Performance Coaching for Athletes
Sport is important to you.
There’s nothing quite like the excitement of competing, and the drive to excel pushes you forward. The court, field, rink, or mat is where you feel a connection and the sense you’re where you should be.
There is an inspiration to learn and do more. You are constantly stepping out to see if you have what it takes.
Sport offers a culture that is bigger than you, a place where others share the same enthusiasm and strive to make their mark.
That’s why you’re so devoted to accomplishing your goals.
You put in a lot of time and energy to make the most of your opportunities. When your heart, mind, body, and soul are invested, you see the potential to excel.
Because of this you often practice when you could be relaxing. You are disciplined, work diligently on different parts of your game, and keep your body healthy.
You willfully deal with the struggle to get a shot at success. You desire to get to the next level and perform with the capabilities you know are inside of you.
What keeps you from being your best?
A lot stands in the way of enjoyment and consistent peak performance.
Uncontrollable factors with coaches, environments, and opponents lurk around corners and test your abilities to manage. Thoughts, emotions, distractions, and pressures pop up all around and impede progress.
You deal with disappointment and still must keep fighting for results. The constant need to be training and to be “on” is draining and stressful to the point it becomes your life.
Perhaps you simply don’t know what you are missing for optimal performance. You need to learn about the skills and processes that will guide you to success.
You’re not the only one!
Ben* is a lacrosse player anxious about failure.
That’s why he works so hard to ensure it doesn’t happen. A few times during the season, he feels on top of his game: confident, capable, and focused on the tasks. Other times he looks around to see who’s watching him, questions whether he is good enough, and is embarrassed by his mistakes. Ben wants to stop worrying so much about what others think of him and just focus on whatever activity he is doing.
Kayla* plays tennis with ambitions to play beyond college.
She has a lot riding on important matches and expects much of herself in these performances. But her high expectations and tendency to be tough on herself occasionally derail her matches. When she makes a string of errors, she can’t stop thinking about them and gets angry. Her emotions completely take control, and she loses her game plan. She can’t play well when she is more inside her head than in the match.
Owen* is a baseball pitcher learning some new pitches.
They are coming along slower than he’d like, and he can’t execute them in games like in practice. When he is out on the mound, he knows how alone he is, and the pressure to deliver is a lot to manage. He is pushing himself to practice intensely, but it seems to be stressing him out more. He wants to make solid progress in practice, feel motivated, and be able to “just play” in the games.
Where do you go from here?
Mental performance training helps with optimal engagement, performance, and enjoyment of sport and exercise.
Performance consulting for athletes focuses on skills like focus, mindset, emotion management, stress regulation, visualization, confidence, and motivation. It can also involve enhanced learning of physical skills and tools to improve decision-making while performing.
We will determine your needs and tailor training to reach your goals.
Here’s what performance consulting can do for you…
We will focus on growth and establishing solid processes that help you consistently perform your best.
Pressure situations…
Have you ever been totally overwhelmed by the intensity, expectation, or potential consequences of falling flat? You couldn’t perform a skill that you normally can because you felt anxious, your thought process was jumbled, and the energy in your body was high and tense. You will experience pressure, but I can help you become skilled at managing its effects on your mind and body.
Ability to focus on what matters…
There is a tendency to lose focus. You see or hear something that steals your attention without you even noticing. Worse, you can be consumed by thoughts and emotions from a past mistake or worry. This takes you out of the game and allows your performance to get off track. We can work to help you weather distractions and focus on tasks and processes that get you success.
Motivation…
Have you lost some of your passion for sport? You used to have energy and desire when practicing and competing, but it all feels dull now. We can sort through your experience and determine what is affecting your motivation. We can work on making things interesting again, manage burnout, and utilize your values to sustain motivation.
Setbacks and failures…
Working hard and seeing others get results instead of you can be crushing. Sometimes you don’t even want to put yourself in a space where you might fail. These are tough points for competition. I can help you work on mastering a resilient mindset and growing confidence. You can have a mindset that seeks challenges and uses the discomfort for growth.
Team dynamics…
Relationships with teammates and coaches can be frustrating and disheartening. Have you ever felt like the criticisms were tough on you? Has it felt like you weren’t really a part of the team? Maybe you are a leader on the team but don’t know how to best use your role. We can work to establish effective strategies to help you communicate and get the results you’re looking for.
Skill acquisition…
It is a guarantee that you will learn new skills in your sports experience. Have you ever struggled to learn and perform a particular skill well in games? We know practice is essential, but many don’t know the most effective ways to practice. We can work to develop strategies that will help you learn skills more effectively so that you are a capable and adaptable player.
Injury…
Injury feels like everything has been ripped away from you. It’s a trying and isolating time. It is also a journey you don’t have to go alone. You can get help working through the initial emotions and questions. You can have support as you deal with the pain and stay dedicated to rehabilitation. Once back, we can help dispel the fears, rebuild confidence, and set realistic goals.
Do better in sport… do better in life!
As an athlete, you know how sports have given you invaluable skills that you carry into other areas of your life.
When you do performance consulting, you take all these skills to the next level!
I’m ready when you are! Call today and learn more during your free 30-minute consultation: (760) 554-3982.
*Names and stories are composite narratives and do not reflect actual clients.