone” or a point of “flow” by:

1. Using the “Two-Heads” graphic from the previous blog (Dec. 12, 2021)  on the learning and performance climate. Also, we can use the inverted curve described above to decrease “brain clutter.”

Also from the previous blog we can:

2. Teach living one play or one action at a time, just executing what comes next without biases or thinking about  the past or the future (including the scoreboard.) It’s the quality of what we do  moment to momentthat counts. Coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide (6 national titles, and one with L.S.U.) describes this “Process” approach at about the 2:25 mark of a video we showed in our first blog.  I've inserted it again here.

3. Something that naturally fits with a process approach is paying attention to what we can control, and leaving to the side what we can’t.  There is little to no value in  ruminating about what we can’t control.
4. As coaches, we can regularly use a lot of reinforcement. We described this, along with a video of Coach Ted Newsome doing it in our July 30 blog, “The Process, Part 3.”  Here’s the link to that video:

5. Regularly do exercises to build focusing skills.  We’ll talk about these in future blogs.

Through the steps above we were able to help Angie build her skills and her confidence over the course of the season. She is better equipped to make a substantial contribution to the team. I'm looking forward to your comments. See you next time!

References

Kaufman, K., Glass, C. and Pineau, T. (2018) Mindful sport performance enhancement. Washington, D.C. :The American Psychological Association.