Welcome to Sport Psych in Action!

This is Natalie, your mental performance expert providing tips, tools, and personal experience in the world of sport psychology

As a mental performance coach, I empower athletes to overcome obstacles and achieve success. Something I hope to get across with these blog posts is authenticity and realness. I'm always candid with the athletes I work with about my struggles and the hard days I faced as an athlete. But I also share stories of the good days – the days when I learned new skills, conquered my fears, overcame injuries I was told would end my career, and competed at a national level. I tell these stories to remind athletes that they are not alone.

Every athlete faces challenges. But what motivates athlet

es is the thrill of achieving their goals, overcoming obstacles, and reliving their successes again and again. Success cannot be achieved without failure. That's why it's important to use mistakes, setbacks, and challenges as fuel to conquer anything you set your mind to.

What Can You Expect from our Sport Psych Blog Post?

• Tips and strategies for enhancing mental skills related to sports performance, including mental preparation, goal setting, motivation, confidence, focus, and fear managing just to name a few!

• Information on current research, trends, and issues in sport psychology.

• Useful advice for athletes, coaches, and parents seeking to improve their mental game in sports.

Overall, our sport psychology blog can be an informative and valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their athletic performance!

What's Next?

Stay tuned for more posts that can help you take your mental game from "Ehhh" to "Ohhh Yaaaa I've Got This!" Remember, it's not just about the physical training, it's also about the mental gains. So, let's get our brains in shape and crush those personal records!

Join our Membership Now to continue reading and enjoy all you need to know to improve your mental game!

Let's Get Mentally Fit!

Visualization Made Simple: Confidence Edition

By Coach Megan

Athletes are always searching for ways to prepare their minds as effectively as they prepare their bodies. One powerful tool for this is visualization.

Sometimes, the sheer number of physical reps in practice can take a toll on the body. So how can athletes keep preparing while also giving their bodies the rest they need? The answer is visualization.

Visualization allows your body to rest while your mind stays active. When you mentally rehearse, your brain activates many of the same neural pathways it uses when you physically perform the skill. That means every mental rep counts toward your preparation. It’s also a great tool for competition—helping ease nerves by giving you a chance to “get reps in” before it’s go time. Whether it’s on the bus ride to the arena, in the dugout before your at-bat, or during warmups, visualization can sharpen your readiness.

How to Visualize

Visualization is simply creating the events in your mind as vividly as possible. Start by picturing your surroundings—where you are, what’s around you, and the environment of your performance. Then, walk yourself through the skill or action in detail.

There are two main types of visualization:

1. First-Person Visualization – Seeing the event through your own eyes, as if you’re doing it in real time.Example: I see the ball coming into my glove as I catch it.

2. Third-Person Visualization – Watching yourself complete the skill from an outside perspective, almost like watching a highlight video of yourself.Example: I watch myself catch the ball, seeing my form and movement from the outside.

Questions to Guide Your Visualization

To make your mental reps as effective as possible, ask yourself:

• What and who is around me?

• Where is my focus?

• What do I feel?

• What do I see?

• What are my focus cues?

Putting It Into Practice

Begin walking yourself through the skill or action and follow it through to completion—just as you would physically. Like any skill, visualization takes practice. The more you do it, the more natural and powerful it becomes.

At the end of the day, it’s all about finding what works best for you and your performance. Use visualization to rehearse mentally, prepare with confidence, and step into competition knowing you’ve already seen your success.

You’ve got this!

Megan Monfredi, M.S.

megan.psychmeupconsulting@gmail.com  

Mental Performance Coach

Psych Me Up Consulting

Mindset Reset: Why Mental Habits Matter

By Coach Natalie

When we think about training for success, the first things that come to mind are usually physical practice, drills, and conditioning. But what often separates good athletes from great ones isn’t just physical ability—it’s the mental habits they build every single day.

Just like brushing your teeth or tying your shoes, your thoughts and responses can become automatic routines. And those routines—positive or negative—show up when it matters most: under pressure in competition.

Why Mental Habits Matter

Mental habits are the thought patterns, self-talk, and focus strategies you use without even realizing it.

• Confidence grows from repetition. Every time you practice positive self-talk, you strengthen your belief in your ability to succeed.

• Focus comes from routines. Small habits like visualizing your routine, taking a deep breath before a skill, or setting an intention before practice teach your brain how to lock in.

• Resilience is trained. Responding to setbacks with “What did I learn?” instead of “I failed” builds the habit of bouncing back faster.

If you don’t train your mental habits, stress, fear, or doubt will train them for you.

Small Daily Practices = Big Results

Here are three simple ways to start building strong mental habits today:

1. Morning Reset: Write down one word that describes how you want to show up today—calm, confident, focused. Carry it with you into practice or competition.

2. In-the-Moment Cue: Choose a short phrase (“I’ve got this,” “Breathe and believe,” “Next play”) and repeat it anytime nerves creep in. Over time, this becomes your brain’s automatic reset button.

3. Post-Practice Reflection: Instead of asking, “Was today good or bad?” ask, “What went well? What can I improve?” This simple shift trains your brain to look for progress, not perfection.

Building Confidence Through Consistency

Confidence doesn’t magically appear the day of competition—it’s built in the quiet, daily moments when you choose the right mental response. The more you practice these small habits, the more automatic they become.

So when the pressure is on, you don’t have to think about how to stay confident—you’ll already know how, because it’s who you are.

Final Thought

Just like physical training, mental training is a long game. Small steps each day create the mindset that carries you through challenges, setbacks, and high-pressure moments.

Your mind is your greatest muscle—train it with purpose.

Coach Natalie

psychmeupconsulting@gmail.com

Ready to reset your mindset and build lasting confidence? If you’d like personalized support and strategies to take your game to the next level, you can sign up for a session here.