Erik Spoelstra Quotes

I don't feel pressure going into games.

One of the main techniques I used was focusing on the goal and visualising myself competing in the race before the race started.

A good 80 percent of the vault is still physical and another percentage of it, 20, 25 percent is mental. Mental is always the mental strength, the confidence building up to that contest or repetition, practice, practice, and practice.

In 1987 I got dartitis, a psychological condition which means you can't let your darts go properly. For a time, I wondered what the hell I was going to do if I didn't recover. But I remained positive and, thankfully, got over it. It occurred during the Swedish Open when I found I couldn't let the darts go.

When I got to match point in the final I was afraid I'd be a little nervous, but I just said, You have to stay focused, just think about what you have to do.

I used to be tense or nervous before heats. But I've learned to get rid of the negative stuff and just stay relaxed and positive - and it seems to be working for me.

When I go out on the ice, I just think about my skating. I forget it is a competition.

I used a lot of sports psychologists when I was younger... sometimes it helped, sometimes it didn't.

You look at players who are off form and there's a general disappointment, their confidence goes low and their whole demeanour can change. I've seen it hundreds of times but it's difficult to know what's really going on inside someone's mind.

Many top professional sportsmen from different sports see a psychologist.

I think it's important to feel good so that the football can take care of itself. If everything else is organised and ready to go, then you're free to play football.

You need to stay calm the day of the contest. Not let the weather bother me and just relax.

I feel like I play better when I'm calm. There is an inner peace I can tap into sometimes during my matches.

In the last two World Cups, I realised that when you put a lot of pressure on yourself, it does not work.

Psychology is a big part of sport that some people do not realise. But it is a skill you have to practice.

I get quite stroppy if I lose - but I've developed skills with a mind coach to help deal with the highs and lows of tennis at this level.

Being relaxed allowed me to fight the way I'm capable of fighting.

Anyway, when I get sorta tense and start thinking about every shot, that's when my game falls apart.

It's interesting: I never got stressed before wrestling matches. I always felt completely confident that I had done everything I could do, all my mental preparations when I sat down and envisioned the match, so I never felt stressed.

The psychology of sport is so important. When you are standing at the crease, in front of a stadium full of people, it's a pretty intense experience. So you need to have the psychological tools to control your mind and deliver your best performance.

If I can stay healthy and actually show up to a major, I feel like I've got a good chance.

I believe your best preparation is to just get your rest and just go out there and continue to do what you've been doing, not to try to do anything uncharacteristic that you haven't been doing. That's my main thing.

I try not to feel pressure, because I feel like it kind of throws you off. I always try to focus on myself. But it does kind of creep into the back of my mind.

There is no point in getting nervous. I get a few butterflies in my stomach, but it isn't really nerves but things that will help your game.

If I'm a bad mood, I can't go on stage and smile.