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WORK TITLE: The Young Champion’s Mind
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Phoenix
STATE: AZ
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
http://www.goldmedalmind.net/; Phone: (602) 999-4168
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; wife’s name Anne; children: Maria Paz.
EDUCATION:Michigan State University, master’s degree, Ph.D.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, counselor, sports psychologist. Arizona State University, Counseling Services and Sports Medicine, senior staff member, 2004-2013; Good to Gold Medal, PLLC, Phoenix, AZ, founder. Also served as the staff mental coach for two the Greek Olympic softball team and India’s Olympic field hockey team.
MEMBER:Association for Applied Sport Psychology, the American Counseling Association, the Arizona Psychoanalytic Society.
WRITINGS
Contributor to professional journals, including Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology and Olympic Coach magazine. Has served as an expert blogger for Psychology Today.
SIDELIGHTS
Jim Afremow is a licensed professional counselor and mental game coach.. He is also founder of the Good to Gold Medal, PLLC, acoaching and consulting practice. Afremow provides individual and team mental training services across the globe to athletes, teams, and coaches in all sports, including high school, collegiate, recreational, and professional athletes, including international Olympic competitors. He also provides services to parents, business professionals, and others engaged in highly demanding endeavors.
Afremow’s interest in sports began when he was a youth and played several sports in school His father also promoted “an active lifestyle,” as Afremow told Cait Chock for the Cait Chock website. Afremow went on to tell Chock: “Sports psychology provides the perfect opportunity to bridge two of my passions: sports and psychology. I have always been fascinated by human behavior and how all of us can learn to reach our greatest potential.”
The Champion's Comeback
Afremow, who earned a doctorate in sports psychology and a master’s degree, is also a writer who contributes to professional journals. In addition, he is the author of books relating to his areas of expertise. In The Champion’s Comeback: How Great Athletes Recover, Reflect, and Re-Ignite, Afremow focuses on how to mentally overcome losses and injuries and how to achieve a high level of performance, even greatness, on and off the field. Afremow begins with triangular diagrams as visual metaphors that show the difference between contenders and champions. According to Afremow, the primary difference revolves around how people react to challenges.
He continues by looking at common setbacks, from losing to injuries, and then discusses how to take a positive approach to these setbacks. Overall, Afremow presents the seven Ls as the primary way to make a comeback: let go, look for support, love the game, learn, labor, learn optimism, and lean on the mental game. The book contains stories about successful comebacks and how numerous athletes have overcome their individual setbacks. He also discusses techniques such as visualization and self-talk. “The Champion’s Comeback is a good tool that I am adding to my sports psychology, counseling, and teaching toolbox, since I know people who could use good comeback inspiration, and they can find it here,” wrote Stan Rockwell, a doctor of psychology, for the Psych Central website.
The Young Champion's Mind
Afremow is also the author of The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive and the young adult (YA) edition for student athletes titled The Young Champion’s Mind: How To Think, Train, and Thrive Like an Elite Athlete. In the YA edition, Afremow addresses how the serious young athletes can incorporate strategies to boost mental skills that will help them reach peak performance levels. Afremow covers a wide range of topics, such as how to set goals and get in a “zone” while staying humble and succeeding in a team sport Afremow inserts real-life examples of times adverse situations were overcome by variouss athletes. “Inspirational stories and an overabundance of quotations from famous athletes are included throughout,” wrote Anne Jung-Mathews in School Library Journal.
The book also includes detailed scripts for visualization practices for specific sports. Afremow discusses nutrition, the importance of sleep, and routines to conduct prior to performance. He emphasizes how emotional development is a key to improving both an athlete’s mental and physical performance. The Young Champion’s Mind includes references and recommended reading.
“Young athletes will find much of value in this guide to developing a winning mindset,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Noting that The Young Champion’s Mind likely would not “appeal … [to] the less dedicated student athlete,” Booklist contributor Sharon Rawlins went on to remark that, “for those who are serious about their sport, it’s invaluable.” A Publishers Weekly contributor noted the advice offered by Afremow is also applicable to attainments outside of sports, including schoolwork.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15, 2018, Sharon Rawlins, review of The Young Champion’s Mind: How to Think, Train, and Thrive like an Elite Athlete, p. 66.
Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2018, review of The Young Champions Mind.
School Library Journal, April, 2018. Anne Jung-Mathews, review of The Young Champion’s Mind, p. 146.
ONLINE
Cait Chock website, http://caitchock.com/ (May 27, 2014), Cait Chock, “A Gold Medal Mind: My Interview with Dr. Jim Afremow.”
