{"id":2543,"date":"2015-05-06T17:18:09","date_gmt":"2015-05-06T17:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=2543"},"modified":"2025-07-31T04:51:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T08:51:27","slug":"why-do-athletes-choke-under-pressure-peaksports-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/why-do-athletes-choke-under-pressure-peaksports-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Athletes Choke Under Pressure?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Your_Sports_Kids_Choke_in_Competition\"><\/span>Do Your Sports Kids Choke in Competition?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/why-do-athletes-choke-under-pressure-peaksports-video\/#Do_Your_Sports_Kids_Choke_in_Competition\" >Do Your Sports Kids Choke in Competition?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/why-do-athletes-choke-under-pressure-peaksports-video\/#Related_Articles_on_Youth_Sports\" >Related Articles on Youth Sports:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/why-do-athletes-choke-under-pressure-peaksports-video\/#The_Composed_Sports_Kid\" >The Composed Sports Kid<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>In &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AdFQp0TnDFs\">Sessions with Doc<\/a>,&#8221; Dr. Patrick Cohn answers your <strong>sports psychology<\/strong> and <strong>mental training<\/strong> questions about why athletes choke or under perform in competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peaksports.com<\/a> and click on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/contact-peak-performance-sports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contact us<\/a> to submit your question for Dr. Cohn to answer in his mental game videocast or podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this week&#8217;s Session With Doc, Dr. Cohn answers a question about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AdFQp0TnDFs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">why athletes choke in competition<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DR. COHN:<\/strong> &#8220;Do you have trouble taking your practice game to competition and underperform in competition compared to what you show in your practice on a daily basis? I&#8217;m Dr. Patrick Cohn with Peak Performance Sports at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\">peaksports.com<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;In this video, I&#8217;m going to talk about exactly<strong> why athletes perform better in practice than they do in competition.<\/strong> You&#8217;re watching &#8220;Sessions With Doc,&#8221; unrehearsed and unscripted answers to your mental game questions.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DR. COHN:<\/strong> &#8220;Here&#8217;s the question I received from Lonnie. He said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;m a bit curious about what&#8217;s holding me back from performing as well as I do during training compared to competition. My coaches work with me and I&#8217;ve come to the conclusion that it&#8217;s mental because physically I&#8217;m in good shape for the sport and I have the skills and the ability to be great. I think it&#8217;s about fear of letting others down. What do you think Dr. Cohn?'&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch the video below to hear what Dr. Cohn has to say to Lonnie about his <strong>mental game.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-592d3dcd\">\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why Athletes Choke in Competition Video\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AdFQp0TnDFs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Don&#8217;t forget to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MindsetForSports?sub_confirmation=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">subscribe to our YouTube channel<\/a> to be updated on all our latest videos!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"related-articles-on-hockey-mental-game\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Articles_on_Youth_Sports\"><\/span>Related Articles on Youth Sports:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-to-overcome-choking-under-pressure\/\"><strong>Why Kids Choke Under Pressure<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/is-your-sports-kid-a-gamer-or-choker\/\"><strong>Is Your Sports Kid a Gamer or Choker?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/why-do-athletes-choke-under-pressure-peaksports-video\/\"><strong>Why Do Athletes Choke Under Pressure?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f49818fa-7c7a-4ee3-b5ee-66581aad2c71\">*Subscribe to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sports-psychology-podcast-by-peaksports-com\/id152566009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on iTunes<br>*Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0ynyaalKxbnNmsoeL8gF5X?si=8224669de9b3435b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a> on Spotify<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Composed_Sports_Kid\"><\/span>The Composed Sports Kid<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/composed-sports-kid-small-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Composed Sports Kid\" class=\"wp-image-11173\" style=\"width:170px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The Composed Sports Kid&#8221; audio&nbsp;and workbook digital download program for young athletes and their parents or coach helps kids cope with frustration and anger in sports. Help your sports kids learn how to manage expectations and let go of mistakes so they can keep their head in the game.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>The Composed Sports Kid system<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp;is really two programs in one\u2013one program to train parents and coaches how to help their kids practice composure, and one program that teaches young athletes\u2013<em>ages 6 to 13<\/em>\u2013how to improve composure, let go of mistakes quickly, have more self-acceptance,&nbsp;<strong>and thus enjoy sports more<\/strong>!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-26bcd9b3\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-903b6244 gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-confident-sports-kid-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-3275f4fd gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/collections\/confident-sports-kid-series-digital-version\/products\/the-confident-sports-kid-bundle-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do Your Sports Kids Choke in Competition? In &#8220;Sessions with Doc,&#8221; Dr. Patrick Cohn answers your sports psychology and mental training questions about why athletes choke or under perform in competition. Visit Peaksports.com and click on contact us to submit your question for Dr. Cohn to answer in his mental &#8230; <a title=\"Why Do Athletes Choke Under Pressure?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/why-do-athletes-choke-under-pressure-peaksports-video\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Why Do Athletes Choke Under Pressure?\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,19,6,107],"tags":[339,340,342,341],"class_list":["post-2543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-freezing-in-competition","category-pressure-in-sports","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","category-youth-sports-psychology-videos","tag-athletes-who-choke","tag-choking-under-pressure","tag-mental-toughness-youtube-video","tag-why-do-athletes-choke-in-competition"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}