Sports Psychology For Dummies Paperback – September 7, 2010

I recently finished reading this book & I found it to be very easy to follow and enjoyable to read. The chapters are well-organized, & I especially love how each one has personal vignettes from the authors based on their respective professional practices. The stories & examples really bring to life the concepts within the book. I also like how there are exercises throughout each chapter that challenge the reader to put the words into practice. Very helpful & kept me engaged with the content. I found the words of advice & wisdom in every chapter very helpful. My favorite is in chapter 11 on pressure, when the authors remind us to channel our 1-year-old self when feeling pressure: "Babies and children don't feel pressure." Great, useable pieces of advice to carry with us every day.Sport psychology can have the false perception that its inaccessible to the everyday athlete & parent of an athlete. What's great about this book is that it's so accessible to everyone - very far reaching to so many different audiences. I found the content to be very fitting to many aspects of performance, & like a few others who voiced their reviews, am using many of the chapters in my own personal journey to improvement. This book is a must have resource for any athlete at any level, for any parent raising an athlete, for any adult coaching an athlete. I highly recommend this book & will be putting it on my holiday gift giving list for my friends & family who parent young athletes in today's world. I know so many parents that struggle with the pressure & competitiveness of their children's sports involvement, & think this is such a valuable resource for any of them.I would like to say something about the comments in a few of the reviews regarding the title, i.e. "sport" vs. "sports". I'll make the assumption that, when in the presence of APA Sport Psychology professionals and in any scholarly writing they may have contributed to the field, the authors respectfully refer to their discipline as "sport" psychology. My guess is they used the title "sports" psychology because that is how the masses refer to it. Just look at the authors' bios - very impressive backgrounds in this discipline, so I'll trust they absolutely know what they're doing/what they're talking about. So silly to be concerned with the title. That kind of criticism only fuels the idea that this branch of psychology is unreachable for the everyday person. By offering this book, the two authors become fantastic ambassadors to their profession.

As a student in Dr. Smith's Sports Psychology class at The Ohio State University, this book was an excellent resource and being able to be taught by Dr. Smith, one of the co-authors of Sports Psychology for Dummies, made the class very interesting! As a student, parent, coach, or athlete-this book was very clear and easy to understand for anyone going into a sports related field-or just reading it for fun! I aspire to be a Sports Psychologist and this book is for sure a keeper! It is one of the first Sports Psychology books I have ever read, and reading it as well as taking the class that corresponds with this book really reaffirmed my decision to go into Sports Psychology. I would highly recommend this book to any coaches, parents, or athletes learning how to balance life in athletics.Gretchen TheilFirst Year Student at The Ohio State University

This book very well structured. Each chapter’s objective is outlined clearly and the content is explained very succinctly. One of the good things about this book is that it does not overload the reader with a whole bunch of technical jargon and even in cases when certain terms that are specific to psychology are used, it is well-explained. One of the great things about this book that made reading it very enjoyable is the little anecdotes about how the various mental skills and strategies benefitted actual professional athletes. It lets the reader know that these skills and tips for peak performance are not just simply a theory but something that actually works for you. However, the intended audience of this book is pretty specific; it is essentially a handbook for athletes or parents of athletes. People who don’t fall into these categories might find that some of the things in the book are not very relevant to them.

Not being a collegiate or professional athlete, I was a little skeptical about purchasing this book. It was after a recent conversation with a friend about my current struggles with my weight loss, that this book was highly recommended to me. "Sports Psychology for Dummies" taught me a lot about goal setting, motivation and even how to handle, what would have been before, devastating set backs. All while keeping my perspective on my overall goal. I have been implementing the techniques that Dr. Smith and Dr. Kays have suggested in the book for over three weeks now and not only have I already seen a difference in my body, but also in my overall mental attitude! "Sport Psychology for Dummies" is not just a GREAT resource for athletes, parents of athletes or coaches, but also a valuable tool for people like me: The everyday person who is looking to improve themselves both physically and mentally. Thank you Dr. Smith and Dr. Kays!

I'm am neither a parent or coach, so this book wasn't for me. Its approach is from the mentor point of view and was not what I was looking for. I was looking for a sports psychology book FOR ME...and this wasn't it.

Dr. Leif Smith is a professor of mine at The Ohio State University, teaching an applied sports psychology class. As a psychology major, I have thoroughly enjoyed the course he teaches and quite frequently he references his book, Sports Psychology for Dummies. We use this book as a textbook in class and I must say it has been extremely helpful and a great resource. The examples in this book really help the reader understand what is being talked about and helps make the information more applicable. This book covers a huge variety of topics and I think the topics are important for many aspects of life, not just sports. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good read about motivation and mindfulness, whether it's in sports, school, parenting, etc. Great book!