The Coretex Athletic Review

Evan Kurylo
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Sports
  • Updated Weekly

Host Evan Kurylo distills current sport science research it through the lens of modern athlete development, coaching methodology, and goaltender performance. The aim is to simplify complex research, highlight the key findings, and connect them to real-world coaching decisions — from anticipation and pattern recognition, to visual cognition, to the latest in coaching pedagogy. Short episodes. Strong insights. Better athletes.

  1. 1 hr ago

    34. Flow State

    What does it mean to be “in the zone”—and what happens before, during, and after that experience? In this episode of the Coretex Athletic Review, I explore flow through Achieving Flow: An Exploratory Investigation of Elite College Athletes and Musicians by Antonini Philippe and colleagues (2022). Drawing on interviews with 10 athletes and 12 musicians, the researchers identified three phases: preparation, entry into flow, and exit from flow. Topics include: The nine dimensions of flow, including challenge–skill balance, clear goals, complete concentration, and changes in the perception of time. Physical and mental preparation, warm-ups, routines, and pre-performance nerves. How attention shifts toward the task as performers become absorbed in their activity. The connections between confidence, perceived control, emotions, and flow. How mistakes, fatigue, or the end of a performance can bring someone out of the zone. What these experiences may mean for goaltenders and coaches. This is an exploratory interview study, rather than a tested formula for producing flow. It offers a useful framework for understanding the experience and considering the conditions that might support it. Featured research Antonini Philippe, R., Singer, S. M., Jaeger, J. E. E., Biasutti, M., & Sinnett, S. (2022). Achieving flow: An exploratory investigation of elite college athletes and musicians. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 831508.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.831508 Explore Coretex Athletics: https://coretexathletics.com

  2. Oct 1

    33. Goaltender Specific Psychology | Increased Save Percentage

    This week, I examine a study by Lisa J. Rogerson and Dennis W. Hrycaiko involving five Junior A goaltenders and a mental-skills intervention built around centering and self-talk. The goalies learned to combine a single deep breath with task-specific cues, self-affirming statements and mood words to relax, regain focus and manage their internal dialogue during competition. Four goaltenders produced enough post-intervention data to be evaluated. Their average save percentages improved by between 1.5 and 3.3 percentage points, with several also showing signs of more consistent performance. The goalies and their coaches generally viewed the skills and results positively. We unpack: • What centering actually involves• The three forms of self-talk taught to the goaltenders• How the intervention was used during games• Why the researchers tracked save percentage• The improvements observed after the intervention• Why consistency may matter more than a small statistical increase• The strengths and limitations of a five-participant, multiple-baseline study• What coaches can reasonably take from the findings today Featured article: Rogerson, L. J., & Hrycaiko, D. W. (2002). Enhancing Competitive Performance of Ice Hockey Goaltenders Using Centering and Self-Talk. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 14–26. Follow Coretex Athletics for more goaltender-development content grounded in research, coaching practice and the realities of the position. #Goaltending #GoalieDevelopment #SportPsychology #HockeyGoalie #MentalSkills #SelfTalk #HockeyResearch #CoretexAthletics

  3. Sep 17

    32. Four Mental Skills for Goaltenders

    In this episode, I examine a 2006 research note by Ryan Gelinas and Krista Munroe-Chandler that organizes the mental side of goaltending around four psychological skills: • Concentration• Arousal control• Imagery• Self-talk We explore how a goaltender’s attention must shift between broad and narrow cues, why optimal arousal is individual rather than universal, how imagery can prepare athletes for specific situations, and how purposeful self-talk can keep the mind connected to relevant information. The paper also offers practical exercises, including eye-control drills, progressive muscle relaxation, controlled breathing, event-day imagery, and instructional cue words. Importantly, this was not an experimental study testing four skills on a new group of goaltenders. It was an applied research note that brought existing sport-psychology literature together and translated it into practical recommendations for the position. The central takeaway is simple: mental skills are skills. They can be taught, deliberately practised, and integrated into training—rather than treated as personality traits a goaltender either possesses or does not. Article discussed: Gelinas, R., & Munroe-Chandler, K. (2006). Psychological Skills for Successful Ice Hockey Goaltenders. Journal of Excellence, 8(2), 64–71. Coretex Athletic Review is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

