What Is a Mental Performance Coach? A Guide for Athletes and Parents

Athletes spend countless hours training their bodies.

They practice skills, build strength, improve endurance, study technique, and prepare for competition. But physical preparation is only one part of athletic performance.

An athlete can be physically prepared and technically skilled and still struggle with confidence, pressure, fear of making mistakes, overthinking, focus, or performing in competition the way they do in practice.

That is where a mental performance coach can help.

Mental performance coaching helps athletes develop practical mental skills they can use during practices, competitions, and other high-pressure situations. Just as athletes train physical skills, they can intentionally practice skills such as confidence, focus, self-talk, imagery, routines, and responding effectively to pressure.

At Power Mindset, mental performance coaching is designed to help athletes better understand their mindset, develop practical tools that work for them, and become more confident and consistent competitors.

What Does a Mental Performance Coach Do?

A mental performance coach works with athletes on the mental side of performance.

Every athlete is different, so mental performance coaching is not about giving every athlete the same motivational advice. Instead, athletes can learn specific mental skills and determine which strategies work best for them.

Common areas athletes may work on include:

• Building confidence
• Managing competition nerves
• Performing under pressure
• Improving focus
• Developing productive self-talk
• Responding effectively to mistakes
• Managing performance-related fear
• Working through performance-related mental blocks
• Using imagery and visualization
• Developing pre-performance routines
• Setting effective goals
• Building resilience
• Improving consistency between practice and competition

Like physical skills, mental skills can be intentionally practiced and strengthened over time.

Who Can Benefit From Mental Performance Coaching?

Athletes do not have to be struggling to benefit from mental performance coaching.

Mental skills training for athletes can be valuable across different sports, ages, and competitive levels.

An athlete might consider working with a mental performance coach if they:

Perform Better in Practice Than in Competition

Some athletes feel relaxed and confident during training but experience nerves, overthinking, or pressure when it is time to compete.

Learning strategies for focus, routines, self-talk, and managing pressure can help athletes approach competition more intentionally.

Struggle With Confidence

Confidence can fluctuate after mistakes, difficult practices, injuries, changes in competitive level, or comparisons with other athletes.

Mental performance coaching can help athletes develop strategies for responding to those fluctuations rather than relying on confidence to always be present.

Have Difficulty Moving On From Mistakes

Mistakes are part of sports, but one mistake does not have to determine the rest of an athlete’s performance.

Athletes can learn reset strategies that help them refocus on what comes next.

Feel Pressure to Perform

Expectations from themselves or others can sometimes shift an athlete’s attention away from the task in front of them.

Mental skills can help athletes identify what they can control and redirect their attention toward the present moment.

Overthink During Competition

Instead of trusting skills they have practiced repeatedly, athletes may suddenly become overly focused on mechanics, mistakes, or possible outcomes.

Mental performance strategies can help athletes develop more effective attentional cues and routines.

Want to Strengthen Their Mental Game

Mental performance coaching is not only for athletes experiencing a specific challenge.

Athletes can proactively develop mental skills that prepare them for increasingly challenging and competitive environments.

What Mental Skills Can Athletes Develop?

Mental skills training can include many different strategies depending on the athlete, sport, situation, and goals.

Some of the skills athletes may develop include:

Confidence

Confidence is more than simply telling yourself that you are good at your sport.

Athletes can learn to identify evidence supporting their abilities, recognize progress, prepare intentionally, and respond productively when confidence drops.

The goal is not necessarily to feel perfectly confident every moment. Athletes can learn strategies for performing effectively even when confidence fluctuates.

Self-Talk

Athletes are constantly talking to themselves internally.

Thoughts such as:

“Don’t mess up.”

“Everyone is watching me.”

“What if I fail?”

can pull attention toward outcomes an athlete cannot completely control.

Mental performance coaching can help athletes become more aware of their self-talk and develop useful cues that direct attention toward what they can control and what they want to execute.

Focus

Competition environments contain distractions.

Scores, opponents, crowds, coaches, parents, previous mistakes, future outcomes, and expectations can all compete for an athlete’s attention.

Athletes can practice recognizing distractions and intentionally bringing their attention back to the task immediately in front of them.

Imagery and Visualization

Imagery involves mentally rehearsing an athletic experience.

Athletes can practice imagining themselves executing skills, following routines, responding effectively to challenging situations, or competing with confidence and intention.

Effective imagery is not simply picturing yourself winning. It can be used to mentally prepare for different situations an athlete may encounter during training and competition.

Pre-Performance Routines

Routines can provide consistency when competition environments feel unpredictable.

