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!

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Mental Game 101: The Skills Every Athlete Needs

By Coach Natalie

A strong mental game isn’t just something elite athletes are born with — it’s something they train. Just like strength, flexibility, or technique, your mindset is a skill set that grows with repetition, self-awareness, and the right tools. When athletes learn how to use their mental game on purpose, everything becomes easier: confidence rises, focus sharpens, and setbacks feel manageable instead of overwhelming.

Whether you’re just starting a new season or looking for a reset, here are the essential building blocks of a powerful mental game.

1. Confidence: The Foundation of Everything

Confidence isn’t about “feeling good all the time” — it’s about trust.Trust in your training. Trust in your preparation. Trust that you can figure things out, even if it’s messy.

Confidence grows from:

• Repetition of skills

• Honest reflection

• Small wins stacked consistently

• Practicing self-talk that supports, not sabotages

The strongest athletes build confidence daily, not only on days when everything is perfect. It’s a muscle — the more you use it, the easier it becomes to access under pressure.

2. Focus: Training Your Attention Like a Skill

Athletes often believe focus is something you “either have or don’t,” but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.Your attention span is like a spotlight — and you can learn to control where that spotlight shines.

Key focus tools include:

• A pre-performance routine

• A simple cue word (e.g., “breathe,” “commit,” “smooth”)

• A reset strategy for mistakes

• Breathing techniques to slow the mind

Focus isn’t about getting rid of distractions — it’s about choosing what matters right now.

3. Emotional Regulation: Staying Steady When Stress Hits

When emotions become overwhelming, performance drops quickly. Managing your emotions doesn’t mean ignoring them — it means learning how to guide your nervous system back into a place where you can think clearly and perform well.

Helpful strategies include:

• Box breathing or physiological sighs

• Grounding (5-4-3-2-1 method)

• Naming the feeling (“I feel nervous,” “I feel frustrated”)

• Using movement to calm the body

Athletes who learn emotional regulation become more resilient, adaptable, and unshakable under pressure.

4. Visualization: Rehearsal That Translates to Real Results

Your brain doesn’t fully distinguish between a vividly imagined experience and a real one — which means visualization is one of the most effective training hacks available.

Great visualization includes:

• Relaxing the body first

• Seeing the skill from your own eyes (first-person)

• Imagining the movement, timing, and corrections

• Ending with a successful rep

Just 2–3 minutes a day can strengthen muscle memory, sharpen confidence, and improve consistency.

5. Self-Talk: Coaching Yourself from the Inside

Athletes talk to themselves all day long. The question is: Is that voice building you up or tearing you down?

Effective self-talk is:

• Short and simple

• Present-focused (“This turn”)

• Instructional or encouraging

• Something you can actually use in the moment

Your most powerful coaching relationship is the one you have with yourself.

6. Reflection: Learning From Each Rep, Good or Bad

Reflection turns experience into improvement. It helps athletes:

• Identify patterns

• Notice what’s working

• Adjust what isn’t

• Measure progress in a realistic way

A strong mental game doesn’t come from perfection — it comes from awareness. Even a 1–2 minute reflection after practice can make a huge difference over time.

Try This: Your Mental Game Starter Routine

Here’s a simple daily routine to build consistency:

Before Practice

• 1 deep breath

• 1 cue word

• 1 intention (“Today I want to focus on ______”)

During Practice

• Use a reset routine after mistakes

• Practice your self-talk

• Choose effort over outcome

After Practice

• Write down:

  • 1 thing you did well

  • 1 thing you learned

  • 1 thing you want to improve

Small steps. Big growth.

Final Thoughts

Every athlete has a mental game — but not every athlete trains it. These six essential skills make the difference between athletes who crumble under pressure and those who rise to it. Strengthening your mental game isn’t about being perfect; it's about having the tools to show up with confidence, clarity, and resilience every single day.

Closing the Year with Confidence

By Coach Megan

The end of a calendar year is the perfect opportunity to pause, reflect, and reset with intention. It’s a chance to close the year on a confident note and set the tone for the one ahead.

When you look back on your 2025, there will be a lot to take in—your progress, your challenges, your habits, and your growth. How you choose to reflect will either build you up or hold you back. By approaching your reset with intention, you can use reflection as a tool to fuel your confidence and guide your next steps.

The Power of an Intentional Reset

Intentional resets allow athletes to step back, evaluate, and realign. They highlight what’s working, what’s not, and what changes will move you closer to your goals. As you take time to reset, ask yourself three key questions:

1. What are my goals?

2. What do I need to do to get there?

3. What changes can I make to support that progress?

Answering these questions will give you clarity and direction as you step into the new year.

End the Year on a Confident Note

To truly close out your year with confidence, take a moment to recognize what you’re proud of. Write down three things you accomplished or overcame in 2025 that make you feel strong. Putting these wins on paper not only shifts your mindset to the positive but also reminds you of what you’re capable of.

As you enter the new year, carry that confidence with you. Step forward knowing that you have already built a strong foundation—and that you’re more than capable of achieving the goals ahead.

Finish strong. Start stronger.

Megan Monfredi, M.S.

megan.psychmeupconsulting@gmail.com  

Mental Performance Coach

Psych Me Up Consulting