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Sports Psychology Coaching — Sports
Sports Psychology Coaching

The Sports Psychology Coaching Podcast by Eli Straw is a mental training podcast for athletes, competitors, coaches, and performers who want to improve confidence, focus, and performance under pressure. This podcast teaches practical sports psychology strategies to help athletes overcome fear of failure, performance anxiety, overthinking, and loss of confidence after mistakes so they can trust their training and compete freely.

Each episode covers key mental performance topics, including:
• Sports psychology and mental training for athletes
• How to build confidence in sports
• Overcoming performance anxiety and pressure
• Trusting your training and competing without fear
• Focus, composure, and mental toughness in competition
• Letting go of overthinking and perfectionism
• Visualization, mindfulness, and present-moment performance
• How to perform consistently in games, races, and competitions

Hosted by mental performance coach Eli Straw, this podcast provides simple, practical mental game coaching used with athletes from youth to elite levels. Learn how to stop playing scared, compete with freedom, and unlock your true performance.

If you’re an athlete, parent, or coach looking for sports psychology tips, mental toughness training, and performance mindset strategies, this podcast will help you build the mental skills needed to perform at your best when it matters most.

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist.

Copyright: © 2024 Sports Psychology Coaching

Latest Episodes:

How to Play Your Best Under Pressure in Sports Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

Pressure in sports can cause athletes to overthink, force outcomes, play scared, and struggle to perform freely when the moment matters most. In this episode, I explain how to perform under pressure in sports, why some athletes choke, and how to play your best in big moments.

👉 Want help with your mental game? Learn more about my 1-on-1 Mental Performance Coaching: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

I work one-on-one with athletes to help them overcome performance anxiety, fear of failure, overthinking, low confidence, and other mental blocks that keep them from performing their best in competition.

In this episode, you'll learn what pressure in sports is, why some athletes choke under pressure, and how pressure can actually improve your performance when you respond the right way.

I'll also explain the key to performing your best under pressure, including how to keep things simple, focus on the process, stick to your routines, embrace pressure-filled moments, and use your breathing to stay composed. I’ll also cover how to handle the physical feelings of pressure and ways you can train for pressure before you need to perform under it.

Not quite ready for 1-1 coaching? Learn more about the two self-paced online courses I have available.

👉 The Confident Competitor Academy: https://www.successstartswithin.com/confident-competitor-academy/

👉 The Mentally Tough Kid: https://www.successstartswithin.com/the-mentally-tough-kid/

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
3:11 What is Pressure in Sports?
6:15 Why Some Athletes Choke Under Pressure
11:10 How Pressure Can Improve Performance
14:04 The Key to Performing Under Pressure
28:52 How to Handle the Physical Feelings of Pressure
30:31 How to Train for Pressure
34:42 One-On-One Mental Coaching

📖 Read my complete guide to Performing Under Pressure: https://www.successstartswithin.com/sports-psychology-articles/focus-training-for-sports/how-to-perform-your-best-in-pressure-situations-during-games/

Listen to the Podcast
If you want more in-depth mental training episodes like this:
🎧 Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1DkRcMhKcNDcw4SaiKyMaO?si=0b51f098625f4949

Work with me!

🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course (for youth athletes)

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.

How to Build Mental Toughness in Sports Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Mental toughness in sports is the ability to stay confident, focused, composed, and in control when pressure, mistakes, frustration, and adversity challenge your mindset. In this episode, I explain how to build mental toughness in sports and develop the mental skills you need to compete with a stronger, more resilient mindset.
👉 Want help with your mental game? Learn more about my 1-on-1 Mental Performance Coaching: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

