Max Out Mindset

Justine Wong-Orantes is now arguably the best libero in the world, fresh off being named best libero of 2021 Olympic Games and helping the U.S. Women's National Team win the Gold Medal last month! It wasn't that long ago that she contemplated retirement from her sport, in part, due to the mental challenges that go along with trying to live on the edges of elite. Internalizing words of wisdom for Coach Karch Kiraly, mastering her self-talk, managing her perfectionism, and letting her teammates help her stay in the present moment were all factors in Justine elevating her performance. She said she never felt freer and more confident leading up to and during the Olympic games. There are some wonderful nuggets and brilliant insights into what it takes to create a great team that put itself in a position to make history!

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Marcus Zegarowski is joining me for part II following last year's visit on the Max Out Mindset podcast. We visited this time just after he was drafted in the 2nd round of the NBA by the Brooklyn Nets. He remains one of the most committed athletes I've known-always working on what I call the four legs of the elite performance stool-Mental, Physical, Technical, and Tactical. Commitment is the foundation for Confidence so it should not be a surprise that in the biggest moments at Creighton University, Marcus usually found a way to play with confidence. A confident athlete is more likely to be able to play fearless when it matters the most. He was a big reason that Creighton reached their dream of making the Sweet 16 in 2021. What I love the most is his open, honest way of describing the challenges that he has faced with working on developing an elite mindset over the past few years. His ongoing pursuit of mastery is something we can all learn from and appreciate.

In Max Out Mindset, I outline the steps necessary to become elite by recounting stories from coaches, athletes, and teams that I have worked with over the years to share insights on how to max out when it matters most. Using the 15 Powers outlined within, you'll learn how to prepare for bat­tle, max out your mind, max out your emo­tions, and ultimately, max out your team.

In my role as a high-performance mindset coach, I do not diagnose and treat mental illness. That being said, I always tell people that I put my mental health hat on because of my background as a psychiatrist and because I understand the importance of taking care of your mental health for both sport and life. Today, more than ever, high performers are coming out and talking about the depths of their mental health struggles. Simone Biles, one of the great athletes of our generation and possibly the greatest female athletes in some ways to ever live. backed out of her competition at the Olympics after she had a very difficult vault. She has described many reasons for her recent mental health challenges—and the Olympic spotlight most likely created the perfect storm for her. When I saw her vault performance, I immediately thought of the term called the yips. The yips is a complex disorder, some mental, some physical, and yet we don't completely understand them. But it is a very difficult thing when a high-performer gets the yips. Essentially, one cannot do routine physical skills that they've done for most of their lives. When you can't do something that you've done forever, and that you've done thousands if not more than ten thousand times it can be devastating mentally and emotionally. When you're a gymnast and lose these abilities in can lead to serious injury. The yips have even ruined careers. It is just a great reminder to not rush to judgment about Simone or anybody else as we never truly know what somebody else is going through.

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Coach has worn so many hats in the volleyball world and has coached successfully at the highest of levels of his sport. Over his career, he has been an assistant coach with the US men's national volleyball team when they won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics. He was also an assistant coach for the US women's national volleyball team when they won a World Championship in 2014 and a silver medal in the 2012 Olympics, a bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics. He was most recently the coach of the Netherlands women's national volleyball team for 2017 to 2019, where they had a runner-up finish at the 2017 European Championships and a fourth-place finish at the 2018 World Championships. He is insightful, honest, and there is a brilliance in the simplicity of his thoughts and explanations to a wide range of questions and topics thrown at him on the Max Out Mindset podcast.

You are going to love listening to this episode of the Max Out Mindset podcast. Their connection off the beach is a big reason why they are so successful on the beach. Taryn Kloth was a four-year starter at Creighton University where she was an All-American for indoor volleyball and then was able to continue her career with LSU Beach Volleyball. She is one of 15 athletes in history to be All-American in both indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. Her LSU beach partner, Kristen Nuss, is the NCAA beach volleyball all-time leader in wins with 139 in her decorated career. Her partnership this year with Taryn, playing in the #1 pairs position resulted in a record of 36-0 in 2021 and they were named the "Pair of the Year" both by Volleyball Magazine, AVCA, and CCSA Beach Pair of the Year.

