This course has brought insight to the questions and thoughts I’ve accumulated throughout my athletic career. The top three topics I found most important are building self-confidence/mental toughness, coping with stress, and youth sports. My interest in building self-confidence and mental toughness goes farther back then I remember. I used to look at star players on my team and wonder how they were so confident and tough. I was the type of athlete that was great in practice but would choke in games. In a way I felt cheated, because I never had a coach that tried to help me. It was almost like they didn’t know what to do with me; so they would ignore me. Had I known more about sport psychology, I could have been more aware of my issues. Coping with stress is something that I could not do as an athlete. It was difficult for me to get out of my own head and just play the game. Once I made a mistake it would be on my mind for the next play. If there was a pressure situation, I was never the player to put in. Coping with stress is not only important from an athletic standpoint, but is helpful in everyday life. On occasion there will be a situation that you cannot control. Learning to cope with that stress in an eustress manor can help you move past it. I am well aware that as I become older I will have to face many situations that will cause stress, and I would like to be able to handle them in a healthy way. Lastly, I chose youth sports as an important topic because I have four nephews that all play sports. It never seizes to amaze me how tough coaches and parents can be on children. I’ve seen fights between parents, coaches yelling, and children crying. I’m sensitive to this topic, because I have a soft spot for kids. These shortcomings in youth sports goes far beyond them dropping out. It’s imperative they are surrounded by people that are going to lead by example to help them build confidence and good character. Another reason I find this topic important is because I am an AES major and I’m aware of the importance to keep our youth active. If sports are no longer enjoyable they will drop out, which means a huge chunk of time for them to be active is gone. In a world with tons of social media, video games, and processed food it’s now more important than ever to keep the youth enthusiastic about sports. Christian faith aligns with sport psychology because the bible is central to everything we do, say, and think. A sport psychologist helps athletes with mental conditioning. This includes imagery, positive self-talk, confidence, motivation/goal setting, and relaxation. Imagery c