Gold Medal Mind website, http://www.goldmedalmind.net/ (July 6, 2018), author profile.
Inertia, https://www.theinertia.com/ (June 16, 2016), Phil White, “Even if You Never Compete, this Interview with Sports Psychologist Jim Afremow Will Improve Your Mental Game.”
Psych Central, https://psychcentral.com (September 3, 2016), Stan Rockwell, review of The Champion’s Comeback: How Great Athletes Recover, Reflect, and Re-Ignite.
Publishers Weekly Online, https://www.publishersweekly.com (March 1, 2018), review of The Young Champion’s Mind.
Dr. Jim Afremow
Dr. Jim Afremow is a much sought-after mental game coach, licensed professional counselor, and the author of The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train and Thrive (Rodale, 2014). He is the founder of Good to Gold Medal, PLLC, a leading coaching and consulting practice. Though his practice is located in Phoenix, Arizona, Dr. Afremow provides individual and team mental training services across the globe to athletes, teams, and coaches in all sports, as well as to parents, business professionals, and all others engaged in highly demanding endeavors. He is passionate about helping others achieve peak performance and personal excellence, and reach their true potential.
For over 15 years, Dr. Afremow has assisted numerous high school, collegiate, recreational, and professional athletes. Major sports represented include MLB, NBA, WNBA, PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, NHL, and NFL. In addition, he has mentally trained several U.S. and international Olympic competitors. He served as the staff mental coach for two international Olympic teams, the Greek Olympic softball team and India’s Olympic field hockey team. From 2004 to 2013, he served as a senior staff member with Counseling Services and Sports Medicine at Arizona State University.
Dr. Afremow is a member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), the American Counseling Association (ACA), and the Arizona Psychoanalytic Society (APS). He has an extensive history of professional activity, including conference presentations, corporate workshops, and publications in top journals and peer reviewed publications, including the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology and Olympic Coach Magazine. He has also served as an expert blogger on the mental side of athletics for Psychology Today.
Dr. Afremow resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife Anne and their daughter Maria Paz.
Even if You Never Compete, this Interview with Sports Psychologist Jim Afremow Will Improve Your Mental Game
Phil White
COMMUNITY
afermow1
When it comes to elite sport, athletes never stop looking for a physical edge. Seemingly small changes to training, nutrition or recovery can pay off big time in competition, when the difference between a podium finisher and the pack of also-rans can be mere seconds or fractions of seconds. But no matter how well prepared any athlete’s body is, this preparation can be in vain if their mind lets them down. It’s tricky enough to formulate a solid game plan and execute it flawlessly when things are going smoothly, but add in a little adversity – a hot or cold day, an early stumble, a shoelace that comes untied at just the wrong moment – and even the best physical specimens can fall apart between the ears.
That’s why so many athletes turn to sports psychologists. These “brain trainers” try to ensure that sportsmen and women are just as resilient emotionally and cognitively as they are physically when it matters most: on race day. Dr. Jim Afremow is one of the world leaders in this field, and the author of the brilliant books The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train and Thrive and The Champion’s Comeback: How Great Athletes Recover, Reflect, and Re-Ignite. At his Good to Gold Medal practice in Phoenix, Afremow works with everyone from pro athletes and teams to weekend warriors, all of whom are looking to improve their performance by getting their head right. Afremow took a few minutes to share his top 5 mental conditioning tips that can help you reach your potential on whatever “game day” means for you:
Embrace the Challenge: There are two options when taking on tough competition: either think about it as a great challenge or a scary threat. Champions embrace every opportunity to compete against and beat the best. Respect their abilities, but respect your own capabilities even more.
Own the Moment in the Moment: The goal is to take your preparation from practice to performance while staying in the moment. The routine here is one move (or wave, line or trail) at a time and not getting ahead of oneself (with “what if?” mental noise). Live in the moment and deal with what’s in front of you. The end result can wait.
surf1
Photo: Tarnea O’Meara
Compete with Joy: The more fun you have, the better you’ll perform. The better you perform, the more fun you’ll have. Remember, “If you don’t enjoy the journey, chances are you won’t enjoy the destination.” Champions clearly understand this principle as their love of the game shines through on game day. They are having fun with a purpose!
Keep it Simplistically Simple: Athletes perform their best when they “look and do” or “read and react,” as opposed to over-thinking everything. Trust is a must and it is important to keep things simple and in rhythm during competition. Kids understand this and you were once a kid. Remember?
