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Brandi Chastain and Colleen Hacker on World Cup and Sport Psychology

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Amid the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, this Google+ Hangout focuses on the mental and social-emotional sides of the competition. Former PCA President, Tina Syer (@tinasyer4), hosts Brandi Chastain (@brandichastain)-- two-time World Cup Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist and PCA National Advisory Board Member -- along with Dr. Colleen Hacker, also an Advisory Board Member, who has served as a member of the United States coaching staff for five Olympic Games as a Mental Skills Coach and Performance Psychology Specialist.

Specific topics explored here include: team-building, recovering from mistakes and use of a mistake ritual, widening and narrowing a scope of focus during competition, and handling pressure. In deep and personal anecdotes, Brandi and Colleen call upon memories of key moments in past World Cup tournaments, Olympics and other competitions and relate their experiences to youth sports so that youth and high school coaches can apply the same principles to their own work with athletes.