Sport psychology - inside the mind of champion athletes: Martin Hagger at TEDxPerth

Martin Hagger is Professor of Psychology at Curtin University. His areas of expertise are social, health, sport and exercise psychology. He is involved in numerous research projects nationally and internationally with a focus on motivation and behaviour change. He is currently leading projects in drugs in sport, promoting physical activity and healthy diet, understanding the mechanisms of willpower and self-control, and reducing binge drinking and the prevalence of smoking.
At the highest level, athletes are well-matched in terms of their physical abilities, conditioning, and skill level. But often that is not enough to win and perform on the biggest of stages like the Olympic games. Developing strategies and techniques to get athletes minds in the best possible condition for optimal performance is increasingly important for sports teams and coaches.
Martin will provide an overview of the kinds of techniques that elite athletes use to prepare psychologically for their sport, give details of the scientific research into these techniques and how they work, and how the techniques might be used by competitive athetes and coaches to maximise performance.
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TEDxPerth 2012 took place on Saturday 8 December 2012 at the Octagon Theatre at the University of Western Australia. Over 500 people attended in person and listeners all over the country enjoyed the day by tuning in to the live broadcast on digital radio.
About TEDx, x = independently organised event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organised events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organised TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organised.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[@scottseymour793]

Honestly thought it was a good talk. Very refreshing to hear. As a college athlete, sometimes I forget the simple mental aspect of success.

[@chadmckeighan5871]

Did you ever utilize vision boards?

[@SPORTSCIENCEps]

Everything is in our mind.

[@DrDu-zc4eg]

- These skills are easy to forget and require practice the same way physical skills of sport require practice! Reminders are essential! Not sure if you are still competing but I hope you were able to achieve some of what you set out to. 🙌🏾

[@chekoisowned]

@@chadmckeighan5871 I use to think these boards were simply crungecheesy for some reason

[@sitnok3820]

He gave a TedTalk on the basic sports psychology which I learn at gcse and a level. Shows how much the field has progressed in 12 years as this was once the in depth sports psychology analysis and now this is just surface level.

[@BaddieSaddie]

Studying this for my sports psychology exam tomorrow. Good work. May god bless him.

[@ShaikhMohammedYunus]

nowadays people find happiness in criticizing people on internet....this is the new form of achieving self esteem.....great development i see....

[@SheilaMakena]

Shaikh Mohammed Yunus I certainly agree. Let's see any one of the critics attempt to make any kind of real speech to 100 people, let alone a TEDTalk!

[@GodCee360]

well said

[@daemn2754]

+Shaikh Mohammed Yunus You nailed it. That topic would be an interesting Ted talk, why people waste their time criticizing instead of doing something useful.

[@KenichiXiz]

+Shaikh Mohammed Yunus I agree sir. However, what about constructive criticism...? Is the premise to listening as well as to agree proportional to listening and also disagreeing? I think it'll will be best to see comments on KZbin as 'just' reflecting an individuals implicit feedback as opposed to their outwardly or explicit feedback. Either way, I don't think an accurate measure of self-esteem can be solely gauged on an individuals KZbin feedback. No?

[@SheilaMakena]

Absolutely! You've made some very solid points. I am pretty sure this presenter looked at this recording of himself and knows exactly what he did wrong. Not everyone who wants to present a TED Talk gets to. That, and I am very doubtful that 99% of the people here have ever stood on a podium to give a speech, and if so, it was on a pretty rare occasion. Your insight is well received though.

[@mikesmith-qu7zu]

The fundamental success of every athlete in any given discipline is defined by proper application of psychological factores. It is a very interesting topic, one which has many various outcomes & variables that determine success. For me probably the most important factors are both improving ones understanding of both opposition & also dealing with psychological barriers that may prevent success, as well as preparation. They're other factors but I personally find these extremely important.

[@DrDu-zc4eg]

- You bring up some great points. The definition of success and the factors that contribute to it are defined individually and is unique to each person or athlete, and you gave us your take on what that means for you. When you mention psychological barriers, I think more about what might be happening for an athlete outside of their sport and how do they successfully cope with those psychological challenges. Many factors involved fasho though!!