National Championship setter at the University of Nebraska. Two-time All-American. Professional. National Team member. Division I Head Coach at Iowa State University for 16 years advancing as far as the Regional Finals.

Learn what has made Coach excellent at every level in her sport. Learn about her failures and setbacks as well and what she did to overcome them. She is the perfect example of what it means to train at the highest level your mind, your body, and your craft.

I wrote about this Coach a lot in my book, Max Out Mindset, in the chapter The Power of Positive Coaches. He was the head women's gymnastics coach at the University of Nebraska for 25 years! He was the first coach to give me "a seat at the table" with his team and our collaboration from 2011-2018 was one of the most special times of my life.

In his 25 years at the helm, he had 14 Conference Championships, two National Coach of the Years honors, 20 of his teams made NCAA appearances in the postseason, and 12 made it to the Super 6 Championship Finals. During this period, his team's final finish averaged #7 in the country. His mantras of "Team Over Self" and "Success Breeds Success" are part of the many reasons he is considered a legend in the gymnastics world!

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Today, I have a couple of guests on the Max Out Mindset podcast. It's the first husband and wife team I've ever had on the podcast. I jokingly called them "the power couple" when they were at the University of Nebraska. Madison McConkey Janovich is somebody I know well, working with her individually and with the women's gymnastics team at the University of Nebraska. She has a pretty unique story because she took off over a year off before coming to college and it took an unbelievable effort-physically and mentally-to be able to perform at such a high level by the time she was a Senior. I wrote about her in my book Max Out Mindset, in the chapter called The Power of GRIT.

I only knew Andy Janovich peripherally when he played football at the University of Nebraska, but I would speak with him at times when he came to Madison's gymnastics meets. That being said, I watched him intently playing his role as a fullback and as a leader of the special teams and fully believed that he would play at the next level. Andy has developed a mental resilience about him that is second to none and it is a big reason as to why he has been able to make a career in the NFL, playing for the Denver Broncos and most recently, the Cleveland Browns. You will love his insights into how he has developed his physical and mental toughness. The story about the vulnerability exercise called the Four H's that he did with the Cleveland Browns this past year — History, Heroes, Heartbreaks and Hopes —is worth learning about as there is no question that this exercise helped build what I call Ultimate Trust within his team and contributed to the Browns making the playoffs this past season.

Brett Ledbetter is a Performance Consultant, author and speaker. He works with some of the best coaches and teams in professional and college sports. He is the Co-founder of What Drives Winning. What Drives Winning puts on conferences, shares conference videos, and has a coaching lab. His books and workbooks all elevate performance. His latest book What Drives Winning Environments helps with the question; How do you build an environment where people can do their best work? Brett is the best in the business at asking questions and an incredible interviewer.

Coach Becky Burleigh is one of the most successful college soccer coaches in the United States. In 25 seasons at the helm of the University of Florida soccer team, Burleigh has led them to an NCAA Championship, two NCAA College Cup appearances, 14 Southeastern Conference titles and 22 NCAA Championships berths. Along the way, Burleigh picked up National (1998) and SEC Coach of the Year (2012, '10, '08, '00 & '96) honors. Her career winning percentage of 75.3 (507-152-43) ranks No. 6 among the NCAA Division I Active Coaches. She is one of two females (and only in DI) in NCAA soccer history with 500 career wins and her 507 wins is No. 2 among NCAA Division I active coaches. https://whatdriveswinning.com/

Coach Terry Pettit brings a unique perspective to championship coaching, team building, and leadership training. He is an author, poet, and podcast host. Coach Pettit was the head coach of one of the most successful athletic teams in NCAA history. Under his leadership, the University of Nebraska's women's volleyball team won 21 Big 8 and Big 12 conference championships while leading the nation in both All-American and Academic All-American selections. He directed the Nebraska volleyball team to 43 NCAA tournament victories and the school's first National Championship in women's volleyball in 1995. Terry earned National Coach of the Year honors in 1986, 1994 and 1996.

Coach Pettit has served as a mentor to over one hundred coaches, team captains and emerging leaders. He also presents and conducts workshops on leadership and team building for some of the most progressive athletic departments, and corporations in the country. Listen and learn from one of the deepest thinkers I've met as he reflects on his life as a coach and mentor.

This episode is brought to you by Neurofuel