With all of the things going on in the world, athletes across the Olympics are taking a stand for their mental health. It seems to be a good moment to ground the show and “Play Present,” as sports psychologist, Graham Betchart would say. Graham is the author of the book Play Present and co-founded the mental skills website trainthemind.com with Denver Nuggets power forward, Aaron Gordon.
Graham works with athletes of all ages and across professional sports on mental skills training, including meditations and visualizations. Graham lends his expertise to the show to explain how deep the mental game goes in some of the most intense high pressure moments NBA athletes can experience. He speaks to the mental skills that players like Aaron Gordon, Ben Simmons, and Zach LaVine practice regularly and how the greatest players often lean into their greatest fears.
Check out Graham’s work with Aaron Gordon at Train the Mind here. Enjoy!