The Mental Aspects of Sports Injury and Performance

ISP Sponsors Texas Invitational Volleyball Tournament

August 16, 2015 by Robert Andrews Leave a Comment

We are proud to announce that The Institute of Sports Performance was a sponsor of The 2015 Texas Invitational Volleyball Tournament.

This is one of the largest volleyball tournaments in the country. This year there were 88 teams from all over Texas.

Being a part of this tournament puts our brand in front of over 1, 300 volleyball players, their coaches, and parents. This broadens our ability to help athletes needing support with their mental and emotional recovery as they return from serious sports related injuries. We are also able to reach more parents, coaches, and organizations with cutting edge mental training, team building, and development of sports culture.

What a Final!

The Coppell Cowgirls won the final in a remarkable three set match over local power Clear Creek. The level of play was spectacular. All areas of play excelled with great passing and defense, setting, and powerful hitting.

Congratulations to Pearland Coach John Turner, Dawson Coach Jason Karim, their players and parents for putting on a well run tournament. We look forward to being a part of The Texas Invitational next year.

Mental Toughness and Mindfulness in Sports

January 22, 2015 by Robert Andrews 6 Comments

For many athletes their reaction to stressful events during training, competitive pressures, and off field issues sets off an intense destructive response. For many this reaction is so intense it impacts performance severely, impairs ones ability to focus, and depletes self confidence. For many it feels like a wave of nervous energy and emotion has taken over their mind and body. When something goes wrong negative responses rise up and performance often suffers. These “Reactive Habits” can be avoided by becoming mindful or aware of how the athlete reacts to stress.

Reactive habits are old programs or ways of responding that are often destructive to performance. Many basketball players get animated and dramatic when they think a ref has made a bad call. They throw their hands up in the air, stomp their feet in anger. Some charge at the official in a disrespectful and intimidating way. A baseball or softball player might hang their head, look at the ground, and show poor body language as they walk back to the dugout after striking out.

For many athletes this reactive habit can be an internal reaction. Their emotional intensity grows, their stomach knots up, blood pressure rises, and their thoughts become negative.

If the athlete has responded this way for a long time their reaction can become their default or norm when things go wrong. They have little or no control over the reaction or its intensity.

Mindfulness – Changing Reactive Habits

Mindfulness is an awareness of what we are doing when we are doing it. Athletes that fall into reactive habits are being mindful when under stress. They are at the mercy of these destructive habits. Becoming mindful creates a pause between the stimulus that occurs and the athletes reaction to the event.

Viktor Frankl, a WW II Holocaust survivor, author, and artist wrote the following profound quote:

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In those choices lie our growth and our happiness.”

Translated into sports:

“Between events that occur in the life of the athlete there is a brief pause or space of time. In that pause or space we have the ability to choose how we respond to the event. Those choices decide if we succeed or if we struggle.”

When an athlete makes a mistake, is called out by a coach, or sees a teammate go down with an injury, mindfulness acts as the third person observer to help the athlete become aware of their response to the stimulus. Noticing emotions welling up, poor body language, withdrawal, anxiety, frustration, increases in heart rate and blood pressure, or negative thinking will help the athlete recognize the reactive habit is building.

Quieting The Inner Storm

Nature gives very clear signals that a storm is coming. Dark clouds, wind, changes in temperature, thunder and lightning all tell as that a storm is eminent. We take action to get out of harms way.

Every athlete has “warning signs” that let them know that their internal storm or reactive habit is building. Biting nails, tightening of the stomach, changes in body language or facial tones, anger and frustration, becoming quiet and withdrawn, and over thinking are all signs that the storm is building and the reactive habit is taking over.

Becoming mindful of these warning signs helps the athlete recognize the space between stimulus and response. Breathing, correcting negative thoughts and attitudes, calming emotional responses, and making smarter and better choices help to quiet the storm before it damages confidence, impacts performance, or effects team chemistry.

Noticing when the athlete is exhibiting their specific warning signs creates the awareness for change. We can’t change anything if we aren’t aware of what we need to change. Learning how to acknowledge the reaction is the secret…”I am getting frustrated” “My mindset is changing”, My heart rate is getting faster”, “I am getting quiet and shutting down”… Becoming mindful honors that space between stimulus and response and with practice the athlete creates positive reactive habits.

Creating positive reactive habits helps the athlete stay mentally and emotionally centered. The centered athlete performs at high levels consistently. They connect to their sport with focus, determination, and passion. It is hard to knock them off balance mentally and emotionally. They learn how to stop being the victim to stressful events and approach challenges head on. They build confidence and have a strong self concept.

Why Baseball and Softball Hitters Stare At The Bat

June 15, 2014 by Robert Andrews 4 Comments

If you have been watching any of the NCAA baseball and softball tournaments I am sure you have noticed hitters taking time to stare at the bat before stepping into the box to hit. I first noticed this on a large scale during last years College Baseball World Series. The entire UCLA baseball team made this an important part of their mental preparation before each at bat. Some doing it between each pitch. They hit the ball extremely well and won the NCAA Championship.

