Welcome to Mental Grit

Mental Performance Training for Elite Youth Athletes & Their Parents!

The Struggle

As a trainer, my philosophy is based on OPTIMIZING POTENTIAL rather than fixing problems.
With that being said, I understand that athletes can struggle with the following:

Inconsistent Performance

 

Anxiety & Fear

 

Fragility

 

Low Confidence

Communication Issues

 

Burnout

 

Perfectionism

 

Lacking Motivation

 

Anger & Frustration

 

Low Self Esteem

 

The Struggle

As a trainer, my philosophy is based on OPTIMIZING POTENTIAL rather than fixing problems.

With that being said, I understand that athletes can struggle with to following:

Burnout

 

Perfectionism

 

Lacking Motivation

 

Anger & Frusteration

 

Low Self Esteem

 

Inconsistent Performance

 

Anxiety & Fear

 

Fragility

 

Low Confidence

Communication Issues

 

The Training

The training is a blend of teaching and tactical application in the areas that are identified as most important for the athletes needs.

Step 1 - Initial Assessment

The athlete completes an online mental performance assessment called the Performance Profile. This can happen within 24-48 hours of initial contact to kick things off.

This profile will provide a detailed overview of the athletes’ type as well as a report for the parents and coach to understand how best to support and coach their specific type.

The Performance Profile is the longest-lasting mental performance assets that I have had the pleasure of offering. I hear athletes refer back to it as a pivotal self-awareness exercise and developmental moment years down the athletic journey. Even further, many have used it as keystone information in collaboration with their coaches and parents to help inform best practices with that unique athlete.

Consider this assessment a cornerstone of the athletic personality, measuring the most impactful mental aspects of how the ATHLETE works!

Over an online connection with the athlete and major stakeholders, we review the assessment results and clarify any questions.

This step can occur within 1 week of the initial contact.

Moreover, we take the opportunity to gain a deeper insight into the athletes’ unique performance attributes from the perspectives of all on the call.

A set of training opportunities will be identified and initial goals of training will be put in place. The athlete will walk away from this meeting with tangible techniques to get to work on prior to ongoing training.

Based on the athletes’ needs and goals we will meet online in a virtual format. Training will aim to dig deeper into the opportunities of the athlete aswe get straight to training the skill needed to perform optimally.

As the athlete guides the engagements it will be up to them to schedule and complete each session and session due outs to the best of their ability.

This step can occur within 2 weeks of initial contact.

The training is directed by the athlete. Most interactions occur 1-2 times a week initially then move to weekly or bi-monthly.

Every 6-12 months the assessment can be taken again to update the athlete profile based on developments through training. A review will occur and new opportunities will be identified.

This step can occur indefinitely.

The Outcomes

Confidence

The simple belief that you can take on anything that comes your way. Did you know you can manipulate your confidence?

Motivation

The engine and fire behind your actions. Although not required for elite performance, it always helps! Learn to foster and sustain your motivation.

Focus

Find yourself distracted by cues not relevant to your performance? Learn to choose your focus to be where you need to be to perform your best.

Consistency

You have incredible potential! Performing to your full potential consistently is a key to great success!

Resilience

You are going to face hard things every day! Most break over time, the best press on and push through. What have you done? Better yet, what will you do?

Self-Trust

You must be able to trust your thoughts and actions in order to take you higher in your performance. You can create this trust within yourself over time!

Team Cohesion

The bond between teammates that increases performance and overall enjoyment of the game. How well does your team strive for a common aim?

Mindfulness

Paying attention in a particular way on purpose on the present moment no-njudgmentally as if your life depended on it. -Jon Kabat Zin

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What role do you play?

PROGRAM / COACH

Let’s face it, coaches, you have a lot of responsibility to up your game if you are asking your athletes to up theirs. We are seeking coaches willing to do the work they need to do to become the best coaches they can be!

The following offerings can be integrated individually or in tandem depending on the objectives of your program.

Offerings

A 3 part workshop series held in an online environment. This series aims to help coaches understand the fundamental performance aspects of sport psychology and how they can apply the concepts to help their teams performance at their full athletic potential.

*15 Parents Minimum

Over a series of 6 weeks, I work directly with the parents of the athletes to work through high-performance parenting fundamentals. The parents are provided a workbook to reference as they work to support their athletes and program through action and effective behavior.

Topics include:

  • G = Good Communicator
  • R = Role model
  • I = Intentional about feedback
  • T = Team-orientation
  • T = Trustworthy
  • Y= Your Becoming a Gritty Parent

*20 Athlete Minumum

In a group environment, we begin training the athletes in the fundamentals of mental skills training. Topics can be specific to the needs of the program or delivered as foundational training of the 5 mental skills.