[@parisjoy7875]

This comment is 10 years old but 100% 🎯

[@mathewsunmonu7804]

Good day Prof. I am so impressed with this video and it inspired me more to have deep interest in this our noble profession. Am a Phd student in Nigeria studying sports psychology. I always enjoy your video clips and wish to have yo as my mentor sir

[@arjunanogara]

Thank you Martin, quite an insightful and deep talk being shared, hopefully able to be understood by the general public to increase the popularity of exercise and competitive sports. Undoubtedly leaving powerful lessons and impacts towards minds of young athletes like myself which could use what has been stated into training and in real - time sports events to achieve maximal performance and produce the best results competing on a local and international level, not only but this talk has also engraved a deeper understanding of the life and mental and physical preparation in the minds of athlete or as well as for other people that are curious to know more.

[@fcchannel6162]

what i learned was this from playing basketball i lossed i score like 2 or 3 point in a game but the whole time in that game i found my weak spots i went online found a denfinsive drills and did it everyday i think the mindset is to find where you did wrong and work on it like kobe said you got to look at your weakness and fix it

[@blublover]

facts

[@bunnyman6321]

You still play basketball?

[@kaavyasurianarayanan8247]

Wow.. so so beautifully put!! In sports, the mind plays an equal, or even more important role than physical abilities of the athlete.. it is so intriguing to find out what happens in an athlete's mind.. 😍😍

[@rubeanesam654]

Sports psychology broken down nicely.. good explanation under 12:00mins with vivid examples

[@beth3471]

Perfect. Plainly stated. Encouraging and doable. Love it.

[@jschultzf3]

So cool that the two different contrasting styles can be equally as effective. Phelps is pure baller.

[@NourLababidi]

Thank you. Some people mentioned that this video doesn't tell us anything new. I disagree, this video reminds you with what we naturally know which is the make sense and that is why you think it's not new. This is a reminder to enjoy and live the moment while doing sports. So go tomorrow and try to apply keeping your mind in the activity. you will come back and thanks him

[@patrickmorgan4006]

That's not what the title says it's about.

[@emilyheil7614]

I am a D1 student athlete who will be creating a channel telling of my struggles with depression, anxiety, insomnia, and relationships. I want others to know they aren't alone and hopefully I can help through things I still struggle with. You're not alone. We aren't alone.

[@GreggyAnhVNeck]

Emily Heil have you made that channel yet?

[@thatcrazyxoxo]

this is an awesome idea! I am in the same boat. I think there are many who feel the same

[@daninobin8229]

Yeah

[@akinyemioyetunde9300]

Hi Emily, if you can see this, I see you made the channel but no videos, I hope you come around to share your story

[@inasiman26yearsago56]

have you made any videos?

[@LanceWinslow]

Wow, I must say, I AGREE with EVERYTHING you said. Works for me.

[@SPORTSCIENCEps]

Thank you for uploading it!

[@mikesmith-qu7zu]

Great video thanks to the uploaders .

[@callumbrowns]

Thank you for this video I know sports take a lot of physical activity but mental is important too!

[@helenperala3459]

Succinctly put, thank you. It was helpful to hear this.

[@guardianmefisto642]

excellent talk.this really change my mind inner workings.

[@aymenjammali9764]

I don't know why not many people in the comment show appreciation to this. This is worth listening to. I mean, I'm not an athlete or anything, but this gave me insights on others areas in my life. That's worth watching And for the people who are only criticizing, he's on a TEDx and a subject matter expert, what are you doing other than criticizing? Put your ego on hold and start learning...

[@ThaCodFathers]

Rip this guy. Anxiety sucks, but thats the key of performance psychology

[@os-t-oprod3657]

Great work. Thank you Martin !!

[@zachjohnson7775]

Great video so helpful for my training while im injured from football. Excellent!

[@npjm.99]

This can also be applied to daily life of anyone in any field

[@mentonerodominicano]

"And I'm not talking about catwalk modeling here" Nobody laughed...