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Underreact – Friction Just Causes Heat: Don’t allow the mistakes or misses to trigger a downward mental spiral. Tennis legend Roger Federer is the king of underreacting. If an opponent hits a spectacular shot, he just goes, “ho hum” and walks away. Stay cool and aware!
A Gold Medal Mind: My interview with Dr. Jim Afremow
Posted on May 27, 2014 by Cait — 2 Comments ↓
dr. jim afremowTo run and race your best it’s critical you’ve got the right mindset. Dr. Jim Afremow has made it his mission to help runners and athletes of all sports hone their mental training. Just as important and the physical workouts, an athlete’s mind can create a champion or turn into one’s own worst enemy. I wanted interview Dr. Afremow both because I respect his body of work and level of expertise and also because, let’s be honest, the psychology of our sport in straight-up fascinating! Often time elite athletes have trouble putting into words exactly how they get into gamer mode…so read on to hear a mental game’s coach put words to the ability:
JIM AFREMOW, Ph.D.
1) What got you started in athletics, and what were your favorite sports growing up?
I grew up on sports and physical activity primarily through my father who appreciated the importance of having an active lifestyle. He especially enjoyed hiking, mountain climbing, and participating in Masters track and field. As a youth, my favorite sports included track and field, soccer, and golf.
2) How did you foray into becoming a mental games coach and working on the sports psychology end of the spectrum?
Sports psychology provides the perfect opportunity to bridge two of my passions: sports and psychology. I have always been fascinated by human behavior and how all of us can learn to reach our greatest potential. I earned a doctorate in sports psychology and a Master’s in counseling, both at Michigan State University.
3) You work with a variety of athletes in different sports, but in working with runners what are some of the most common mental hurdles they struggle with?
Mental toughness is equally import to physical strength when it comes to shining in sports. Adversity strikes all athletes in different ways at different times. Runners must learn how to stay focused and confidently move through any kind of setback, such as a mental block, performance plateau, prolonged slump, or injury. They must also develop ways to reduce off-field issues or concerns that interfere with their training and races.
4) Confidence is a big one with runners and racing, and confidence tends to ebb and flow, be it after bad workouts or ongoing injuries. What are some of the techniques you use to help runners rebuild and remain confident in themselves and their abilities?
Confidence is a beautiful thing! Confidence in yourself and your athletic ability is critical to performing your best when it matters most. One strategy for boosting your confidence is to remember a particular occasion when you triumphed over a difficult challenge and write about how you made it happen—memory is the prelude to memorable performances.
5) Race day nerves tends to be another big one, what are some of your suggestions for keeping your racing nerves in check?
First and foremost, understand that pre-performance anxiety is how our body readies itself to perform at its peak. So, recognize anxiety for what it is―that’s how humans are made. If you know that, it helps to normalize race day nerves. My new book The Champion’s Mind presents scores of practical tips to help you harness anxiety and use it to your advantage.
6) In running and in athletics in general what is something you feel is an especially crucial mental component in being your best, if not THE best?
Have a big-picture goal and chip away at each and every day. “When you’re good at something, make that everything,” said tennis legend Roger Federer. All it takes is all you’ve got!
7) What’s your favorite mental tip for runners to race and run their best?
During competition, the key word is “performance” because if you focus on performing (rather than on any results or other extraneous factors), then you’re totally in the present. Being in the present and staying purposeful lets you “own the moment” and maximize your abilities.
8) What was the greatest lesson or piece of advice you’ve been given either from a mentor, teacher, or athlete that you’ve applied to your work?
One important lesson is that we either win or we learn. Forget about losing and focus on continual improvement. Give yourself credit where credit is due and celebrate what you did well. But then if you didn’t do as well as you wanted, say, “What did I learn from this that’s going to help me perform better next time?”
9) Tell us about your book, your services, and your website?
The title of my new book is, “The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive” (Rodale, 2014). The Champion’s Mind explains “what” athletes can do to champion themselves and “how” they can do it. That is, how athletes can fine-tune their game mentally and emotionally to consistently perform at their best. If you want to discover how great you can be and how much fun you can have in your sport, don’t leave the mental game to chance or circumstance.
So, I provide individual and team sports psychology services for personal excellence, peak performance, and team success. Although my private practice is located in Phoenix, I work with athletes from all over the world. Important topics include confidence, concentration, composure, communication, and commitment. All athletes can and should learn how to think like a champion. For more information, please visit my website: www.goldmedalmind.net.
10)Ultimately, what is your goal in being a sports performance specialist? What gives you the most sense of pleasure and fulfillment?
