Should I dare to win or dare to lose?
You know what luck is? Luck is believing you’re lucky. Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, 1947 (Cooper, 2022). How do you...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 222 min read
How setting the tiniest goals helped John Naber win gold at the Olympics: Tiny goals bring Olympic golds
Sports performers logically set challenging, specific goals to stretch them towards success. The research to date argues in their favour...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 223 min read
Building the spirit back into your team: Team spirit
Sport psychologists receive enquiries from coaches and managers about how they can get their team to function better. The coaches and...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 193 min read
When goals become habits in sport – pleasant and rewarding in and of themselves
When we think about our habits in sport, we might feel that they are routine behaviours we do without thinking or paying much attention...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 193 min read
What we feel when we feel self-conscious? The footballer on the pitch
At one stage or another, we feel the self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt inside our heads. Shame and guilt are self-conscious...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 193 min read
Shame in Gaelic football – what’s that all about?
Shame is an unwanted feeling that we associate with avoiding and withdrawing. When people feel shame, they just want the floor to open up...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 182 min read
Online sport psychology services – Are you ready?
We are now in the decade of the 2020s and much has changed in the world of sport and sport psychology support for the masses. The number...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 182 min read
How can I ensure I’m becoming a better golfer when I practise? Think FIFA
All athletes practise their skills daily or weekly in pursuit of excellence. But the question they all have about practice is a simple...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 172 min read
Which sources of information do coaches choose to form expectations about athletes?
Which sources of information do coaches choose to form expectations about athletes? Have you ever wondered how coaches make up their...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 173 min read
What golfers can learn from eye-tracking research to improve their putting? Learning from Tom Watson
Tom Watson, Ryder Cup player, captain and eight-time golf Major winner, explained that before hitting the golf ball: “I narrow my focus...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 163 min read
How do a coach’s expectations influence an athlete’s development?
Many people are familiar with the research finding from education, which shows that the most influential element for a student to learn...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 163 min read
How can we help coaches to set better goals?
Everyone has heard about setting goals. Everyone has heard that goal setting helps with our motivation. Though we know how important it...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 152 min read
What do I want from my sport psychologist?
Athletes come to a sport psychologist for support in one form or another. Some athletes know exactly what they want and are disappointed...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 153 min read
Are you better than average? The better-than-average effect
How do you judge where you are in the world? Other people hold unique skills, abilities, talents, and genes. How do you figure among the...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 123 min read
Does the size of the population where you live mean you will make as a professional athlete?
Did you ever wonder about professionals and world-class athletes that have made it to the top of the game and wonder how they got there?...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 102 min read
Keeping teams happy: Should I treat players equally or fairly?
Different things can add up in different ways whilst reaching an identical solution, just as ‘eleven plus two’ forms an anagram of...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Jan 82 min read
Did you ever wonder why you work so hard to prove someone wrong? Motivated!
Did you ever notice yourself working hard to prove someone wrong and, by extension, prove yourself right? Did you ever wonder why you...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Nov 30, 20222 min read
Privately Peaceful and Grateful
Privately Peaceful and Grateful “So you took her in order to save her, Charlie, is that right?” “Yes, Mother.” “Well, you shouldn’t have...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Sep 6, 20212 min read
Sharing for better caring in sport
We all have a story to share. The good news for us sharing those stories is that we can get some perspective on our lives through our...
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Dr Paul McCarthy
Sep 6, 20212 min read
Forever criticising - why?
Do you ever wonder where the shaming, criticising and sarcasm - ever present in many peoples styles of communication with each other -...
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