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Strategic Psychotherapy & Clinical Hypnotherapy for Functional Mind Coaching
The Home of Strategic Psychotherapy & Functional Mind Coaching
Mind and Body Performance - Strategic & Executive Coaching
Knowing you want change is great, but discovering 'HOW' to change will free you!
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What are "The Yips' ?
" The yips are a psycho-neuromuscular movement disorder, which affects sports in which fine motor precision skills are required for success. " (Philip Clarke - David Sheffield & Sally Akehurst) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1750984X.2015.1052088?journalCode=rirs20
"Choking under pressure describes suboptimal sport performance in stressful situations, which has led to two fundamental ‘choking’ models: distraction and self-focus." - " In sport, choking is commonly linked to motor skill failure in moments when it counts most, such as missing a decisive penalty shot in soccer. " (Peter Gropel & Christopher Mesagno)
(https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1750984X.2017.1408134?src=recsys)
The yips is categorised by any sudden involuntary, abnormal body movement that affects an athlete's performance with twitches or feelings of temporary paralysis of the body.
This can look like an inability to perform a function at a crucial time in a sporting event.
Commonly referred to at times when a top athlete suddenly and unexpectedly loses their ability to perform - However - these "yips' can also come up when you are playing a competitive game at amateur level - and are no less concerning for those who experience this. The problem is, once you have had this - it sometime causes a complete loss of confidence in oneself.
This is a common issue with both professional an amateur sportspeople - so much so - they have common names that others in their sport know and dread themselves!
Gymnasts may call these episodes "Twisties" - noted as losing your orientation and the amount of twists you have done in the air. It is sort of a mental block, or lapse.
In Golf , this issue is called "The Yips". The yips are a problem that no one wants! It is when you just can't pull the trigger on a putt because of lack of confidence or a glitch in your process in the moment - Golfers Yips may show up as an inability to T-off, to Drive or Putt due to what feels like a glitch in their process, their system seems to stop working at those moments.
Sports & Skeet Shooters may call it 'Trigger Finger',
Footballers (Rugby, AFL, NFL, Soccer) , Cricketers, Hockey Players, Basketballers, Netballers, Baseball players have many names for this condition, names for it varying from "The Yips" , o "Choking" & "Happy Feet".
The Good News is that with the right kind of therapy and coaching - the yips can be put behind you and you can carry on without a concern and never experience them again.
This is based on a multidisciplinary approach, using many resources that can guide you through and stop these issues in their tracks.
I help my clients get great results! (In fact some clients don't want to give a testimonial because they see the work we do as their "Competitive Advantage!" )
If you want to know the approach - give it a try - as the only thing you have to lose is the Yips themselves!
What sports and what sports people get these "Yips"?
The yips do not discriminate with athletes. It occurs in many sports …
A golfer who suddenly can’t sink a one meter putt…
The Bowler, pitcher &/or fielder who seemingly lost his ability to throw accurately
The footballer who has difficulty making routine passes or throws, despite having no previous issue with his previous game…
The basketballer or Netball player who suddenly jerks prior to releasing their shot…
The tennis player who losses their smooth service motion…
Skiers, Snowboarders, Divers, Runners, Swimmers, Gymnastics, Skaters, can all develop patterns of thoughts and behaviours that can lead to them to lose their edge
So if you are experiencing a bout of the yips, you can be sure - you are not alone.
All of those unexplained jerky movements, minute hesitations, or twitches are physical symptoms caused by mental interference.
To be clear… Having the yips doesn’t mean you are in any way that you are “weak.” or have any Mental issues, you are just stuck in a thought pattern or a behaviour that isn’t letting you do what you can do, it is just a process that is keeping you stuck.. and that can change!
The yips are simply a case of mental static that causes you to over-think or over-analyse your actions at the crucial performance point - in fact - right in the middle of performing a simple skill.
You can get help with this - I have helped others with this and I can help you too!
"It is concluded that future research incorporates a multi-discipline theory-driven approach on a wider range of sports using a more precise definition of yips types in order to enhance our understanding of the predictors and mechanisms of the yips which, in turn, will allow practitioners to develop effective interventions for athletes." (Philip Clarke - David Sheffield & Sally Akehurst) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1750984X.2015.1052088?journalCode=rirs20
Overcoming "The Yips'
How Do You Know if You Have the Yips?
.
Oh - you'll know!
You might notice you have 'the yips' when:
–You stab, jerk, freeze or choke on a skill that was previously easy to execute or was well-learned.
–You feel so tight &/or stuck that you can’t complete the skill.
–You overthink about how to approach or how to do a skill and this can confuse your body with too many signals.
–You can’t stop thinking about the outcome or messing up that outcome.
–You blame physical mechanics on a bad shot, pass, serve, move or putt on some poor mechanics and start to search for quick fixes, which can in some cases - lead to even more problems.
Even top athletes can get the yips.
The good news is that it can be fixed - you can get unstuck!
Give yourself a reality check here:
This is just a method to determine the validity about any belief or assumption.
–Do you usually know how to perform the skill?
–Have you usually performed the skill successfully in the past?
–Can you usually perform the skill with regularity during practice?
–Is there any physical limitations such as injury, that may be preventing you from performing the skill?
–Is there currently a belief that ‘I can no longer perform the skill’ ?
It is thought that most athletes search for a physical fix to the yips when the cause is that it starts in the mind.
If you need help in coaching and sorting out your mind game -
the therapy and coaching I provide helps build those better pathways fast!
Recognizing that that "The yips" may feel like a physical issue,
but knowing it could be due to other factors in your processes, patterns or belief systems
- from a fear of failure, performance anxiety, and high expectations you feel to perform well.
The GOOD NEWS is
- we work on all of this to change the patterns, thoughts and feelings into better
patterns for great outcomes!