Psychological Momentum

Athletes feel positive and negative momentum. Coaches plan for it. Spectators see and at times feel momentum shift in a team or player. Positive and negative (PM) is a reality of athletic performance.

, MSc, Sport & Exercise Psychology Candidate recently published a blog article titled, “Cognitive Illusion or Key to Continued Success? An Athlete’s Guide to Psychological Momentum,” The article gives a nice over view defining Psychological Momentum and strategies to trigger positive psychological momentum and strategies for athletes to overcome negative psychological momentum.

A few key take-aways from the article are:

*An athlete’s perceptions dictate if a turning point will translate into (-PM or +PM).

*An athlete can trigger (+PM) by capitalizing on positive events.

*An athlete can maintain (+PM) by staying engaged and avoiding complacency.

*An athlete can overcome negative momentum by recognizing an opportunity for negative facilitation, using tools to manage arousal and capitalizing on cues from their opposition.

It’s a well thought out article that is worth a read!