Frequently Asked Questions

Why are mental skills important for sport performance?

There are several factors that contribute to and support peak performance, and mental skills are one major factor. Our nervous systems, (i.e. our minds) have the power to unlock our potential, and the power to "keep us stuck" in unhelpful patterns and cycles. Mental training helps you learn skills to break unhelpful performance patterns and allow you to unlock your performance potential.

What can I expect mental skills training to focus on?

To make any meaningful progress, we must first know where we are and where we want to go (notice the "compass" imagery on this website). Much like with our physical training, awareness of our current personal mental strengths and vulnerabilities is foundational for developing an individualized training program. This includes identifying unhelpful patterns in performance and gaining in-depth understanding of where and why performance challenges arise. 

What does "progress" look like in mental skills training?

In sports, performance, and our culture in general, we tend to focus solely on outcomes to define progress. In mental skills training, we broaden our focus to include non-outcome driven signs of progress. Instead of limiting our definition of progress to numbers, ranking, times, stats, splits, scores, etc., our definition of progress is much more comprehensive, all-encompassing, and inclusive of the many aspects of performance. Here are some examples of goals set in mental skills training:

• Improve my ability to differentiate between helpful and unhelpful attention patterns

• Build understanding of my mind patterns in performance and learn tools and skills to work through them

• Clarify my strengths and improve my ability to access my strengths in difficult moments in my sport/performance

• Create personalized mental skills training plans based on my strengths and how I want to show up in my training and performances

• Explore and identify techniques that help me to commit to my personal mental training and performance plans 

• And many more, depending on the athlete/performers personal strengths, working points, and goals!

Just to be clear, this does not mean that your numbers, stats, rankings, records, etc, are not taken into consideration or viewed as unimportant. It does mean that expanding your definition of progress and success in ways that are personally meaningful can improve your experiences as an athlete/performer, and in turn, help you identify areas of focus that can positively impact your outcomes long-term.

Who can benefit from performance consulting services provided Resilient Performance?

Any current or former athlete or performer, coach, group, team, organization, parent or support person of an athlete can benefit from performance consulting at Resilient Performance! As a general rule of thumb, the services provided by Resililent Performance are most beneficial for athletes/performers at the high school, collegiate, post-collegiate, and professional levels.

Is this therapy?

No, Kenzie's performance consulting services through Resilient Performance are not therapy.