“Destructive little voices in your head are often fueled by destructive emotions. Try to turn off your emotions and think logically”- Ken Ravizza

Dr. Ken Ravizza, a Cal State Fullerton professor who was among the leading sports psychologists in the nation and a mental game guru, died six days after suffering a heart attack while driving in Orange County. He was 70 years old.

Who was Ken Ravizza?

The infamous Dr. Ken Ravizza is the man who left a mark in sports history through his profound knowledge in sports psychology.

He is a world-renowned psychologist who shared his views and theories on the mental skills necessary to excel in sports.

In the early stages of his career, he mentioned that he was mostly learning from athletes who had achieved peak performance and figuring out solutions to find that state and also help others achieve it. He admitted that his learning process was a very long one where he mostly learned from experience.

Experience is the key to understanding.

Moreover, Ken (as he preferred to be called) was the number one go-to guy for providing mental preparation and skills in managing stress.

Being an enthusiastic and dynamic speaker, he carried out over a thousand programs on sports psychology both nationally and internationally.

These workshops were attended by thousands of athletes and coaches. Ken even worked with some of the most elite coaches and athletes and became highly preferred for professional consultant jobs.

How Did He Contribute to Sports Psychology?

For the past 35 years, Ken dedicated his life to helping shape the way people approach mental game preparation and learning.

He was a professor at Fullerton and was regarded as the “secret weapon” for the gymnastics team who won the national championship in 1979 through his help.

Ken worked with athletes on all levels, including football. His approach has helped thousands of athletes around the world in enhancing their performance and achieving success.

His teachings dominated the football sector and thus began the strategies of football mental skills.

Not only is it necessary for the athletes but the coaches too so they can include football mental skills and mental preparation in their training.

In addition to teaching, he wrote a few books about sports psychology for football where he discussed how to be mentally prepared for a game and use visualization techniques which help build football confidence.

His book “Heads up Baseball” became a huge hit in the baseball sector but also made its way through to other sports sectors since they share almost the same concept.

Player’s have learned to develop and utilize their football minds the best they can and have learned many confidence boosting techniques through his books.

Ken always believed in quality over quantity which means he advised coaches to teach them to play with heart and soul.

Dr. Ken Ravizza lived a wonderful and vibrant life for 70 years. His unfortunate passing of a heart attack, on 9th July 2018, saddened thousands of people around the globe. He and his work will never be forgotten as it largely impacted so many athletes and inspired so many coaches. We appreciate all the hard work and effort he put into revolutionizing mental game training and developing the concept of mental skills. May he rest in peace.

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