[@karunakaran2057]

people find happiness in criticizing people on internet this is a new form of achieving self esteem .self esteem is the people’s self belief in them achieved through their will power

[@erkangunay8704]

So impressed! Thank you

[@carlosandrademeier]

thanks! awesome speech!

[@GoBeyondSports]

So true! Our channel is all about the idea of figuring out what goes behind the mind of individuals who play sports and how it helps them grow in other aspects of their life. And how others can benefit from it.

[@jonnyfranco7]

I loveeeeeee this thank you so much

[@spartan20005]

The video seems perfectly interesting and does a well enough job of keeping my attention. I don't understand how you people can't bother 12 minutes or so to learn a new item of info.

[@patrickmorgan4006]

There was nothing new and what was there could have been presented in 2 minutes.

[@makeishaglowaski6661]

i know that this is super late but this is so good for young athletes like me, this helped so so so much. This is great for in my future t think about this is awesome thankyou.

[@chadmckeighan5871]

Hello. What do you feel is the biggest Athletic performance edge?

[@daniel51020]

Great talk. Thank you.

[@nalhaamusic7994]

Very nice thanks a lot !! very useful ....

[@caguilon]

Works for me, useful information

[@norbertherriott9761]

Video was useful as a foundation for Sports Psychology. You have to take this basic information and apply it to the: Athlete, Sport, Situation and Environment. The video is helpful if looked at from that perspective.

[@masatokawabata3932]

Hi Martin, I enjoyed your talk very much. You looked really nice. Awesome!

[@Slime5276]

Thank you!

[@Summer-ie7ty]

And this ladies and gentleman was my professor this semester and we all almost failed his class. That is all.

[@joshuaamberson5266]

Care to elaborate more on the matter?

[@juuuub]

So relevant to Leicester's season. I hope they win the league title at Old Trafford.

[@muhammadhuzaifa1940]

I know my country isn't in the conditions that I can play for my country internationally. But for my juniors I will say for sport the biggest thing is that don't think you lose now. Until the last second has been ended. It isn't words it is the truth. Courageous people rule the world rather than talented. Because you overcome anything through your brave mindset. I am playing in Pakistan for my city's club that is Karachi. My first 50 games isn't good. 50 games just 8 goals and 3 assists. I started playing for the club at the age of 16. Now I am 20. Make yourself A BIG GAME PLAYER means ready yourself for the champion at any second of the time. Today I have played 164 games scored 90 goals.82 goals in last 114 games. And 46 assists. Won 3 titles and have 2 times best player of the City. This season i have played 41 games and scored 36 goals with 9 assists. My best players are Ronaldo Ibrahimovic and none others than Messi.

[@kunshgureja4091]

Heyy remember when u get successful love from ❤️India

[@desybalmer1984]

Succinct and in 12 mins managed to keep me engaged and as always learned a few little nuggets, thanks.

[@michaelhovm963]

Great vid, so helpful for my project

[@AngryDaddoesDecath5260]

Love the self-talk, even to the point of saying keywords out loud to yourself.

[@boxcygamer3462]

This is a great vid!!

[@DivineSpirit_23]

Thank you

[@warisk7980]

love this thx

[@eduardoalfredocasanovalope991]

There's a huge difference between knowing and doing it unconsciously or consciously. The latter takes practice, the former is just about memory ;)

[@richarddzurek6147]

I love the way he rocks the suit

[@iwantlee9510]

The mental aspect is indeed the hardest part about sports. Pushing yourself physically is no biggie in comparison. Dealing with pressure from an organisation who constantly reminds you that they have invested a lot of money and resources in you is what broke me. I badly needed a sports psychologist.

[@badmintonvideos7562]

Relatable🥲

[@Malitubee]

Did you play professionally?

[@eskimoeoneski]

Hmmmm his pockets? wow, didn't even notice. To a lot of real athletes these are basics. But it's important to review even the basics once in a while. It's surprising how many people will claim they know this info but never really use it. Specific goals that lead up to winning. You would be surprised how many people don't make them and more importantly how many people are just not honest with themselves when it comes to really reaching for it. Basics yes, still good info.

[@luarloe1592]

The difference between an elite boxer and an average boxer, is that the elite sharpens the basics every day.