  1. Emotional Response Control
  2. Focus & Concentration
  3. Self-Talk
  4. Imagery
  5. Priming

This program can run between a single session or a series of sessions through a programs season.

The Performance Profile is taken by each of the athletes in the program. Consider this assessment a cornerstone of the athletic personality, measuring the most impactful mental aspects of how the ATHLETE works!

After the profile is completed a review will occur with each athlete individually to identify strengths and opportunities.

The parents will receive a supporting report to understand how to support their athletes’ type at home.

The program/coach will receive the breadth of the teams’ profiles outlining best practices to get the most out of each athlete on their team.

PARENT

Guess what parents! You have to know right now that you are one of the BIGGEST influence in your young athletes competitive performance. Learn the basics of what you can do to optimize their full performance potential with that influence.

The following offerings can be integrated individually or in tandem depending on the objectives of your program.

Offerings

Parents of athletes can work through the GRITTY Parent Program online with message-based support.

Topics include:

  • G = Good Communicator
  • R = Role model
  • I = Intentional about feedback
  • T = Team-orientation
  • T = Trustworthy
  • Y= Your Becoming a Gritty Parent

The Performance Profile is taken by each of the athletes in the program. Consider this assessment a cornerstone of the athletic personality, measuring the most impactful mental aspects of how the ATHLETE works!

After the profile is completed a review will occur with each athlete individually to identify strengths and opportunities.

The parents will receive a supporting report to understand how to support their athletes’ type at home.

The program/coach will receive the breadth of the teams’ profiles outlining best practices to get the most out of each athlete on their team.

DEFINING MENTAL GRIT

Mental Grit isn’t just about mental toughness; rather it is about  deliberately and intentionally making the tough decisions that need to be made in order to accomplish success. The deliberate and intentional decision to go harder when your body is telling you that one more rep, step, or move will land you in despair. The decisions to look inside and be honest with the performer you are, see the performer you want to be and then act upon the journey to get there. The decisions to DO when you don’t want to and the decision to act in the face of fear.

You see, there is a gap between what science knows and what performers do. You already know how important the mental game is; now I ask, what are you going to do to train it. Most don’t realize this but what science knows is that you can become more confident, more positive, and more in control of your thoughts. You can be more focused, more resilient, and more consistent. You can train your mind and when you train your mind you are giving yourself the best chance at becoming the performer you want to be on the big stage. You are optimizing your potential; you are Mental Grit!

What does a Mental Performance Trainer do?

1) Help athletes optimize performance potential through mental training

All athletes train the physical side of their sport more and more effectively however, we all know how impactful the mental game is when executing inside of competition. Here at Mental Grit, we believe the athletes we work with do not have problems that we are here to fix, rather, our athletes have potential that we are here to realize and optimize. Mental training consists of training the mental skills individualized programs built and executed to help the athlete perform. These skills include emotional control, focus and concentration, self-talk, imagery, and priming routines.

2) Help athletes cope with fear and injury

Mental skills trainers can help athletes overcome the mindset known as fear of failure, embarrassment, or states of performance anxiety. The trainer can help the athlete develop confidence, self-belief, composure, energy, and overall trust in their performance ability.

3) Help parents understand how to support their athlete in a high-performance environment

The parents have a primary influence on the athletes while they are not in the performance arena. In this environment, the parent can play a negative or positive role in their athletes’ performance. The mental skills trainer can help the parent and athlete have the appropriate conversations that are integral to a supportive performance environment. The trainer can also help the parents understand the mindset and impact they have on the athlete both on the field and at home.

4) Help athletic programs develop high-performance programming

The athletic environment that a program creates around their athletes is another primary area of effect for athletic performance. Athletic programs can do a lot to develop an environment and culture where athletes can thrive. However, the program can also do a lot to negatively impact the optimal performance from their athletes. The mental skills trainer can work directly with the program director to help develop and maintain an effective performance environment. Help coaches develop effective training methods and performance environments for athletes

5) Help coaches develop effective training methods and performance environments for athletes

Coaches are the last major influence of the athlete. As is such, the mental skills trainer can help the coaches develop effective training plans that are optimized to help the athletes learn faster and trainer more effectively. The mental skills trainer can also help the coach develop themselves into a more effective through a variety of methods. As they say, Rome was not built in a day and no great coach had ever just been born. Great coaches are built and the mental skills trainer can help the process.