Mental Performance Coaching
Mental Performance Coaching
Have you ever finished a race and realized you had a lot more in you?
Get so distracted about the weather in the days before a marathon that you lost sleep?
Have you dropped out of a race recently only because you didn’t feel ‘motivated’ anymore.
Does the fear of falling prevent you from taking risks and pushing your limits while rock climbing?
Or…does that fear prevent you from showing up….
Have you ever wondered how to get in the zone- feel the flow so you’re fully present in play?
Does thought of competition scare you?
Have you lined up at the start of a race and felt like you don’t belong?
These are some the most common situations I’ve worked with as a mental performance coach. They’re normal human experiences.
The athletes I’ve coached
Mental performance coaching is designed to help you optimize and enhance your performance.
Here, we work togther to hone in on the mental side using sport psychology tools so you can find that extra edge. Whether that’s completing an ultramarathon, climbing Everest, setting an FKT, or qualifying for the Boston Marathon.
We work together to silence the inner critic. Develop confidence. Confront fear. Overcome self-doubt. Create a mental performance plan for race day, develop strategies for a successful race day. Create a plan for success.
Mental Performance Coaching FAQ
What does a mental Performance Session Look like?
Our first session we’ll get down to business. While similar in some ways to therapy it differs in the focus is specifically on enhancing performance through developing mental skills and behaviors.
I gather a little background and history of your situation then we focus on establishing clear goals. Many times you’ll go home with skills to practice. Just like training, you have to do your reps. It takes work. The more you practice mental skills with your everyday physical training the better they’ll work.
How Long Does Mental Performance Coaching Last?
The first session is always 50-minutes so we can get a good history of what’s going on and what your needs are. After that we could move to a 30-minute meeting. For many people mental performance coaching is on-going, every couple of weeks, or sometimes a check-in every couple of months. Sometimes athletes come to me for a session or two and that’s all they need.
What are some of the skills I could learn?
Mindfulness
Imagery
Self-Talk
Motivation
Goal-Setting
Dealing with Setbacks and failure
Preperation for Competition and Performance
Flow Management
Emotional and Self-Regulation
Arousal Control
Managing the athlete/coach relationship
Managing Pressure
Managing Distractions
Coaches and Teams
In the early 1990’s George Mumford, a therapist and mindfulness expert who trained under Jon Kabat-Zinn, was brought on by the Chicago Bulls to help enhance performance and train mindfulness. Besides having the best talent around and a superb coach under Phil Jackson the addition of mindfulness and mental performance was relatively new to major sports like basketball. Was this the trigger that brought the Bull’s six championship rings in a decade? Likely not, so many other factors went into it, but the fact that it’s often quoted and used today by those same athletes -Steve Kerr as an example, there is no doubt that it had some power over these athletes not just as individuals but as a team…
Now throughout major sports and collegiate sports mental performance coaches are brough on to assist the team, much like a strength and conditioning coach. There is no reason your team can’t do the same.
Some benefits of a mental performance coach for a team:
Enhance Team Culture
Better Communication
Team Synergy
Better Situational Awareness
Better athlete-athlete cohesiveness
Better athlete-coach relationships
Other opportunities for teams and coaches include:
Consultations
Educational sessions
For more information and pricing of team trainings please contact me directly at the link below.
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The Strength of each member is the team.”