college sports mental skills

National Champion Brienne Minor’s Team-First Mentality

"I tried to help my teammates become better on the court and take care of them when we were off it. It wasn’t just all tennis. We had a lot going on with school as well. I did my best to keep everyone together and close knit."

positive self talk

How Positive Self-Talk Powered this Tennis Player to a College Title

"I’ll say something to remind myself that I’m here for a reason and am capable of beating this person." - NCAA champion Brienne Minor

athlete confidence

How an NCAA Tennis Champion Stays Confident and Committed

"It’s in those times when you’re tired that you have to really push yourself, and if you have people to do it with you, you’re all in it together." - Brienne Minor, NCAA tennis champion

student mentoring

The Mental Skills that Make Students Classroom Champions

What I hope kids get from our athlete-mentors is that they need to keep grinding. Even looking back at my own career, the pattern was injury, injury, success, failure, failure, success. I would never have achieved anything if I hadn’t persevered." Olympian Steve Mesler

mental toughness

Mental Toughness Tactics of an Olympic Champion

"How was I going to make it in a sport like bobsled? I made a decision to not get hurt anymore. Injury was no longer an option." - Steve Mesler, Olympic champion

mental toughness

Mental Toughness Exercises for Athletes

One way to practice being mentally tough is to reframe things that you might normally think of negatively in a positive way. Take a situation you’d usually just try to get through and turn it into something to grow through.

mental toughness

How Great Coaches Model Mental Toughness

As a coach, you’re a leader who sets the tone for your entire team. So when it comes to mental toughness, it’s important that you display the 4 Cs: composure, confidence, commitment, and concentration.

Champion's Comeback

An Olympic Champion’s Comeback

"If you approach every day like it’s the Olympics, when you actually get there, you’ve already dealt with that kind of stress on a daily basis. So now it's normal." Steve Mesler, Winter Olympics gold medalist.

Olympian mindset

A Gold Medalist’s Olympic Mindset

"Having an Olympian mindset means that the Olympics are today, tomorrow, last Monday, and last November. You wake up and approach every day as if the Olympics are right now."

mental toughness

How Mental Toughness Made a Good College Athlete Even Better

"Mental toughness might not come naturally, but every athlete can develop it." Oregon Ducks pitcher Jordan Dail talks daily mental skills training.

athlete self-talk

The Power of Positive Self-Talk

The most powerful words we'll ever hear are the words we say to ourselves. You can either be your own worst enemy or best friend.

athlete visualization

Seeing the Strike Out: How a Pitcher Uses Visualization on the Mound

"The visualization part is huge for me, because the more I can see it and the more I can see myself doing it, the more successful I become. Then I have my best games." Softball pitcher Jordan Dail tells Champion's Mind creator Jim Afremow how she uses mental rehearsal to play her best and win.

student-athlete mindset

The Mindset of a Star Transfer Student-Athlete

"The more prepared you can be mentally, the greater the edge you'll have on your opponent." - Jordan Dail, Oregon Ducks pitcher

playing in the zone

How a Star Pitcher Plays in the Zone

Softball is one of the most highly competitive intercollegiate sports out there. While in basketball, football, and others, it’s the same few teams vying for dominance each season, in softball there’s

athlete mindset

How Daily Mental Skills Training Made Michael Jordan the G.O.A.T.

Mental skills aren't magic skills. That’s why we designed the Champion’s Mind app to help your players hone their mental game in just 5 minutes a day.

daily mental skills training

The Competitive Advantage of Daily Mental Skills Training

Developing a daily mental skills practice requires a tiny time commitment from athletes – just five minutes – yet yields enormous performance dividends.

COVID-19 coaching

Student-Athletes: The COVID-19 Shutdown is Your Chance to Develop a Champion's Mind

It’s easy to think of your sport’s season getting closed down by the coronavirus as a chance to take your foot off the gas. In fact, this unprecedented period isn’t down time, it’s crunch time for your daily mental skills training.

COVID-19 coaching

College Coaches’ Mental Skills Training Questions Answered

As little as five minutes' mental skills training per day can help your team develop a gold medal mindset.

COVID-19 coaching

Can’t Coach Your Athletes’ Physically? Help Them Be Mentally Tough.

You can’t control many things that happen to your team but you CAN help your athletes foster resilience, perseverance, and a warrior spirit.

daily mental skills training

Student-Athlete Stuck at Home? Use Mental Skills to Win The Game.

Self-isolating and social distancing might lead to loneliness. To make sure this doesn’t happen, reach out to one of your coaches and/or teammates daily.

vulnerability

The Power of Athlete Vulnerability

"Self-pressure and expectations from fans can crush a player. We need to improve their ability to perform in an emotionally healthy way."

pre-race mindset

Nail Your Pre-Game Routine Like These Track + Field Stars

"I try to be a lot more relaxed during the day leading up to the meet. I listen to calm, peaceful music earlier and then put on a faster playlist 30 minutes before I vault. This way, I’m getting amped up at just the right time."

student-athlete mindset

Student-Athlete Mindset Tips for Balancing Sports, School + Social Life

"The biggest thing was picking my priorities and writing them down. And, that way, I had that filter to look at my decisions through. For instance, when I was in the middle of my season, pole vault was the number one priority. Then academics and after that, my social life."

athlete goal setting

Goal Setting with 2 Olympic Hopefuls

You can create goals for different conditions, situations, and scenarios. If you keep track of things this way, you’re always PRing and moving forward."

athlete visualization

How Visualization Helps Athletes Go For Gold

"I started using visualization to help me become more motivated. I’m picturing the ultimate goals I want to accomplish."