Throwing an Interception | Riley Jensen

Any quarterback will agree that there are few feelings worse than throwing an interception. Unfortunately for them, this part of the game isn’t going anywhere, so how can quarterbacks learn to mentally prepare for this turnover, and recover their mental game as quickly as possible? Welcome to the sport psychology of. I’m Gabe Zelico. Today, we’re talking about the sport psychology of throwing an interception. Joining me today is Riley Jensen, CEO of RJ Performance Group. He is the lead Mental Performance Coach for Real Salt Lake and the Real Monarchs. He is also the Mental Performance Coach for Utah State University Athletics as well as Weber State University Athletics. In addition to his Master’s degree in sport and performance psychology from the University of Utah, Riley started as a quarterback at an NCAA D1 school (USU). He was named 1st team junior college All-American QB (Snow College) and coached football at a Division 1 program (NC State). Riley is the perfect guy to talk to about sport psychology and football, so you’re in for a treat. Timestamps are below, enjoy! (00:00) Episode introduction (01:28) Riley Jensen (07:05) The sport psychology of throwing an interception (09:15) How stress leads to throwing more interceptions (10:25) QB thoughts and mindsets (15:23) Body scan (17:27) Simplify your focus (19:30) Situations and thoughts leading to a vulnerable mindset (21:51) Riley and social media (23:53) Lean into the pressure (24:39) How to have a short memory (28:08) Stress off the field impacts your performance (31:44) Training awareness (37:22) Mental rehearsal/imagery/visualization (42:26) Refocusing after throwing an interception (47:06) Outro ⁠RJ Performance Group's Website⁠ Follow @thesportpsychologyof on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠ to watch clips from each episode, including video.  Email Gabe at [email protected] for any feedback or questions regarding the podcast. Interested in taking your mental game to the next level? Try out 1 on 1 sport psychology coaching with Gabe Zelico by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.zelicoperformance.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ and sign up for a free introductory call.  Music by Ben Zelico. Disclaimer: The Sport Psychology Of podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not represent mental health care services, including the giving of mental health care advice. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional mental health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining mental health care for any condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.