This year you will see this mental ritual being utilized by most college teams in the playoffs.

Focusing on a specific point on the bat helps the hitter bring their mental and emotional focus to a single point. This helps the mind eliminate the distractions of the moment like the sound of a loud crowd and the pressure that comes with an important at bat in a key series.

This ritual helps focus the mind on the task at hand. Hitting. Focusing on a single positive swing thought like “hit the ball hard” sends a message to the conscious and unconscious mind to execute at a high level.

Where the Mind Leads the Body Follows

Focusing on a specific point on the bat is also a reminder to bring their emotional state back in to balance.

If the hitter is thinking pressure producing thoughts then the mind will focus on what not to do. Negative thoughts like “don’t make an out”, “don’t strike out”, and “I have to get a hit” increase stress and pressure. Pressure producing thoughts can also create emotional surges that are counter productive to hitting. Where the hitter aims their mind the body follows.

A Deep Centering Breath

You will also noticed hitters taking a deep breath after they have taken time to stare at the bat. This deep breath helps the hitter in a several ways.

It reinforces the minds ability to focus on the present moment.

It helps the hitter calm any amped up emotion they might experience during the at bat.

It sends oxygen to the brain. When the brain realizes it is receiving a surge of oxygen it sends a message to the body to relax.

Hitters are more productive with a relaxed mind and body.

Achieving Their Peak Performance Zone

Each hitter has certain level of intensity, adrenaline, and internal stress that allows their body to perform at its peak. We call this the “Peak Performance Zone”.

Taking time to focus the mind on a specific place on the bat and take a deep centering breath helps the athlete move into this zone before each pitch. This increases productivity.

It Works For The Pros

I taught this technique to a Major League player who was struggling at the plate. He was focusing on the wrong things during his at bats. His intensity level was way too high. He was out of his zone when hitting.

He learned how to bring his focus in before each pitch and breath in a way that relaxed his mind and body. His productivity at the plate soared. His average increased by over 30 points the last two months of the season and his RBI and HR totals spiked dramatically.

Most importantly baseball was fun. He learned to enjoy the game again.

CORE Map: Support For Injury Recovery, Athletes in Transition, Retirement From Sports

April 15, 2014 by Robert Andrews Leave a Comment

All athletes face periods of transitions in their lives and in their respective sports. Moving from junior high to high school, high school to college, and college to professional sports can be difficult times for many athletes. Trying to make a higher level team, return to play after suffering a serious injury, or learning how to work with a new coaching staff or coaching style are other hurdles athletes might face during their careers.

Athletes Facing Retirement

For many retirement from sports is devastating.　Many struggle because they don’t have the self-awareness, life tools, social skills, and emotional intelligence to navigate their way through these rough waters. Gaining emotional intelligence, life skills, insight, awareness, and understanding their strengths can eliminate the suffering and despair that so many athletes face upon retirement from a sport that has been their identity for years.

CORE Map

The CORE Multidimensional Awareness Profile CORE Map is a powerful self awareness process that helps athletes gain critical insight, develop life skills, emotional intelligence, and live passionately and authentically.

The CORE Map process is an online personality profile that reveals critical information to those who strive to reach peak levels in athletic performance, team functioning, and improve coaching skills.

CORE provides awareness and insight that impacts every area of the athletes or coaches lives.

Participants take the online profile and participate in an in depth review of the profiles findings. A suggested ongoing integration period helps process and integrate this information over time. Ongoing and increasing self-awareness and insight help create profound growth and self-actualization.

Six months after taking the initial CORE report a Progress Report is taken that gives an indication of present status compared to initial findings taken six months earlier. For many the Progress Report is an exhilarating experience. For others it shows where there is still work to be done.

Life Changing Results

Athletes who choose to participate in this process can expect to gain insight and awareness in the following areas:

Understanding of how participants think they are showing up in life and their respective sport.
Awareness of how they are really showing up in life and their respective sport.
How stress and pressure change their approach to life an competition in many areas.
How participants utilize vital mental and emotional resources.
Determine if they are using these resources in efficient ways.
Understanding of how stress, pressure, and conditioning change their personality temperament and coping strategies.
Understand and learning how to let go of old conditioning and step into an authentic way of being and relating in the world.
How to pursue passion and excellence in their lives and in their sport.
Find a creative channel for this passion in their present lives and sport.

Winners Into Champions

The CORE Process has helped Olympic and professional athletes, NFL All pro’s, MLB All Stars, World Champions, NCAA All Americans, National Champions, college and high school athletes, All State athletes, and coaches at all levels of competition.

Athletes who have benefited from this process are:　

Athletes involved in the recruiting process.
Athletes getting ready for college.
Athletes trying to transition from home life to college life.
Athletes leaving college sports and heading for the professional ranks.
Athletes coming back from serious sports related injuries.
Athletes retiring from sports and attempting to transition to a “main stream” life.
Coaches who want to achieve a higher level of success, increase their skills as a coach, and learn how to face stress and pressure and maintain their mental and emotional strength as a coach.

