The Mental Performance Corner: Who is Mental Performance Training For?

The short answer? Everyone! But let's break it down a little..

Athletes: The obvious answer - as was discussed last month, there is a LOT that goes into being an athlete… and 80-90% of that is mental. They’re balancing a lot and that pressure adds up - school, training, practicing, competing, dealing with parents, coaches, teammates, scouts, success, failure, their own inner dialogue, recovering from injury, etc, etc.. 10 extra reps aren’t going to assist with this pressure. This is all mental. And that’s a totally different type of training.

Teams: A team is a group of individuals each with their own unique set of skills that come together to achieve a common goal. Building team cohesion is an important component in determining that teams’ ultimate success or failure. Being able to properly communicate, leave differences at the door, and bring those individual skill sets together to be able to work as a single unit is instrumental to success. This kind of thing doesn’t just happen. It needs to be learned. Mental performance coaching does that.

Parents: Yes parents, this coaching is for you as well! I actually work with a lot of parents. What you do, how you act, the things you say, how you deal with stress, how you respond to situations - they trickle down (whether you are aware or not, trust me!) and become what your athlete does, how she acts, what she says, how she deals with stress, and how she responds to different situations. It’s important to be mindful of this. All the training that your athlete can do to deal with stress, confidence, relaxation, mental prep, anxiety relief, self-talk, dealing with pressure, etc… can, and should also, be done by you.

Coaches: You’re up coaches! All that was mentioned with parents also applies to you. You are the role model, the leader, the mentor. You’re also responsible for 20 kids, not just 1 or 2 (or 3 or 4) like the parents are. This can be stressful, exhausting, and well, hard, for lack of a better term. Again, all of these skills can be applied by you as well. And they should! Lead by example. They’re watching you! In addition, you will learn how to properly create that team cohesion we discussed above too! Win/win!

Referees: This one might be obvious! Talk about stressful. I don’t think there is a more difficult role in any sport. It’s hard to do your job properly when coaches, parents, and athletes are upset with you (some more verbal than others!). Being able to remain calm under all that pressure is key to a job well done.

In addition to all of these areas, mental performance coaching is also being utilized by many other professionals such as policemen, firefighters, soldiers, doctors, nurses, theatrical performers, and business professionals.. to name a few. “Performance” encompasses multiple facets of life. Whether you’re trying out for the Olympics, performing heart surgery, or having a post game talk with your 14 year old after the national championship game, the skills that enable you to perform at your best remain the same. Mental performance coaching provides an extra edge toward achieving your goals!

For more info check out my website at  Peak Performance Training (mykajabi.com) or email me at [email protected].