Special to the Laredo Sun
LAREDO, TEXAS- From Brazil’s mental melt down in the World Cup semi final and Luis Suarez’s biting fiasco to Andy Murray’s early exit from Wimbledon after taking on a new coach, there’s no doubt that the big talking point of this summer’s sporting extravaganza has been the psychology behind the performance. There’s more emphasis placed on the mental side of sporting achievement today than ever before with the mind science behind the sport itself often referred to as a secret weapon. Taking sports fans off the field and into the heads of sporting idols, a top sports psychologist is emerging as a fascinating new voice in top level professional sports.
Don Macpherson is now being booked for a series of high-profile appearances on some of the UK’s most popular media outlets and is currently the resident psychology expert at Autosport magazine. Once christened ‘Mac The Mindbender’ by a popular Sunday newspaper, Macpherson is one of the country’s leading mind coaches and sports psychologists, with an extensive career working alongside elite athletes and sportsmen. From F1 racing drivers and Premiership footballers to snooker champions and Ryder Cup golfers, Don Macpherson has seen it all, and has helped some of sport’s biggest stars overcome their phobias, lack of confidence and a myriad of other psychological hindrances.
In a summer that has left the nation wondering what England’s footballers have to do to win a trophy, and what on earth would propel a man to bite another professional, Macpherson has been taking the time to offer his verdicts on all of summer’s sporting controversies. He kicked off his string of appearances with a guest slot on the Johnny Vaughan show on TalkSport Radio, discussing Luis Suarez’s antics at the World Cup, before being featured in a Sunday Times article about Andy Murray’s untimely exit from Wimbledon in the quarter finals.
For more than 20 years Macpherson has pioneered the phrase ‘monkey mind’ to describe the internal voice in our head that chatters away and can cause many sportspeople to become distracted or lose their confidence. The proverbial ‘monkey in our head’ needs to be controlled, according to Macpherson – and it can make all the difference in high-concentration environments, like the dead silence of The Crucible or the fraught atmosphere of Wembley stadium.
The radio and newspapers appearances that Macpherson has recently undertaken are bringing the phrase ‘monkey mind’ into the public perception, as more fans and players become aware that sport is no longer about turning up and striking a ball or putting in the hours at the gym, on the track or in the ring. The increasing awareness that sports psychology plays a huge part in success has given Mr Macpherson the perfect platform to make his pioneering ideas known.
Macpherson says, “Today there is a trend to be over trained physically and under trained mentally. This summer we’ve seen some very extreme examples of sports psychology and mind coaching in play – there have been underdogs succeeding at the World Cup due to their spirit and mentality, and there have been moments of madness from some of the world’s most feted players. We’ve seen favourites crash out of Wimbledon early and an epic battle between two tennis superstars which was more about mentality than skill. Sports fans are becoming very aware of the importance of being in the right mindset for a sporting event, and it’s my mission to bring the notion of the ‘monkey mind’ to wider audiences, so that we can combat that monkey in our heads and start to achieve sporting success across the board.”
Macpherson helps to treat the real causes of performance issues using guided meditation techniques, bio-feedback technology and his wealth of performance improvement techniques.
Don Macpherson is available for media bookings and expert comment and insight on a range of sporting issues and breaking news. To arrange an interview or obtain a quote for media use, email contact@donmacpherson.co.uk
For more information about Don Macpherson visit http://www.donmacpherson.co.uk
About
Don Macpherson is a British mind coach with a background in sports psychology.
He works with many world-class sports professionals – F1 racing drivers, Premiership footballers, snooker champions, Ryder Cup golfers, Wimbledon tennis champions etc, helping them overcome their phobias, lack of confidence, stress – in fact, with any psychological aspect of their performance.