  4. Sep 3

    31. Choking Under Pressure

    Following last episode’s look at the Yerkes-Dodson Law, Episode 31 takes a more modern—and more sport-specific—look at performance under pressure. Using Vivien Valckx’s 2026 review From Choke to Clutch: Using Neuroscience and Psychology to Understand Performance Breakdown in Athletes, we explore what the research says may actually be happening when an athlete chokes. The review brings together sport psychology and neuroscience research around three major mechanisms: Self-focus — consciously monitoring the mechanics of a skill that would normally operate more automatically. Distraction — performance worries and consequences pulling attention away from task-relevant information. Emotional dysregulation / over-arousal — heightened emotional and physiological responses compounding attentional and cognitive demands. We also look at pressure across time—from anticipatory worry before competition, to the performance itself, to the rumination and self-criticism that can continue afterward—and how anxiety and perfectionism may increase an athlete’s vulnerability to choking. Finally, we explore practical approaches discussed in the literature, including attentional control, cognitive reappraisal, pressure training, CBT, ACT, and mindfulness. And with this episode, the podcast begins shifting its lens toward goaltending: what these concepts might mean for a position where mistakes are obvious, consequences are immediate, and the next performance demand is often only seconds away. Article:Valckx, V. (2026). From Choke to Clutch: Using Neuroscience and Psychology to Understand Performance Breakdown in Athletes. International Journal of High School Research, 89, 229–236. DOI: 10.36838/IJHSR89.229

  5. Aug 20

    30. The Yerkes-Dodson Law

    The Yerkes–Dodson law is usually presented as a simple inverted-U relationship: performance improves as arousal rises, reaches an optimal “sweet spot,” and then declines under excessive pressure. The original 1908 paper did not actually test that relationship. Robert Yerkes and John Dodson studied how electric-shock intensity affected the rate at which dancing mice learned a visual discrimination. Their results suggested that the most favorable shock intensity changed with the difficulty of the discrimination—but the study did not measure arousal, stress, anxiety, or the immediate performance of an established skill. In this episode, I trace how that narrow animal-learning experiment gradually became a general law of human performance. Karl Halvor Teigen’s 1994 paper, “Yerkes–Dodson: A Law for All Seasons,” documents how stimulus strength became punishment, motivation, drive, arousal, anxiety, and stress—while habit formation quietly became performance. I also look at Donald Hebb’s 1955 arousal model, which more closely resembles the inverted-U curve familiar today. Hebb proposed that arousal supplies the energy required for effective behavior, but excessive activation can disrupt the cue-guided organization needed to respond intelligently. For athletes and coaches, the most important distinction may be the one lost during this history: learning and performance are not the same thing. The conditions that help an athlete perform today are not necessarily the conditions that help that athlete develop for tomorrow. Papers discussed: Yerkes, R. M., & Dodson, J. D. (1908). The Relation of Strength of Stimulus to Rapidity of Habit-Formation. Hebb, D. O. (1955). Drives and the C.N.S. (Conceptual Nervous System). Teigen, K. H. (1994). Yerkes–Dodson: A Law for All Seasons. Music attribution: Backed Vibes Clean - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1400029 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

