{"id":971,"date":"2020-01-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/headstart-what-makes-some-elite-performers-more-resilient-than-others\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:24","slug":"what-wakes-elite-performers-resilient","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/what-wakes-elite-performers-resilient\/","title":{"rendered":"Headstart: What Makes Some Elite Performers More Resilient Than Others?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Jan 09, 2020 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Headstart: What Makes Some Elite Performers More Resilient Than Others?<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Human Performance<\/a> <\/div>\n
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In this final column of this eight-part series, Optios (formerly The Platypus Institute) explains how neurofeedback, mental skills training, and motivational priming can be used to develop the resilience of elite athletes.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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An article brought to you in association with our Partners, Optios:<\/p>\n

\"Optios<\/p>\n

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Optios, formerly The Platypus Institute is a pioneering leader in the field of maximizing elite-level sports performance based on neurocognitive assessments and has extensive experience working with coaches and athletes. For more information click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Every athlete copes with stress, adversity, and setbacks differently. Some players can maintain grace under pressure and bounce back quickly from setbacks, while others choke under pressure and dwell on past mistakes. <\/strong><\/h4>\n

Some athletes thrive in pressure-cooker situations and perform better when the weight of the world is on their shoulders. In contrast, other players experience crippling anxiety and fumble when the stakes are high.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tom Nugent<\/span><\/a>, Director of Elite Performance Solutions at The Platypus Institute, says, \u201cAs a coach, you want to understand how your players react to stress throughout the season. The seasonal grind, the added intensity of the playoffs, or even the additional weight of a few road games in a row.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen it in every sport, whether it\u2019s smashing a tennis racket, getting a technical, retaliating at an opponent, or even just becoming detached from the game for a few minutes to a quarter, players react differently to different things,\u201d adds Nugent. \u201cBecoming more resilient against a trash-talking opponent, a ref making a call you don\u2019t agree with, or a play not going your way is part of what separates the best from the great.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Platypus Institute has the capability to leverage a wealth of <\/span>scientific data<\/span><\/a> and research findings relating to stress, resilience, and performance under pressure that can help coaches and players alike. \u201cThe ability to recognize how both your body and mind can change in response to stressful outside influences, and the ability to control your reactions through capabilities such as neurofeedback, can provide a distinct advantage by creating a mental shield to help keep you in the game, in the moment, and <\/span>performing at your best<\/span><\/a>,\u201d says Nugent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The neurobiology and psychometrics of resilience<\/b><\/p>\n

Researchers at King\u2019s College London (KCL) recently conducted a meta-analysis, \u201c<\/span>Adapting to Stress: Understanding the Neurobiology of Resilience<\/span><\/a> that explored how different individuals respond to stress on a neurobiological level.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This analysis by Carlos Os\u00f3rio and colleagues identifies specific neural circuits and other brain mechanisms associated with being more ‘stress-resilient’. Although this paper identifies the neurobiological components associated with a \u201cstress-resilient profile,\u201d more rigorous neuroscientific research is needed. From a psychological perspective, the authors of this review offer some insights regarding character traits, explanatory styles, and lifestyle choices that appear to boost resilience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be noted that active coping strategies, humor, hardiness, and extroversion can promote resilience through fostering feelings of mastery, commitment, and competence as well as the ability to help others through bonding,\u201d Os\u00f3rio and his co-authors said. \u201cImportantly, the propensity of resilient individuals to express positive emotions, in relation to negative events, enables them to control their anxiety and fears.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

These insights on stress-resilient individuals by researchers at KCL dovetail with the work of Peter Clough at the University of Huddersfield, who famously identified and created the \u201c<\/span>4C\u2019s Model<\/span><\/a>\u201d of mental toughness (MT). The 4C model incorporates four independent but correlated factors relating to resilience and mental toughness that all begin with the letter \u201cC.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further reading in the Headstart series:<\/strong><\/p>\n