3 Books On Sport Psychology & Mental Skills All Athletes Must Read

In professional sports, physical skill sets the baseline, but mindset shapes the ceiling. Today’s top athletes understand the importance of investing not only in their physical conditioning, but also the mental side of the game. As professional leagues down to youth sports are providing mental health resources, both sport psychologists and sports psychiatrists are playing a crucial role in helping athletes sustain focus and confidence under pressure.

Many athletes, coaches, and executives are seeking resources to enhance their mental skills and improve performance on the court, field, and boardroom. The books in this list capture a variety of sport psychology principles and mental skills training, offering timeless information on performance, mindset, and excellence that can be implemented far beyond the field.

Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence by Gary Mack

Gary Mack, a leading sports psychology consultant and counselor, wrote Mind Gym, which emphasizes the power of the mind’s influence on performance. He provides forty accessible lessons in the book, which include anecdotes from notable athletes. He breaks down the techniques he teaches to help elite athletes strengthen their “mental muscle”. Mack, having worked with athletes through the MLB, NBA, and NFL, touches on powerful strategies for executing high-performance under pressure, such as visualization, self-talk, and focus.

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Although Csikszentmihalyi’s book Flow wasn’t written exclusively for athletes, his concepts have been applied throughout the sports world. The book explores the convergence of skill, challenge, and focus, otherwise known as “flow state”. Many athletes look to achieve flow state consistently when playing their sport. Being able to tap into this is certainly a competitive edge, as flow is where performance feels effortless and time tends to disappear. A highlight of this book is how it provides a scientific framework for what many athletes describe as their best moments. Sports psychiatrists and sport psychologists often work with athletes to better understand how to enter and sustain flow state in their on-court or field performance. Flow is a great read for anyone looking to elevate their mental precision and resilience.

How Champions Think: In Sports and in Life by Dr. Bob Rotella

Dr. Bob Rotella, a leading performance psychologist and consultant, has authored many books on mental performance, especially surrounding the world of professional golf. In How Champions Think, he breaks down many performance principles that are applicable not only to professional athletes but also to strong minds in the business world. He provides insights on how to create a self-image that exudes confidence and accomplishment and prompts for reflection on what may be holding you back. The book includes stories from his work with top athletes to provide context for how to apply these principles to countless situations.

Bonus Read: The Confident Mind by Dr. Nate Zinsser

With a PhD in Sport Psychology, Dr. Nate Zinsser has extensive experience in training U.S. Military Academy cadets to lead and perform under high pressure situations. Alongside this work, he has worked with Super Bowl MVPs, Olympians, and NHL All-Stars applying similar principles to help those athletes overcome high-pressure moments and succeed when it matters the most. He believes that confidence is the one single trait above everything else to make peak performance possible. Through his book, The Confident Mind, he breaks down how to build and protect confidence so you can depend on it when performance matters. He outlines a structured approach to mental skills training, showing athletes how to reframe self-doubt and utilize skills like mental rehearsal. It’s a great book to recommend to those working with sports psychiatrists and sport psychologists already.

Bonus Read for Clinicians: Sports Psychiatry: Strategies for Life Balance and Peak Performance by Dr. David R. McDuff

Dr. David McDuff is a leading sports psychiatrist and longtime consulting physician to the Baltimore Orioles who wrote the book Sports Psychiatry, which provides a comprehensive framework for integrating mental health and high-performance. His book blends psychiatry, sports medicine, and performance psychology. It is an absolute must-read for sports psychiatrists and other providers working in the athlete mental health space who are striving to understand the mental demands of elite competition while also protecting athlete well-being.

Social Media Leaders in Mental Health & Performance

If you are interested in the field of sport psychology, sports psychiatry, or mental performance coaching, or if you just want to keep up with the latest trends and information, these are the voices to follow:

@VoiceinSport – a community of female athletes that provides mentorship and resources from experts in the field

@FindJoeFlow – Joey Hewitt is a mental skills coach, who provides valuable insights and real athlete stories

@TheSportzDoc – Candice Williams, PhD, LMHC, is the Director of Mental Wellness and Performance for the Houston Texans

@PeakSportsPsychiatry – Mark Allen, M.D., is a sports psychiatrist and host of the Peak Sports Psychiatry Podcast

@WCMsportspsych – Dr. Wilsa Charles-Malveaux is a sports psychiatrist and host of The Mindscape Report podcast

@BrookChouletMD – Dr. Brook Choulet is a sports psychiatrist and President of the American Board of Sports and Performance Psychiatry

@thecoachdar – Darleen Santore is a mental edge and leadership coach with experience working with athletes from the NBA, NFL, NHL, and more

@itsthezone – The Zone helps sports organizations provide better mental healthcare for their athletes

@virtualsportpsych – Providing knowledge, tools, and interventions to further the delivery of high-quality services to athletes, teams, and coaches

@boogiedownbronxdoc – Dr. Aguilar is a board-certified psychiatrist and Director of the Sports Mental Health and Performance Institute at Montefiore Health System

The Bottom Line:

In today’s world of professional sports, it’s clear that mental skills training is no longer an option. It’s essential for high performance. Athletes who want to stand apart from the rest need to focus on strengthening their mental performance as much as they intentionally train physically. These books provide a starting framework for mastering the mental side of the game and complement the work of sport psychologists, sports psychiatrists, and mental performance specialists. While physical skill may get you into the game, it’s your mindset that keeps you winning.