Motocross coach and psychology of racing expert, Dr. Patrick Cohn, at racingpsychology.com helps NASCAR, Motocross, and motorcycle racers improve performance and lap times by boosting  focus,  racing confidence and composure on race day. Learn motocross mental training and auto racing driver mental training tips and strategies.

In today’s racing psychology session, I help a racer refocus after mistakes. I answer the following mental game of racing question:

 ”I lose my focus after making mistakes and it leads to making even more mistakes. How do I keep my focus after mistakes? 

Learn the mental game strategies to improve your racing focus. Racers need to understand when they lose focus. Many racers become frustrated after mistakes and this causes them to lose focus. Give yourself the luxury of making a few mistakes. Then refocus quickly on the next turn or jump.

Listen the podcast on to learn how to focus your mind for a big race!  

Use the player below to play the podcast or use the “download” link to save to your computer:

 

 RacePsych Podcast 17 [4:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Mental game of racing expert, Dr. Patrick Cohn, at racingpsychology.com helps NASCAR, Motocross, and motorcycle racers improve performance and lap times by boosting mental toughness, focus, and confidence on race day. Learn race psychology tips and strategies.

In today’s mental training session, I discuss the racing psychology tips to stay focused after other racers’ put-downs.  I answer the following mental training for racing question:

“How do I block out “put-downs” or things other people say like “I’m going to beat you, you stink, or you can’t win” or anything else to make me lose concentration?”

Other racers use trash talk to get you off your game and reduce your racing confidence. These put downs can become a distraction if you let them. Racers who become distracted by trash talk can also doubt their ability on the racetrack. Doubt is the opposite of confidence and is not helpful to your racing. The solution is to develop strong mental confidence in your racing ability so that those put-downs do not affect you.  Having racing confidence is more important than what others think.

Listen the podcast on “Racers trash talk” to learn more about psychology of motorsport success!

Use the player below to play the podcast or use the “download” link to save to your computer:

 

 RacePsych Podcast 9 [4:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Motocross and auto racing psychology expert, Dr. Patrick Cohn, at racingpsychology.com helps NASCAR, Motocross, and motorcycle racers improve performance and lap times by boosting motor racer skills, focus, and confidence on race day. Learn the mental training tips and strategies to improve your training before race day.

In today’s racing psychology session, I discuss my mental training tips to overcome distractions and forget about what think about with your racing. I answer the following racing mental toughness question:

“I have a hard time blocking out what others say and imply about my racing. What’s the best way of blocking out distractions or not getting angry because of what other competitors say and do at the track?”

During this mental game of racing session, I help racers improve focus and mentally prepare for races.  I offer my top mental training strategies to stop thinking about what others say. Learn how to increase racing confidence and fully believe in your driving or riding skills. Discover how to focus your mind on what is important to boost your performance on the race track.

Listen to the podcast on “blocking out distractions” to learn the best mental training techniques for racing!

Use the player below to play the podcast or use the “download” link to save to your computer:

 

 RacePsych Podcast 5 [4:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Motocross and auto racing psychology expert, Dr. Patrick Cohn, at racingpsychology.com helps NASCAR, Motocross, and motorcycle racers improve performance and lap times by boosting mental toughness, focus, and confidence on race day. Learn motocross and auto racing training tips and strategies.

In today’s racing psychology session, I discuss the mental racing tips to improve your focus before races. I answer the following mental training for racing question:

“I focus too much on other competitors instead of myself. I start to doubt myself during competition. How can I focus less on my competition and more on myself?”

Learn the top mental racing strategies to improve your focus on race day. Learn how to develop a consistent and focused race mind prior to races. Many racers worry about their competition before the race. This causes racers to perform tentatively and avoid making mistakes. The key is to avoid comparisons with other racers and focus on what is important to race well.

Listen the podcast on “improving your focus” to gain the focus help you need to race your best!

Use the player below to play the podcast or use the “download” link to save to your computer: 

 

 RacePsych Podcast 4 [4:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I tuned in to watch some NHRA drag racing last night because one of my Pro-Stock Motorcycle mental coaching students was racing in the final. What caught my interest was the Funny Car final between John and Ashley force – a father-daughter duel.

What a unique situation… Ashley Force was racing to be the first woman to win a national race in Funny Car. And father John Force was trying to notch his 1000 round.

Ashley won in a dramatic final. She beat her father, John Force, a legend in drag racing. John made an unexpected mistake when he lost traction at the start of the race.

