Sports Psychology Testimonials
To help give a better flavour of the Sports Psychology help I offer, some of my clients have kindly (thank you) written a little about our work together. They have allowed me to share this with you.
Amateur golfer (improved from a handicap of 1)
'Before I met Victor, I didn't have any expectations about what a sports psychologist could do for my golf or even that it would make a difference. I now regret not meeting Victor years ago! Within 3 months, I had two of my best scores and beaten players who I previously considered better than me. Now, I am in no doubt that the mental side of sport is as much a skill to be learned and as important to performance as the physical, if not more so.
Victor is thoroughly professional, his tuition methods are tailored and to the point. He does a great job of helping you to increase your self-awareness, then formulating and explaining clear routines to focus on your areas of weakness. I am still very much still on the learning curve but I firmly believe that my performance and enjoyment of my sport have been greatly enhanced. I would thoroughly recommend him.'
Row Across the Atlantic competitors
'My partner and I deliberately put ourselves in a situation where we had little knowledge and no experience - by aiming to row across the Atlantic unassisted. We sought Victor's help to provide a framework for us to be able to think about and discuss the mental pressures we were about to put ourselves under. We had no idea how we - as individuals or a pair - were going to react. Victor helped us to prepare for these unknowns.
Our most ambitious, and seemingly unrealistic, target was to make the crossing in 60 days. It is a testament to this framework that we beat the target by almost a week to finish in 54 days, finishing second in our class.
Victor's calm, rational approach allowed us to think about how we would interact (anger management & conflict resolution) and to define what was important to us (goal setting) - which were key to our success.'
Teenage footballer
'I am a junior footballer who hopes to have some career in football. Last year I had a row with my coach and he asked me to leave the club (a Premiership School of Excellence side).
I was playing a year above my age and the other players seemed to be blaming me every time we lost a match. He affected my confidence so much that it affected my performances.
My mother suggested going to a sports psychologist which quite honestly I was nervous about and said “No” several times, but being asked to leave my squad was the push I needed. I am glad it happened because Victor has helped me enormously from the very start he listened and only after I had finished did he offer advice in seeing things differently, for example, I did take comments from my team mates seriously and if I made a bad pass I would feel really bad. He asked me about school and was I perfect at other things. I told him I was learning French and Spanish and sometimes got things wrong. When he asked me how I felt, I said I didn’t feel bad at getting things wrong in these subjects as I was still learning. He then compared this with football suggesting that I was still young and learning and that you can learn from your mistakes and not to take bad comments to heart.
I remember him saying to analyse comments, if what people are saying to me would help me in some way take that on board and learn. If it was just criticism and not helpful try not to let it affect me. It wasn’t always easy to do this but gradually after each session it became less difficult [we had 3 sessions].
I really feel I have progressed from my sessions with Victor and if I do make it in football a lot of this would be thanks to my sessions with him. My coach has commented that he feels I have matured and in my discussions with my coach I am able to express myself more fully.'
Mother of this footballer
'My son recently had trials at a professional club to join their academy, unfortunately he got injured and they didn’t keep him on. I was extremely proud of the fact that he handled this well and actually thanked the coaches their for taking the time to assess him. At the request of his coach at his school of excellence club he phoned his training coach and asked why they had let him go. I don’t think he would have handled this situation before his sessions with Victor. I also believe that his time with Victor has led him to progress as a player, everyone has commented how much better he is playing now and I think this is because before if one of his team mates had criticised him in a match his head would immediately have gone down and he would virtually go missing from the rest of the match. Now he just shrugs it off and gets on with the game.'
Amateur tennis player
'When we met, I was playing poorly, my concentration was poor and my confidence low. You may recall that I hadn't even bothered playing much singles for 10+ years because my concentration had been so poor for many years and concentration is that much more important in doubles than singles.
Then at my club tournament which took place about a month after our session, me and my partner won the doubles against the club's best pair, who'd been doing way better than me in the team matches, and I also entered the singles just for fun and ended up winning four rounds (including beating the reigning champion).'
Teenage tennis player
'I came to Victor at a very low point in my tennis career. I had been playing tennis for a couple of years fulltime and after having trained abroad for a few months I was on the verge of giving-up. I found Victor through his website and started travelling to see him every other week. We worked together and progressed quite quickly through the lack of confidence I had, whilst balancing my life and making me realise there were other things I had been neglecting that were fundamental to me performing well. I got to the point where I regained my enthusiasm for tennis, learned a huge amount about myself on and off the court and developed as a person, not just a tennis player.'
Mother of this teenage tennis player
'There has been a significant change in [my son] over the past few months which is undoubtedly the result of the work you and he have been doing. When I think back to our first meeting I'm amazed at how far he's come on! His confidence and self-belief has increased - yes he is still open to doubt/worry and when he played in the final of a tournament this weekend he "wobbled" - sadly lost, but he's better equipped now to deal with disappointment...Finally, [my son] has been able to begin to believe in his own talent and ability.'
What next?
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Get in touch if you have any questions about the Sports Psychology help I offer
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Read more about the types of Sport Psychology help I provide
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Order a Stress Management Program for your sport - to develop calmness, presence and confidence today
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Learn about why I am likely to be the Sports Psychologist to help you - with my psychology training, skills and experience, as well as being a competitive sportsperson
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Or simply give me a call on: 07979 622537
I look forward to hearing from you.