To help people reach their true and full potential in sports and all other demanding endeavors. To help people grow as athletes and as people. Champions think gold and never settle for silver or bronze. They understand that personal best is their ultimate victory. Why settle for anything less?
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Print Marked Items
The Young Champion's Mind: How to
Think, Train, and Thrive like an Elite
Athlete
Sharon Rawlins
Booklist.
114.12 (Feb. 15, 2018): p66.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Young Champion's Mind: How to Think, Train, and Thrive like an Elite Athlete.
By Jim Afremow.
Mar. 2018. 240p. Rodale, $17.99 (97816356505631. 796. Gr. 9-12.
For serious young student athletes, this book offers strategies for strengthening mental skills to achieve peak
performance. Adapted for young readers from The Champion's Mind (2014), it includes advice from sports
champions and other professionals on the key mental skills needed to excel as well as how to be in the zone,
set goals, and respond to challenges and become stronger. The book uses actual examples of adverse
situations and offers instructive solutions. Detailed scripts guide readers through useful visualizations for 10
different sports, from golf to gymnastics. It also presents practical tips on nutrition, sports counseling, sleep
science, social media, preperformance readiness routines, and advice on how to develop an emotionally
balanced life. A Q&A with the author is particularly helpful, and references, recommended reading, and an
index (not seen) are also included. The text-heavy, unillustrated book probably won't have much appeal for
the less dedicated student athlete, but for those who are serious about their sport, it's invaluable.--Sharon
Rawlins
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Rawlins, Sharon. "The Young Champion's Mind: How to Think, Train, and Thrive like an Elite Athlete."
Booklist, 15 Feb. 2018, p. 66. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A531171603/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=10138760.
Accessed 19 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A531171603
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Afremow, Jim: THE YOUNG
CHAMPION'S MIND
Kirkus Reviews.
(Feb. 15, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Afremow, Jim THE YOUNG CHAMPION'S MIND Rodale Kids (Young Adult Informational) $17.99 3, 13
ISBN: 978-1-63565-056-3
Demonstrating that mental conditioning benefits sports performance, this guide by a sports psychologist
helps young athletes build on their talents and skills by cultivating their self-awareness.
Adapted for young readers from his book for adults The Champion's Mind (2014), this version combines
three revised chapters from the original book with new sections geared toward student athletes. Peppered
with quotes from noted individuals in the sporting world and other fields, topics covered include advice for
attaining your goals, using visualization, finding your flow state, and learning to grow from negative or
stressful experiences. Commendably, the text covers a variety of sports beyond the expected baseball,
basketball, soccer, and football, such as golf, tennis, track and field, and gymnastics. While the design of the
book is lackluster and the tone is earnest and somewhat dry, valuable information for teen athletes on
quality sleep and nutrition, in addition to the above topics, makes it relevant and useful.
Young athletes will find much of value in this guide to developing a winning mindset. (appendix, references
and recommended reading, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Afremow, Jim: THE YOUNG CHAMPION'S MIND." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527248004/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=de9949a8.
Accessed 19 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A527248004
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AFREMOW, Jim. The Young Champion's
Mind: How To Think, Train, and Thrive
Like an Elite Athlete
Anne Jung-Mathews
School Library Journal.
64.4 (Apr. 2018): p146.
COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No
redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
AFREMOW, Jim. The Young Champion's Mind: How To Think, Train, and Thrive Like an Elite Athlete.
240p. appendix, further reading, index. Rodale. Mar. 2018. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781635650563.
Gr 8 Up--Afremow, author of several books on sport psychology and founder of a coaching and consulting
practice, has written a well-intentioned guide. He reminds readers that an athlete must have (in this order)
the mental, emotional, and physical skills to achieve success in their chosen field. Most of the chapters
focus on training the mind, visualizing success, obtaining flow (being in the zone), and acquiring
antifragility (reacting positively to stress, disorder, or mistakes). Inspirational stories and an overabundance
of quotations from famous athletes are included throughout, along with reminders about the importance of a
healthy diet and adequate sleep each night. Afremow offers a wide variety of good information, but getting
teens to read it might be another issue. Some of the information is repetitive, including a Q&A appendix
that offers the same advice from the earlier chapters. VERDICT Suitable for the serious student-athlete who
wants to know more about the mind-body connection. An optional purchase.--Anne Jung-Mathews,
Plymouth State University, NH
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Jung-Mathews, Anne. "AFREMOW, Jim. The Young Champion's Mind: How To Think, Train, and Thrive
Like an Elite Athlete." School Library Journal, Apr. 2018, p. 146. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A533409143/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=71e1320c.