An athlete’s routine might incorporate breathing, imagery, cue words, or specific attentional focuses.

Rather than relying entirely on how confident or motivated they feel that day, athletes can develop a repeatable process for preparing to perform.

Responding to Mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable in sports.

The important question becomes:

What happens next?

Athletes can develop reset strategies that help them acknowledge what happened, redirect their attention, and approach the next play, routine, race, shift, at-bat, or performance with intention.

Mental Performance Coaching vs. Therapy

Mental performance coaching and mental health therapy are different services.

Mental performance coaching focuses on developing skills related to athletic performance and mindset, such as confidence, focus, self-talk, imagery, routines, goal setting, responding to mistakes, and navigating performance pressure.

Mental performance coaching is not mental health treatment and is not a substitute for therapy or other appropriate mental health care.

When an athlete’s needs extend beyond performance-focused coaching, working with an appropriately licensed mental health professional may be more appropriate.

Understanding this distinction can help athletes and families determine what type of support best matches their needs.

Is Mental Performance Coaching Only for Elite Athletes?

No.

Mental skills can benefit athletes at many competitive levels.

A younger athlete learning how to respond to mistakes can benefit from mental skills training just as a collegiate or elite athlete preparing for a major competition can.

The strategies used may look different depending on an athlete’s age, sport, competitive level, and goals, but the underlying idea remains the same:

Mental skills can be trained.

Athletes do not have to wait until confidence disappears or pressure begins interfering with performance to start developing them.

What Happens During Mental Performance Coaching?

Mental performance coaching should be individualized to the athlete.

An athlete may begin by identifying situations where the mental side of their sport is affecting their performance or areas of their mental game they would like to strengthen.

From there, coaching can introduce specific strategies and provide opportunities for athletes to practice applying them.

For example, an athlete who has difficulty moving on from mistakes might develop a reset routine.

An athlete who tends to overthink before competition might practice breathing, imagery, self-talk, and attentional cues.

An athlete looking to strengthen confidence might work on recognizing evidence of progress, developing productive self-talk, and creating consistent preparation routines.

The goal is to help athletes build a toolbox of mental skills they can increasingly use independently in practices and competitions.

How Is Mental Performance Coaching Used Across Different Sports?

The mental side of performance can look different depending on the sport, but many athletes experience similar challenges.

A gymnast may experience fear or a mental block on a skill.

A basketball player may lose confidence after missing several shots.

A hockey player may have difficulty resetting after a mistake.

A runner may struggle with negative self-talk during a difficult part of a race.

A golfer may begin overthinking mechanics under pressure.

Although the situations are different, athletes can learn mental skills that help them respond more effectively.

Mental performance coaching should take the demands of the athlete’s individual sport into account while helping them develop strategies they can practice and use independently.

Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes With Power Mindset

Power Mindset provides mental performance and mindset coaching for athletes who want to strengthen the mental side of their sport.

Power Mindset works with athletes on areas including confidence, fear, pressure, focus, self-talk, resilience, routines, imagery, and goal setting.

Power Mindset was founded by Sophia LeBlanc, M.Ed., a former competitive gymnast and Division I collegiate student-athlete who understands firsthand that athletic performance involves much more than physical preparation.

Individual coaching and team options are available, including virtual services that allow athletes to participate from home or their training environment.

Whether an athlete is navigating a specific performance challenge or simply wants to strengthen their mental game, mental skills can become an intentional part of their overall training.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a mental performance coach?

A mental performance coach helps athletes develop practical mental skills related to performance, including confidence, focus, self-talk, imagery, routines, goal setting, and strategies for responding to pressure and mistakes.

What does a mental performance coach help athletes with?

A mental performance coach may work with athletes on areas such as confidence, competition nerves, focus, performance-related fear, mental blocks, self-talk, routines, resilience, imagery, goal setting, and responding effectively to mistakes.

Is a mental performance coach the same as a therapist?

No. Mental performance coaching focuses on performance-related mental skills. It is not mental health treatment and is not a substitute for therapy or other appropriate mental health care.

Do you have to be struggling to work with a mental performance coach?

No. Athletes can use mental performance coaching proactively to strengthen skills such as confidence, focus, routines, self-talk, resilience, and performing under pressure.

Can youth athletes work with a mental performance coach?

Mental performance strategies can be adapted based on an athlete’s age, sport, competitive level, and individual goals.

Does Power Mindset offer virtual mental performance coaching?

Yes. Power Mindset offers virtual mental performance coaching for individual athletes as well as options for teams.