Tag Archives: performance

Fear of failure: What if your child loses?

By Greg Wilmot - Sports Psychologist | Published: June 11, 2013

In contemporary sport, whether professional- or school-level, there is an overwhelming focus on winning results, the applauding heroes, ‘man-of-the-match’ performances, try-saving tackles, victory celebrations long into the night and, as the saying goes, “No one remembers who came second.” While this may be true for some instances, almost everyone remembers the person who missed an [...]

Body image and eating disturbances among adolescents

By Nicki de Villiers - Registered Dietician | Published: November 20, 2012

In this 2nd part in the series we look at the causes and warning signs of eating disorders, how it affects performance and how to assist an athlete who presents with an eating disorder. Causes of Eating Disorders in young Athletes There is no single cause of eating disorders or disordered eating in young athletes. [...]

Hype about hydration 1

By Nicki de Villiers - Registered Dietician | Published: May 23, 2012

This is the first part of a 2 part series on hydration and will focus on the need for adequate hydration and recognising dehydration in the young athlete. The importance of adequate fluid intake in sports is to avoid dehydration and maintain normal heart function and thermoregulatory (ability of the body to deal with heat) [...]

Visual performance training for all scholars

By Dr Sherylle Calder - Visual Skills and Performance Specialist | Published: September 20, 2011

EYEGYM – THE PROGRAM THAT WON 2 RUGBY WORLD CUPS Have you ever thought about training your eyes like you train your body? The Springbok (2007) and England Rugby (2003) teams did and it played a role in winning the World Cup. “Since our squad started using the Visual Performance Training drills, our accuracy of [...]

Let’s get them motivated

By Grant Jansen | Published: August 10, 2011

How does a teacher/school coach motivate kids who are disinterested in sport/physical activity to get involved? This is a hard one…..as one cannot force individuals to doing something that they don’t want to do as it can work against you in the long run….Sport is not necessarily enjoyed by every child and it is therefore [...]

Long-Term Participant/Athlete Development (LTPD)

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: August 1, 2011

As parents we recognise that sport and physical activity play an important role in the healthy physiological and psychological growth and development of our children. Unfortunately over the past number of years there has been a decline in physical activity in South Africa resulting in an increased risk for diseases such as diabetes and obesity [...]

Dangers of Doping

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: July 4, 2011

Another week, another story about the use of performance enhancing substances ranging from steroids to supplements and everything in between. The statistics are frightening. Here’s just a sample: * In a survey conducted at 18 of South Africa’s top schools, 21 out of 130 pupils (approximately 1 in 6) tested positive for a variety of [...]

Feeding Active Kids 2

By Nicki de Villiers - Registered Dietician | Published: June 9, 2011

This is the second article of three in our current series, “Feeding Active Kids.” In our first article we looked at the need for proper nutrition to optimise growth and development as well as how to include adequate carbohydrate, protein and fat in your active kid’s diet. If you missed it, click here. In this [...]

Parental involvement and the effect on a child’s performance

By Monja Human - Sport Psychologist | Published: June 6, 2011

Case study: Johnny the swimmer I watched Johnny, a very talented 14 year old swimmer at a competition. Before Johnny competed I saw him going to the toilet at least 4 times. After his race I congratulated him but commented that I saw him going to the toilet a couple of times. He laughed and [...]

How do you know if your son is taking anabolic steroids?

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: May 30, 2011

The newspapers are confirming what most of us already know: more and more adolescent schoolboys are taking powerful anabolic steroids. And they’re not only taking them to enhance their sports performance but also “to look good.” So as a parent, how would you spot if your son is taking these dangerous drugs? Steroid use can [...]

Illegal or Ignorant? How performance enhancing substances can damage a career

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: February 21, 2011

Within the space of a few days in November 2010, three leading South African sportsmen (two rugby players and a cricketer) tested positive for substances prohibited by the World Anti Doping Association (WADA). Was this doping to enhance performance, ignorance on the part of the players and/or their medical teams or contaminated products? Whatever the [...]

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