Psych-Chek

Psych-Chek Psych-Chek provides content that helps people understand psychology and apply it to sport, physical activity, and life. This page and the Psych-C

Many people outline the importance of our psychology in what we do but don’t give practical ways to do so. Over the last decade I have worked across 17 competitive sports, acquired 19 international trophies and accumulated over $2.25m in prize money. As a HCPC-registered Sport & Exercise Psychologist, I specialise in helping athletes, coaches, and high performers reach their full potential using e

vidence-based sport psychology principles. Drawing from my experience as both a psychologist and a competitive athlete, I bring practical knowledge of mental skills training, including competition psychology, health behaviors, confidence building, managing anxiety, and sustaining motivation.

14/09/2026

How do you keep playing after this?

VAR will always bring controversy in football and the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford is no different.

In this case originally disallowed goal was allowed after a VAR review (very suspect if you ask me).

So, if you are a Man Utd player what would be going through your head and how would you try to bring the score back.

This is a simple but effective framework I’ve used for my athletes to bounce back: NBAR

- NOTICE: What is going through your mind right now

- BREATHE: Focus on the sensation of breathing in the here and now

- ACCEPT: Allow the thought and feeling to go without adding more layers of meaning to it

- REFOCUS: What do you need to focus on in the next 60 seconds

Credit: Sky Sports Premier League



Football

10/09/2026

Can this improve your partnership

To be effective in a team you need to develop a working partnership with who you’re with…no surprise there

is asked about the partnership between and following their game against

This made me think

Other than purely testing combinations of partners on the team, is there a way to speed up the process in nurturing greater partnership?

I have done this in the past the concept of what I call ‘teammate tinder’ (trademark pending).

It’s very simple…you go on a date with your teammate and discover more.

What I’ve found from doing this is:

1. People say what has been left unsaid

2. Teammates have greater clarity of their role in each other’s success

3. Greater levels of understanding and empathy towards each other

4. Strengthen bonds and established connections where there previously was not

5. People enjoy their conversations so much we always go over the time limit

Have you used something similar in your team?

Credit: Manchester United


08/09/2026

How leaders respond to changes

Interviews with leaders Dominik Szoboszlai and asked about the addition of

When new management comes in, we normally think about their message and how they will show their leadership skills.

BUT WE NEED TO REMEMBER THIS

How existing leaders behaves will have a significant impact on them and how effective this new manager will be.

Here is what we can pick up from Dominik being asked about the new management

- As a leader, you are still responsible for transferring the vision of the new leadership to the players
- You still need to show and prove yourself to the new manager
- There needs to be a level of openness for the transition from previous to new manager to be successful

Do you think the effectiveness of a new manager is impacted by this?

Credit: NBC Sports

premierleague

07/09/2026

Most athletes don’t think like this and they suffer because of it

Understanding what’s driving you

As a psychologist, most athletes don’t seem to care about this. In reality, this is the DNA of what makes us, us. We see athletes who align themselves with their values, goals and beliefs as people who are more likely to achieve meaningful goals and will commit to what they set out to do.

Those who don’t align with this tend to experience distress as the actions they engage in don’t align with who they truly are, so they can suffer because of it.

Devote time to truly understanding yourself and your values, define who you are and let your actions link with this.

02/09/2026

[B roll of EWC]

Did I have 3 degrees just to do this?

I was really not prepared to have these many hats when I was asked to support teams during competition.

If you’re a sport psychologist, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Here are the different hats you where that aren’t written in your job role
- Smoothie maker
- Chef
- Gym buddy
- Waterboy
- Cheerleader
- Soundboard
- FIFA opponent
- Event planner
- Security guard

What other roles am I missing?

01/09/2026

Familiarity > hope

“I visualise how I want the race to go, how I don’t want it to go, how the race could go”

A simple tip for those trying to prepare for important competitions

Use visualising as a super power and don’t just rely on visualising what will go well.

Use it as a way to simulate what could happen and what you need to do when that does so when you’re in the competitve arena you already know what to do




31/08/2026

Did you not see the game?

After win against and how he played, was asked how ready are you this season?

He responded “Did you not see the game”

This would be easy to laugh at and dimiss, but this signals something more important. Finding evidence of positive moments to rebuild confidence following injury is key.

It is very easy to doubt yourself when returning to sport, with a lot of pressure and angst when first touching the pitch again.

He’s also mentioned doing a lot of the preventative work and being READY. Not only are we hearing physical preparation but also psychological readiness to return, which is often overlooked.

Identifying those moments where you have displayed excellence after coming back from injury is necessary to continue gaining confidence in your ability to perform.

Is it really this simple?People always ask what is the secret to becoming one of the greatest of all time. The answer ca...
27/08/2026

Is it really this simple?

People always ask what is the secret to becoming one of the greatest of all time.

The answer can be very simple but the process to get there is not.

To be able to perform when it matters there are a few things you need to be able to do

1. Allow your body to do what it knows how to
2. Be present in the moment
3. Not overly judge your experiences as it’s happening
4. Consistently do the boring stuff

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