Coaching

I work with individual athletes (12+), coaches, and teams who are struggling to perform at the level they are seeking. A lot goes into being a competitive or higher-level athlete physically in terms of technique, fitness, and strategy. What can often get missed is what is happening psychologically that impacts performance–anything that goes on physically also has a psychological component; the mind can be explored, understood, and trained just as the body can. Relationally, a lot can happen between players, and between players and coaches that impact a team’s cohesion, chemistry, and ability to operate as a whole.

During the consultation period I get a sense of what is troubling you, and conduct a thorough assessment to help ground your experience in context. Then, we work together to implement interventions, practice skills, and increase insight and awareness to get you performing at your best. If helpful, I consult with other important people on the athlete’s “performance team” to collaborate and provide more timely and cohesive feedback and interventions. Upon request, I attend practice sessions, games, or review tape to provide a more robust assessment and/or live feedback and interventions.

Common and core areas that I work with athletes on are: motivation, goal-setting, self-talk, team dynamics/chemistry, confidence, arousal control, finding flow state, focus, energy management, visualization, recovery, injury, burnout, and stress.

Some couples benefit from and are primarily interested in learning and practicing new skills together. Common core areas for skill development are: active listening, negotiated time-outs, self-regulation and co-regulation, repair, rituals, negotiation of responsibilities, pleasure and play, and sensate focus.

Some individuals benefit from focused skills-development and training for emotion regulation and/or mindfulness. Increasing knowledge through psychoeducation and coping skills or tools is at the heart of the coaching process.