our sport brain: truths and myths in sport psychology

Top-level sport is a complex interplay of technique, physical prowess, tactics, and the right mental attitude. Unfortunately, the latter aspect is often overlooked, even though it can determine victory or defeat. Many athletes, their coaches, and sport commentators often don’t go beyond a few vague clichés like ’Never change a winning team’. But are these accurate?

Mental coaches Eva Maenhout & Kris Perquy dissect the important myths from sport psychology and provide their perspective on the most underestimated aspect of top-level sport.

’Our Sport Brain’ provides insight into the athlete’s mind in clear language. Can you train for penalties? Can you motivate your team with an inspiring speech? How do you ensure optimal focus? And can a team have too many star players?

The insights from the book can be easily transferred to amateur sport, to business life and even to life in general. At the end of the day, everyone is confronted with situations where your mental attitude will make the difference. So it makes sense to learn how you can train your brain to strengthen this attitude.

Eva Maenhout & Kris Perquy are sport psychologists. In their sport consultancy practice created in 2008, they support top athletes and coaches to become mentally stronger, and clubs and federations to become psychologically informed. Not only in difficult moments but also when things are going well.