[@AgentJ2007]

Raul Roel exactly, their basic fundamental is stronger than the rest. Sure, they got advance tricks and all of it built on the foundation of basics. It’s the same in other sports as well.

[@jacquelinekraack8972]

Does Episoketren System really work? I notice many people keep on talking about Episoketren System. But I'm uncertain if it's good enough to improve your soccer technique.

[@KashifKhan-pt1jb]

Great man great video thanks

[@paladro]

given the prevalence of PED's at the highest levels of all sport, amateur and pro, psychology is important, but so is chemistry. ))

[@sajjad0hossain]

great talk

[@unzahid]

powerful.

[@e-volution]

It starts at 5:33 :)

[@nandosfanaccount]

jean-francois lefebvre thanks

[@dunewalks5988]

Thanks

[@sahillathia4432]

Sport psychology is a science that draws on knowledge from many related fields including biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology and psychology. It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors. Proper instruction and training of psychological skills for performance improvement, applied sport psychology may include work with athletes, coaches, and parents regarding injury, rehabilitation, communication, team building, and career transitions. Performance routines, Imagery or Self-talk are most used techniques that psychologists teach to athletes for improving their performance. i.e.- Michael Phelps (an American former competitive swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time) listens music before any competition which helps him to focus.

[@Harisankar-ce2vd]

*Error :-* Brazil were *not* the defending Olympic champions in 2012, Argentina won the 2008 Olympics. Brazil won their first Olympics gold in 2016.

[@aannamaaiya]

I would like to know more, what he meant by 'prompts' whilst talking about visualizing the performance?

[@charlesgoldbach659]

I learned that the next time I give a talk to a large audience to not start a sentence to the far left side and end the sentence to the far right side.

[@blackrobbingaming1836]

Nice talk but wish there was more.

[@richardaginga8901]

MARTIN HAGGER: this is an extremely awesome talk you've given. It's both a motivation and a great piece of wisdom. Also, try to ignore those who maybe don't do sports thus didn't benefit form this and therefore give negative criticism; only listen to positive criticism. For me, this is a very important talk. It's a good thing you presented it. Thank you.

[@spencerberg8809]

Positive Criticism? You just created an oxymoron.

[@selinabramberger2922]

Very interesting !!!

[@Weonit2]

I finally know what I'm going to do with my psychology degree.....

[@SPORTSCIENCEps]

Good luck!

[@jarenhulce4147]

same here lol

[@Patrick-Messi10]

It will guide me, as a professional soccer player, for the rest of my career Astounding Facts ♂️♂️♂️

[@nivedvarma123]

Perhaps psychology is all about PERHAPS...

[@SPORTSCIENCEps]

: )

[@olivertambo6794]

Feedback is important Self talk

[@salander3795]

Worl Cup final 2014 Germany Brazil 7:1 I think there had to be a huge psychological impact on the brazil side, sayig this with respect for them and as a fan of the german national team. But david Luiz, Cesar, Oscar Marcelo... come on such fantastic football players and 7 goals? We weren't so much better than brazil!

[@jrn00498]

let me shorten this video: some people are great at sports, some are just good. They all approach their match/game in their own way.

[@stelliumeleven2889]

3:01 really breaks down the whole video in about 12 seconds. your welcome.

[@jean-paulwilson8534]

underrated comment

[@ginth128]

No chill :(

[@martinschroer4331]

Randy Boudreau I

[@BooBoo-pu1jh]

Randy Boudreau TY

[@user-rf4qf5uf2i]

Randy Boudreau looool

[@zzbaker558]

Relaxation techniques will help me Greatly in learning to stay relaxed in breathing in performing at my Very best without any Hindrances mentally or in any other way emotionally or Spiritually or even physically" "quote on quote personal note" thanks for sharing

[@Shiyam_1392]

I love it....

[@ShaeMacMillan]

This is an interesting talk. His points can be used in many other things, eg: public speaking. If I ever race Usain Bolt - I'll come back to this

[@bunnyman6321]

Did you race Usain yet?

[@owen_926]

His voice is all over the place

[@HenryFlores4]

I really enjoyed this speech. Very informative and to the point. Did anyone catch his failed joke?lol. Still a good TED Talk though.

