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.
Sports Psychology Coaching
What’s the Best Approach for Athletes Confident in Practice but Nervous in Games?
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Why are you confident in practice but nervous in games?
Many athletes play freely and confidently during training — but once competition starts, they feel anxious, tight, and afraid of making mistakes. In this episode, I explain why this happens and the best approach for athletes who are confident in practice but nervous in games.
As a mental performance coach, this is one of the most common issues I see. The difference between practice and competition is not skill, it’s pressure, consequences, and how you respond to nervousness.
In this video, you’ll learn:
- Why games feel more intense than practice
- The real reason nervousness leads to tension and poor performance
- Why trying to “force confidence” makes things worse
- How to accept nerves without letting them control you
- How to shift from outcome-focused thinking to controllable goals
- A simple two-step approach to play more freely in competition
Key takeaway: Nervousness is not the problem. The way you respond to nervousness determines how you perform.
Instead of trying to eliminate nerves or create fake confidence, you’ll learn how to:
- Acknowledge that games matter and accept nervousness
- Focus on small, specific, controllable actions that lead to success
This process builds real confidence — the kind that shows up under pressure.
If you struggle with performance anxiety, game-day nerves, fear of mistakes, or playing worse in games than in practice, this episode will help you develop a stronger mental approach to competition.
—
I also offer a 12-week 1-on-1 mental performance coaching program where we:
- Start with a full mental game assessment
- Build your custom mental game plan
- Meet weekly to train mental skills
- Use structured exercises and accountability
- Provide ongoing support between sessions
Work with me!
🧠 1-1 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/
👉 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.