  6. Aug 6

    29. Foundations Series: The 10,000 Hour "Rule" | Anders Ericsson

    The 10,000-hour rule has become one of the most recognizable ideas in sport, coaching, and skill development—but what did the original research actually say? In this episode of the Coretex Athletic Review, we examine the landmark 1993 paper by K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Römer that introduced the concept of deliberate practice. Rather than accepting the popular interpretation at face value, we trace the history of the idea from Simon & Chase's chess research, through Ericsson's theory of expertise, and finally to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, where the 10,000-hour figure entered mainstream culture. Along the way, we explore what deliberate practice actually is, why experience is not the same as expertise, and why simply accumulating more hours may be an oversimplified solution to athlete development. This episode also offers a critical discussion of Ericsson's framework, questioning whether practice and competition can truly be separated as cleanly as proposed, particularly in team sports where meaningful learning often occurs under authentic competitive pressure. The origins of the 10,000-hour rule Simon & Chase's research on chess expertise Ericsson's theory of deliberate practice Why experience does not equal expertise The Berlin violin studies Deliberate practice vs. work vs. play Malcolm Gladwell's role in popularizing the 10,000-hour concept Why more hours isn't necessarily the answer Deliberate practice in coaching and athlete development Critiquing the separation of practice and competition Connections to Chambliss's The Mundanity of Excellence and Norway's athlete development model Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363–406. Simon, H. A., & Chase, W. G. (1973). Skill in Chess. Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. Chambliss, D. F. (1989). The Mundanity of Excellence. 🎙️ Coretex Athletic Review Each week I explore landmark and contemporary research in sport science, psychology, coaching, and motor learning—breaking down peer-reviewed literature into practical insights for coaches, athletes, and lifelong learners.

  7. Jul 23

    28. Foundations 1: Schmidt's Schema Theory

    In 1975, Richard Schmidt proposed a new way to explain how we learn, adapt, and evaluate movement. Rather than storing a separate motor program for every action we might perform, Schmidt argued that we develop generalized rules—or schemas—connecting the situation we encounter, the movement we produce, what that movement feels like, and its eventual outcome. In this episode, I explore: The storage and novelty problems that challenged earlier motor-learning theories Generalized motor programs and adjustable movement parameters Schmidt’s recall and recognition schemas How unsuccessful attempts can still contribute to learning Why variable practice may improve adaptability to unfamiliar situations The difference between producing a movement and recognizing whether it was correct The limitations, unanswered questions, and lasting influence of Schmidt’s theory Schema theory did not definitively reveal how the nervous system stores movement—and Schmidt was candid about the limited evidence available in 1975. Its importance lies in providing a testable framework for understanding how previous experience can become adaptable movement. Article discussed: Schmidt, R. A. (1975). A schema theory of discrete motor skill learning. Psychological Review, 82(4), 225–260. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076770

  8. Jul 9

    27. Social Media & Athletic Performance

    Elite athletes often speak openly about the psychological toll of social media. From abusive comments to relentless criticism, online negativity has become an unavoidable part of professional sport. But does that criticism actually show up on the field? In this episode, we examine a newly published study analyzing more than 1.2 million Instagram comments directed at English Premier League defenders during the 2022–23 season. Using sentiment analysis, machine learning, and player-level statistical models, the researchers asked a simple but important question: Can what fans say online predict how athletes perform in their next game? The answer is more nuanced than you might expect. We discuss: How social media has fundamentally changed the relationship between athletes and fans The psychological theories behind "choking under pressure" How researchers analyzed over one million Instagram comments using AI language models Why the study focused exclusively on Premier League defenders What an R² value actually tells us (and why it matters) Why general online negativity wasn't associated with poorer technical performance The surprising relationship between critical comments and disciplinary actions like yellow and red cards The difference between statistical significance and practical significance What this means for coaches, parents, and developing athletes The study suggests that elite technical performance may be remarkably resilient to online criticism, while emotional regulation may be more vulnerable. It's an important reminder that the effects of social media may be more selective—and more complex—than headlines often suggest. Winchester, S., & Chang, H.-C. H. (2026). Does online negativity influence performance? Investigating the impact of social media on male professional soccer players. Online Social Networks and Media, 54, 100353. 🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@CoretexAthletics 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/coretexathletics If you enjoyed the episode, consider subscribing and leaving a review—it helps more coaches, athletes, and parents discover the science behind high performance.

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Host Evan Kurylo distills current sport science research it through the lens of modern athlete development, coaching methodology, and goaltender performance. The aim is to simplify complex research, highlight the key findings, and connect them to real-world coaching decisions — from anticipation and pattern recognition, to visual cognition, to the latest in coaching pedagogy. Short episodes. Strong insights. Better athletes.

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