Confidence episode

Fear of failure episode

I work one-on-one with athletes to help them build confidence, improve focus, respond better to mistakes, manage pressure, overcome performance anxiety and fear of failure, and develop greater control over their mindset during competition.
In this episode, you'll learn what mental toughness really means, what mental toughness looks like during competition, and the mental skills that help athletes stay mentally strong when games become difficult.
I'll break down the importance of controlling your thinking, building confidence and trust, staying focused on the present moment, managing emotions, and responding productively to mistakes and adversity.
I'll also walk you through practical mental toughness exercises you can use, including reframing negative thoughts, practicing mindfulness, evaluating performances productively, using performance objectives, and mental rehearsal.
Finally, I'll explain how to use these skills during games so you can recognize when your mentality starts to change, reset more quickly, and return to the mindset you want to compete with.
Not quite ready for 1-1 coaching? Learn more about the two self-paced online courses I have available.
👉 The Confident Competitor Academy: https://www.successstartswithin.com/confident-competitor-academy/
👉 The Mentally Tough Kid: https://www.successstartswithin.com/the-mentally-tough-kid/
📖 Read my complete guide to Mental Toughness in Sports: https://www.successstartswithin.com/sports-psychology-articles/athlete-mental-toughness/build-mental-toughness-in-sports/
Listen to the Podcast
If you want more in-depth mental training episodes like this:
🎧 Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1DkRcMhKcNDcw4SaiKyMaO?si=0b51f098625f4949
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:16 What is mental toughness in sports
3:50 What mental toughness looks like during competition
10:53 The mental skills that make a mentally tough athlete
21:16 Mental training tools to build mental toughness
28:00 Be more mentally tough during games
32:30 1-1 mental coaching to build mental toughness in sports

Work with me!

🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course (for youth athletes)

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.

Sports Performance Anxiety: How to Overcome Anxiety and Play Freely Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

Sports performance anxiety can cause athletes to overthink, tense up, fear mistakes, and struggle to perform as freely in games as they do in practice. In this episode, I explain how to overcome sports performance anxiety, manage nerves, and compete with more confidence and freedom.

👉 Want help with your mental game? Learn more about my 1-on-1 Mental Performance Coaching: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

I work one-on-one with athletes to help them overcome performance anxiety, fear of failure, overthinking, low confidence, and other mental blocks that keep them from performing their best in competition.

In this episode, you'll learn what sports performance anxiety is, why it happens, the physical and mental signs to look for, and how your thoughts, physical reactions, and behaviors can create an anxiety cycle.

I'll also walk you through the ABC strategy I use with athletes—Accept, Breathe, and Change Your Thinking—along with strategies for managing anxiety before games, building a stronger pregame routine, resetting during competition, responding to mistakes, and performing with more confidence under pressure.

Not quite ready for 1-1 coaching? Learn more about my two self-paced online courses I have available.

👉 The Confident Competitor Academy: https://www.successstartswithin.com/confident-competitor-academy/
👉 The Mentally Tough Kid: https://www.successstartswithin.com/the-mentally-tough-kid/

📖 Read my complete guide to Sports Performance Anxiety: https://www.successstartswithin.com/sports-psychology-articles/sports-performance-anxiety/what-is-sports-performance-anxiety/

Work with me!

🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course (for youth athletes)

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.

Fear of Failure in Sports: How to Stop Playing Scared Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Fear of failure in sports can make athletes play scared, hesitate, overthink mistakes, and hold themselves back in competition. In this episode, I explain how to overcome fear of failure in sports, stop playing not to lose, and compete with more trust, confidence, and freedom.
👉 Want help with your mental game? Learn more about my 1-on-1 Mental Performance Coaching: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

How to Build Confidence in Sports Video
I work one-on-one with athletes to help them overcome fear of failure, performance anxiety, overthinking, low confidence, and other mental blocks that keep them from performing their best in competition.
In this episode, you'll learn what fear of failure in sports really is, why athletes fear making mistakes, and how fear of judgment, embarrassment, getting benched, disappointing others, or losing opportunities can make failure feel threatening.
I'll also explain how fear creates an avoidance mindset that causes athletes to play safely, hesitate, and focus more on preventing mistakes than performing well. Then, I'll walk you through strategies to build trust in your skills, gain the freedom to make mistakes, handle the consequences you fear, and shift your focus from avoiding failure to how you actually want to play.
You’ll also learn how to use process goals, improve the way you respond to mistakes, and use self-talk, visualization, and mindfulness to reduce fear and compete more freely.
Not quite ready for 1-1 coaching? Learn more about the two self-paced online courses I have available.
👉 The Confident Competitor Academy: https://www.successstartswithin.com/confident-competitor-academy/
👉 The Mentally Tough Kid: https://www.successstartswithin.com/the-mentally-tough-kid/
📖 Read my complete guide to Fear of Failure in Sports: https://www.successstartswithin.com/sports-psychology-articles/fear-of-failure-in-sports/overcome-fear-of-failure-in-sports/
Listen to the Podcast
If you want more in-depth mental training episodes like this:
🎧 Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1DkRcMhKcNDcw4SaiKyMaO?si=0b51f098625f4949
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:50 What is fear of failure in sports?
7:16 What causes fear of failure in sports?
13:20 How fear of failure holds athletes back
19:35 4 tips to manage fear of failure in sports
36:30 1-1 mental performance coaching

Work with me!

🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course (for youth athletes)

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.

How to Build Confidence in Sports Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

Low confidence can cause athletes to doubt themselves, overthink during games, play tentatively, and struggle to trust the skills they know they have. In this episode, I explain how to build confidence in sports, overcome self-doubt, and develop the trust you need to compete more freely.
👉 Want help with your mental game? Learn more about my 1-on-1 Mental Performance Coaching: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/
I work one-on-one with athletes to build confidence and overcome performance anxiety, fear of failure, overthinking, and other mental blocks that keep them from performing their best in competition.
In this episode, you'll learn what confidence actually means for athletes, the difference between confidence in your abilities and confidence in your ability to execute during games, and why confidence becomes fragile when it depends too heavily on results.
I'll also show you how to build stronger confidence using your preparation, strengths, past successes, and progress as confidence evidence. We’ll cover how to create your own confidence recipe, act confidently even when you don’t fully feel confident, rebuild confidence after a bad game, and handle self-doubt when it shows up during competition.
You’ll also learn how to prepare your mindset before games using self-talk, visualization, past successes, and controllable performance goals so you can stop waiting to feel confident and start proactively building confidence.
Not quite ready for 1-1 coaching? Learn more about the two self-paced online courses I have available.
👉 The Confident Competitor Academy: https://www.successstartswithin.com/confident-competitor-academy/
👉 The Mentally Tough Kid: https://www.successstartswithin.com/the-mentally-tough-kid/
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:15 Confidence in sports defined
4:35 Two types of confidence
7:52 Why confidence becomes so fragile for athletes
13:19 Build dependable confidence
16:28 Why physical preparation isn't enough
18:35 Building your confidence recipe
21:44 Creating confidence on game day
30:20 Regaining confidence after a bad game
33:09 1-1 mental performance coaching
📖 Read my article on How to Build Confidence in Sports: https://www.successstartswithin.com/sports-psychology-articles/athlete-self-confidence/confidence-building-exercises-for-athletes/

Work with me!

🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course (for youth athletes)

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.

How to Stop Worrying About What Might Happen Next During Games Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

Do you constantly worry about the future when you play? Whether you worry about stats, what coach will do or think, what your opponent will do, or anything else, this kind of worry can keep you from playing your best. Learn an effective strategy to stop worrying so much about the future when you play.

Work with me!

🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course (for youth athletes)

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.

How Fear of Failure Holds Athletes Back Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

Learn how fear of failure holds you back, and the shift you need to make in your thinking and in how you approach games to keep fear from destroying your game.

Work with me!

🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course (for youth athletes)

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.

My Favoirte Strategy for Managing Sports Anxiety in the Moment Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

When anxiety takes over during games, you need a simple, repeatable strategy to apply. In this episode, I explain my favorite strategy I teach athletes to use to manage sports performance anxiety during games.

Work with me!

🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course (for youth athletes)

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.

Tip to Play More Freely & With Less Fear Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

Do you struggle to play freely during games? Does the fear of mistakes cause you to hold yourself back? A large part of that has to do with the confidence you have in your own ability to bounce back from mistakes, along with your emotional reaction to mistakes once they happen. In this episode, I discuss a simple tip you can apply that can help you play more freely and with less fear during games.

Work with me!

🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course (for youth athletes)

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.

How to Improve Focus in Sports Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

Do you struggle with focusing during games? Learn how you can improve your focus as an athlete to increase your ability to perform in the present moment and compete at your best!

Work with me!

🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course (for youth athletes)

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or medical treatment. I am a mental performance coach, not a licensed psychologist. For clinical concerns, consult a licensed professional.

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