What I found interesting from a mental game perspective was John’s emotions before the race. He did a TV interview and was obviously torn up inside…

“There are a lot of mixed emotions. When I turn off the switch. If I win, that’s great but if she wins, that’s something really special, too.” ~John Force, prior to the final round

John Force is a legend in the sport, but I think he lost focus because of the situation. Sometimes it’s hard to not let your emotions and distractions get to you – instead of focusing just on your lane.

I also know he was concerned with the grip in the left lane prior to the run. Almost as if he got it in his head that he would have grip issues. Was the grip issue a prerace excuse for not getting it done? Was the grip in the left lane a real concern? Did it affect his focus on the hole shot and cause him to spin out?

No one really knows but John Force, but I think it got into his head.  Any time you are worried about something that might block you from success, such as your grip, a hole in the track, a massive rut you have to negotiate for example, you focus too much on what you don’t want to happen. This is a mental game boo-boo.

RacePsych Mental Coaching Program Update:

On May 6, 2008, I launch my RacePsych MentalGame Formula.
I will be teaching only 10 people my top mental game of racing
strategies – live via teleconference.

I promised to give you a few details of my brand new live coaching program for racers only. I have decided to do a 12-week live group coaching program. This allows you time to put your new mental strategies to work and make any adjustments that are needed too. 

Here are a few more details of the program:

• You will take part in 10 one-hour mental coaching sessions

• You will get MP3 recording of each session for your review

• You will get a 10-chapter workbook to guide your through my

• system

• You get email coaching between sessions and for a two-week

• follow up

• MP3 audio and transcripts of interviews I have conducted with

• top auto and motocross racers on the mental game of racing.

I’ll spill all the details next week on May 6, 2008. However, I have a lot of interest in this program.

If you want to “get in line” please send me an email to put you on the list. This way, you will have the first option to be a part of the 10 racers in the program!

That’s all for now. Don’t forget to check out my new racing psychology video on my blog:  http://racingpsychology.com/blog/?p=9

I recently received a question from a kart driver about how to improve a driver’s concentration on the track in motorsports. Here is the question…

“Hi Patrick, firstly I’d like to thank you for your 10 week mental training e-course for racers. The information is already making a difference in my driving. I’ve been racing karts now for about six months and have been learning and improving heaps. However, one thing I find holding me back is my level of concentration. When I’m in my kart, I find it hard to keep my concentration over the time of a race (or even just in one lap) so if you can help me with that it would be greatly appreciated.”

Most racers can focus well even for one lap. You have the ability to concentrate on the track. What most likely happens is you become distracted or you focus on the wrong stuff.  For example, you might have been thinking about how important the race is for you or worried about what fast guys are coming into your mirrors.

Distractions can come from two places – the outside, from the environment such as the weather, track conditions, or from other competitors or the spectators. Another type of distraction are internal distractions. You can also be distracted by your own thoughts that flow freely into your mind, unbidden, when you least need them. You make these up all on your own. Internal distractions are things such as thinking about the past lap, worrying too much about results, or focusing too much on past mistakes.

What distractions break your concentration? Most likely, you have your own specific distractions, which differ from the next person. Some racers have a low tolerance for visual distractions, such as things going on around the track. However, the hardest distraction to break when you are racing are your own internal distractions – focusing on the last lap or mistake you made in turn number two, for example.

In order to improve your focus on the track, you have to define what’s important to focus on during a lap. What is relevant to racing only? Many of the racers I work with divide corners into sections such as entry, apex, and exit. What do you have to focus on in each section of the corner to execute your best? I consider these performance cues, such as focusing on your break point. I also want you to be aware of your own internal distractions on the track.

Your most important task to improve concentration is to refocus when you get off task or distracted. You need to recognize first that your mind has wandered away from performance cues. As soon as you become aware that you’re off-task, you need to adjust your focus so you can get back to focusing on each corner of the track.

Refocusing is the most important step in concentration because it takes awareness and commitment on your part. You will get distracted on the track because you are human. You can’t be perfect with your focus. Your key to optimal concentration on the race track is to refocus as quickly as possible, so you don’t let the distraction or irrelevant thought cause you to lose valuable time. Here is a summary of the process:

1. Identify the performance cues that are relevant for driving.

2. Immerse yourself in the task-relevant cues you identified in number one.

3. Recognize when you are off-task, distracted, or not focused on driving.

4. Create a strategy to help you refocus on your driver cues. This is the most important step in dealing with distractions and breakdowns in focus.

Sign up for my 10-week mental training e-course for motorsports to improve your self-confidence in racing.