[@jewelrylimited4890]

nice!

[@RYTISJAS]

Hi-ya, dope film! have a nice evening :o)

[@kushekpayev]

Good talk from Salihamidzhic

[@Yuri-sd6gm]

One wrong information: Brazil wasn't the reigning Oympic champion against Mexico in 2013. In fact, Brazil has never won the Olympic football medal until 2016.

[@antsatlas4855]

Anyone else hear the voice cracks?

[@audelsalazar1962]

Summary of this abysmal Tedx Talk about Sport Psychology from Inside the Mind of a Winner: 1. Mexicans are better at soccer than Brazilians 2. What are in his pockets? 3. Factors that are linked to success in sport: Motivation, Confidence, Performance Knowledge, Routines, Anxiety Management 4. For motivation, set a SMARTER goal: Specific, Meaningful, Agreed, Relevant, Time-Specific, Engaging, Recorded 5. Improve confidence through experience, "modelling" (observation, imagery, self-talk), and feedback 6. Use imagery for mental preparation and rehearsal, especially useful for visualizing obstacles and barriers to overcome to be successful 7. Use self-talk for motivation, focusing, and calming oneself 8. There are numerous relaxation techniques for anxiety management: breathing, stretching, relaxing the muscles, listening to music, and meditation 9. Never found what was in his pockets...

gogo!

[@Knightlore10]

When talking about performance anxiety, I would exclude all team sport examples. Solo participant sports are the pinnacle of anxiety management when it’s ALL on you. Golf, tennis, snooker spring to mind. These are not about maximum physical performance and there are no hiding places.

[@yespub234]

When tennis great Vitas Gerulaitis finally beat Jim Connors in their seventeenth meeting, he was heard in a press interview saying: “No one beats Vitus Gerulaitis 17 times in a row”.

[@jimaoo]

I never heard the word ‘perhaps’ so many times before...

[@sutertennis]

This speech sounds like a sale of Sports psychology to me!

[@goldennguyen8271]

The nitty-gritty of Sport Psychology begins at 5:00

[@egwimfidelis4921]

Educating👋

[@SeamusMcMichael]

This dude looks a little like Arnold Schwarzenegger!

[@SuperJan9000]

that's racist. lol

[@SeamusMcMichael]

lol

[@larryjohnny]

Umm yeah his face kinda.. but this guy can speak... And where's the steroids and useless muscles... No need for it mate!

[@elpizzathehut940]

Perhaps

[@treazzz219]

More like a walmart version of arnold

[@TheQuarterbackHuddle]

I love it

[@CandyLemon36]

I'm moved by the transformative power of this content. A book with parallel themes was a critical influence in my life. "A Life Unplugged: Reclaiming Reality in a Digital Age" by Theodore Blaze

[@moosepatil5946]

3:40 in and he is still on his introduction; I still don't know what sports psychology is 3 minutes into a 12-minute video; my God.

[@CraftingDaDiamond]

4:19 devastating voice break

[@lynkrig5635]

I never understand why these never bring up combat sports athletes

[@Bensway7]

1. Work towards single goal, maybe in round way 2. Learn how to develop 100 percent of your physical and mental strength its way way easier said than done, maybe round 1 in 1 million chance to succeed just look at elite athletes amounts.

[@again5162]

I fully developed my muscle strength by 17 I did 80 push ups and 80 sit ups most nights. I'm short and stout and more suited to Worlds Strongest men.

[@arsalan_musharraf]

India was playing against Pakistan in Worldcup and the Indian team was over confident and said that they will win. One of their former player asked the Pakistani team to pull out as they will get defeated again. Pakistan not only outplayed them but they won that game like champions. They didn’t give a single chance for Indians to overtake their mindset. It was amazing to see that match.

[@haroldojribeiroo]

I wonder know how in earth TED approved that, after 5 minutes that seemed to be a lot more I had to stop the video and came to see the comments.

[@sanatkumar2791]

Haroldo Ribeiro ha ha me too...

[@youngshogun1805]

His voice died and came back to life XD 2:22