Accessed 19 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A533409143
The Young Champion’s Mind: How to Think, Train, and Thrive Like an Elite Athlete
Jim Afremow. Rodale Kids, $17.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-63565-056-3
Afremow brings the ideas behind his adult book, The Champion’s Mind, to a teenage audience, highlighting the significance of mental discipline alongside physical to do one’s best in sports and in life. Chapters explore developing a positive and confident state of mind; becoming an “antifragile” athlete, one with resilience and perspective; achieving a state of flow when performing; nutrition and health; and using visualizations to lay the groundwork for success. Anecdotes from sports figures show how athletes’ success depends on getting onto the field or gym, being willing to make mistakes (and open to constructive criticism), and finding joy in learning and training, not just in the end goal. Nonathletes may find the advice just as applicable to their academic and personal aspirations. Ages 12–up. Agent: Helen Adams Zimmermann, Zimmermann Literary. (Mar.)
Book Review: The Champion’s Comeback
Book author: Jim Afremow, PhD
Reviewed by: Stan Rockwell, PsyD
~ 2 min read
Life is all about comebacks. Our lives ebb and flow. As both a counselor and a teacher of taijiquan, I have encountered many people with inspiring comeback stories. I have known people who were abused in all sorts of cruel ways as children but who grew to thrive. I have known people of color who grew up in the midst of segregation, when lynching was common, and even though they were surrounded by hate, they grew to have some of the kindest hearts I have met. And I have gotten to work with athletes, who are special in their own right. They tend to be very goal driven. It is a question of finding direction and strength to comeback from losing a contest or from an injury that may jeopardize their participation in the sport they love.
In The Champion’s Comeback: How Great Athletes Recover, Reflect, and Reignite, Jim Afremow, PhD, gives a very nice overview of how athletes, and others, can make a comeback after suffering adversity. Afremow is a licensed professional counselor who has done sports psychology consulting with people ranging from high school students to professional athletes and Olympians. He is the author of a prior book, The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive. His website is called Gold Medal Mind.
Afremow begins by contrasting contenders from champions by using triangles as visual metaphors. The contender’s triangle points downward and the sides are “threats and avoidance.” He refuses help, doesn’t do the hard work, and basically feels threatened by the prospect of competition and failure. The champion’s triangle points upward with challenges and support on the sides. By contrast, the champion embraces challenges, seeks feedback and support, and realizes that failure is our greatest teacher.
Afremow looks at common setbacks like defeats, slumps, and injuries, and provides ways to address them in a positive way. He draws a lot from positive psychology throughout the work. The book is built around the seven L’s which he says champions use to crack the Champion’s Comeback Code: let go, look for support, love the game, learn, labor, learn optimism, and lean on your mental game.
The book is relatively short and basic, and that is a good thing. It is very pragmatic and gives us ideas with a proven track record. Afremow gives us stories of how the techniques work and shares stories of those who don’t come back, or don’t even start to comeback because of fear, and what happened to them. Despite the emphasis on competition, the need for cooperation and collaboration comes through again and again. While coming back is up to us, we do not do it alone. We need to seek out positive support.
Afremow gives good techniques for changing self talk, which is basic to changing behavior. He helps us learn to set goals and to be in the moment, in the flow. He even uses Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame entry speech as a teaching tool. He emphasizes the need for internal motivation. I also like that he emphasizes the very powerful tool of visualization, and he gives several scripts to use for athletics and also for school and work. The scripts use both third person (watching yourself as though watching a movie) and first person (visualizing as if you are in the action looking from your own eyes). I am already working on adapting these for working with people in both counseling and in taijiquan.
The Champion’s Comeback is a good tool that I am adding to my sports psychology, counseling, and teaching toolbox, since I know people who could use good comeback inspiration, and they can find it here.
The Champion’s Comeback: How Great Athletes Recover, Reflect, and Reignite
Rodale Books, May 2016
Hard cover, 272 Pages
$25.99
17
Psych Central's Recommendation:
Worth Your Time! +++
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Want to buy the book or learn more?
Check out the book on Amazon.com!
Stan Rockwell, PsyD
APA Reference
Rockwell, S. (2016). Book Review: The Champion’s Comeback. Psych Central. Retrieved on June 18, 2018, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/book-review-the-champions-comeback/
Scientifically Reviewed
Last updated: 3 Sep 2016
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 3 Sep 2016
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.