by Andrew Bednarzik | Mar 20, 2026 | Sports Psychology and Performance
Test Anxiety Is Performance Anxiety — And It Can Be Trained Getting nervous before the SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT, or a licensing exam isn’t very different from what athletes experience before a championship game. The environment changes. The nervous system does not. As both...
by Andrew Bednarzik | Feb 23, 2026 | Sports Psychology and Performance
The Secret Sauce Was Identity Alysa Liu won the U.S. Championship at 13. Competed in the Olympics. Retired three months later due to burnout and loss of passion. For nearly two years, she stepped away from competitive skating. She went to UCLA. Learned to drive....
by Andrew Bednarzik | Feb 19, 2026 | Sports Psychology and Performance
The Pressure Is Real — And No One Is Immune The Winter Olympics in Milan are in full swing, and there are two US athletes who have caught my attention. Mikaela Shiffrin.Ilia Malinin. The best in their sport. The best in the world. And still — human. We often imagine...
by Andrew Bednarzik | Feb 9, 2026 | Sports Psychology and Performance
When Mike Macdonald, head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, addressed his team at the start of the season, he didn’t begin with tactics or expectations. He began with this: “I need to get better at public speaking.” He admitted he hadn’t handled media well the previous...
by Andrew Bednarzik | Feb 4, 2026 | Sports Psychology and Performance
Why Team Culture Determines Who Wins Under Pressure “When people have to manage dangers from inside the team, the team becomes less able to face dangers from outside.” — Simon Sinek, Leaders Eat Last I come back to this quote often because it explains something I see...
