I get tired of hearing people talk about building mental toughness in athletes, without understanding the dangers of doing it the wrong way. Taught simplistically, an athlete might think toughness is ignoring the pain that leads to injury, or being emotionally trapped to do something that's bad or dangerous for them. As a matter of fact, (and I have seen this in my clients), having a false concept of mental toughness can cause an athlete to ignore valuable physical and emotio

The majority of athletes reaching out to me are struggling to manage performance anxiety. You know that jittery feeling right before a big game? Your heart races, palms sweat, and your mind starts to spiral with "WHAT IFS?????." That, my friend, is performance anxiety knocking at your door, and you are not alone. It ’s a common visitor for athletes at every level from middle school rookies to seasoned college and adult athletes and performers. But here’s the good news: yo

Perfectionism often wears a convincing disguise in sports. It looks like discipline. It sounds like high standards. It even gets praised as “mental toughness.” But for many athletes, perfectionism quietly becomes a TRAP. When everything has to be flawless, mistakes stop being information and start feeling like personal failures. A missed shot isn’t just a miss—it’s proof you’re not good enough. A bad race doesn’t mean an off day; it means you’ve let everyone down. Over time,

Writing down your sport strengths and successes as a resume is a great confidence-building exercise. When confidence wavers, this tool works A Confidence Resume is a reflection of who you are and what you’ve already proven to yourself. Creating one is a fun activity to help you see your achievements and challenges with fresh perspective, and a chance to highlight strengths that you forgot. When kept close during training, competition, or everyday life, your Confidence Resume