Stressors can often feel overwhelming for athletes. Constant judgement from being in a results-driven environment, concerns about contracts not being renewed, receiving criticism from significant others, demanding schedules, and the inevitable injuries are all stressors that athletes must frequently navigate. Stressors such as these have the potential to undermine their mental health, with studies indicating that athletes are prone to experiencing clinical anxiety and depression. Accordingly, it…

Author Biography:

Name: Eugene Amo-Dadzie

Age: 30

Event: 100m (PB = 9.93s)

Performance Level: International

Contribution topic area: Mindset

Who Am I?

I am a Christian, qualified chartered accountant, husband, and father to the most beautiful girl in the world. I made the decision to take up the sport at the age of 26 after a good friend of mine asked me why I had never considered pursuing a sport I have always been very passionate about. I guess the rest is history as here I am 4 seaso…

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Introduction to The Visions Podcast:

My name is Destiny Ogali, I am an u23 International Sprinter that has represented GB and England at both the senior and junior levels. The sport of Track & Field has created so many opportunities for me that I am forever thankful for. Despite having some competition experience, I would still say I’m quite “new” to the sport in relation to understanding the inner workings of it all. Overall, I’m blessed to be able to do what I lo…

Before we get started, Matt has recently created a FREE Psychological Playbook to help you unleash your potential! Find out more at the end of this blog 🤝

●  We are never defined by what we achieve.

●  The only real limits you’ll encounter are those created in your mind.

●  Happiness exists now, not when you achieve your next goal.

●  Listen to your body, it doesn’t lie. You can kid yourself, but you will get injured if you push too hard.

●  Everyone is born with different gifts but e…

Generally in sport there seems to be a bigger emphasis on who the winners, medalists or top runners are. This can be seen across many sports, with track & field being no exception. This emphasis can create difficulties for those who are one-step below the top guys, with feelings of inadequacy being one that hits close to home for myself.

My name is Jacob, I’m mainly a 200m athlete. At youth and junior levels I regularly made finals in the 200m at the English Schools’ Championships and the Eng…

1. Introduction

Everyone knows the last few months have been stressful - and it’s been different for all of us.

On one hand, you see some people are on top of the world; athletes in Dubai at the NAS complex, living life, soaking in the sun, getting some top class training in. 

On the other end of the spectrum though, you see a group of athletes travelling over an hour from Cardiff to Aberdare just to get 40 minutes of hammer throwing in the books.

How can you stay level headed - regardl…

‘Records are made to be broken’

Could this increasing pressure be driving athletes away from the sport and subsequently, due to rising standards could more athletes be developing injuries as a result?

‘But that’s part and parcel of being an athlete…’

For athletes in Olympic and Paralympic Sports, high calibre performance represents the pinnacle of what they hope to achieve (Henrickson et al, 2017). Granted, pressure is a very open term, whilst many athletes will experience worries and stress …

Just like 2020, sport can be very demanding and push us to our limits. Adversities, or any negative events, are inevitable in sport. Athletes may experience failures, mental health problems, injuries, homesickness and overtraining [1]. When dealing with these challenges, athletes are often told to just “get over it” or “move on.” We are told that in order to be successful, we must bounce back from adversity, be more resilient, and learn from our failures [2]. Yet these behaviours are not simple …

In some ways, being a semi-professional athlete is a thankless job. You train just as hard as those at the top do, but the rewards aren’t reaped until you make that critical breakthrough to the “elite” level.

This is not a complaint about our lot, but rather an observation of fact. We are often told to stay motivated by keeping in mind our goals and focusing on the end result. However, especially due to the times we are in, these can seem rather remote. 

think that’s why it is important to e…

On your marks, set *BANG*

Down, set, hut

*Whistle*

These are all different cues that let an athlete know that it is time to lock in, all sending the same stimuli through the body…

Getting ready to compete.

Through this piece, I want to have a self-reflecting debate about the differences in mentality between rugby, American football, athletics and football.

I have managed to be fortunate enough to be a national age group champion for 60m and 100m, as well as playing academy football, acad…