Maximize Your Potential

Athletes who have taken the profile and worked to integrate and apply what they discover about themselves perform better, manage life better, achieve higher goals, learn how to manage stress and pressure better, communicate better, have better interpersonal boundaries. They show up more authentically.

For more information contact Robert B. Andrews at:

robertandrews@tinssp.com
713 522-2200
or visit 　to learn more about CORE MAP

Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, and Lindsey Vonn Injuries Reveal the Missing Link in Injury Recovery

January 2, 2014 by Robert Andrews Leave a Comment

Kobe Bryant breaking a bone in his knee after coming back from a torn Achilles tendon, Derrick Rose tearing a cartilage after returning to play after a torn ACL, and Lindsey Vonn partially tearing her ACL after returning from a complete ACL tear all reveal the gap in the recovery process for athletes returning to play after suffering serious sports related injuries. Athletes return to competition after being cleared to play physically but their mental and emotional readiness is not part of the current treatment model for athletes returning to play. Addressing the mental and emotional impact of sports related injuries helps athletes face surgery with a confident and positive mindset. They handle surgery better. They approach their recovery process with more focus and intensity. They also return to play absent of the conscious or unconscious fear of re-injury.

Kobe suffered a torn Achilles tendon last season and attempted to return to play at the beginning of this NBA season. Kobe was cleared to play as “100%” by his Doctors and athletic training staff. A few games into the season he tweaked his hamstring. A few games after that his comeback and his season ended when he broke a bone in his knee.

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose suffered a similar fate. He tore his ACL last NBA season. After a prolonged recovery process he returned to play at the start of this season. A few games in he tweaked his hamstring. The following week he tore a cartilage in his other knee. His return to play this season is questionable at best.

Olympic Gold Medalist Lindsey Vonn tore her ACL in a skiing practice training. After surgery and an intense rehab process she returned to training only to partially tear the ligament again. She is trying to make it through Olympic Trials without fully tearing the ligament.

When an athlete suffers a serious injury a part of the brain called the limbic system is activated. The job of the limbic system is to keep the athlete safe. In the case of a serious sports related injury it means keeping the athlete safe from re-injury. When the limbic system is engaged athletes will consciously and unconsciously make adjustments to protect the injured area. With these adjustments stress and torque move to other areas of the body. From the ankle to the knee, from the knee to the hamstring or back, from the elbow to the shoulder.

I worked with a team that had six athletes suffer serious knee injuries in a thirteen day period. I was fortunate to be able to see three of these athletes before they had surgery. I saw two athletes right after surgery. I was able to work with the sixth athlete as they were returning to play after being “cleared”. Working with these six athletes during their process of returning to play was a remarkable experience. In a sense I had a small sample group to test this theory.

The three athletes I worked with prior to surgery were able to work through all of their fears about the surgical procedure they were about to face. Some of these fears were rational. Is it going to hurt? How long will I be out of competition? What if someone takes my place while I am out? Some of their fears were irrational. What if I wake up during surgery? What if they operate on the wrong knee? What if they cut something else during surgery and my career is over?

Many athletes have fear and anxiety before surgery but very few are able to talk about, process, and work through these fears before surgery. They go into surgery with their brain on full alert and overstimulated. By processing the fear and anxiety before surgery they approach surgery in a calmer and more relaxed state. They are relaxed mentally and emotionally before they enter the operating room.

These three athletes had remarkably positive experiences of surgery. One athlete said that a surgery room nurse asked if they had ever had surgery before because they seemed so calm and confident. Their recovery process was very successful. They approached rehab with a high level of intensity and mental toughness. They all returned to play the next season and suffered no further injuries.

The two athletes I worked with after surgery said that they approached surgery with a lot of fear and uncertainty. They suffered a lot of pain after surgery. Their rehab process was difficult. After just a few sessions we worked through the injury and their rational and irrational fears about rehab and returning to play. They made a great comeback the next season. They played well and suffered no further injuries.

The last athlete went through surgery and extensive rehab. They endured a lot of physical pain after surgery. Rehab had been very tough. There were resistant to their rehab and PT. When they were cleared to play they had tremendous fear and anxiety about suffering another injury. At this time they asked to come see me and we started addressing the injury, the pain and suffering they endured, disconnection from their team, and their fear of being injured again. They made great progress quickly. They went on to play that season. They did very well and suffered no further injuries.

Working with these six athletes confirmed that treating the mental and emotional impact of the injury has a profound impact on the injured athlete. I continue to confirm this treatment model with every inured athlete I am fortunate to be able to work with.

I have also found that the sooner I am able to treat an athlete the better their recovery process and the better their return to play. Seeing the athlete before surgery is the real key.

When I hear about Kobe Bryant, RGIII, Derrick Rose, and Lindsey Vonn I know that there is another resource they can add to their recovery process. Working with athletes before and after surgery helps the athlete return to play stronger, wiser, smarter, more confident, and absent of the fear of re-injury.

For professional teams and agents it helps restore their contractual value to their team. If they play better they are worth more.

But most importantly they are happier and more confident. They love the game or sport again. They trust their bodies to perform at extremely high levels. They are truly “100%” ready to play.