Mental Performance Playbook

New season, new team, new plays. The coach puts in three sets at practice, and by the car ride home half of it is gone.

In this episode of the Mental Performance Playbook, Gabe Rummel heads back to the whiteboard to break down how memory works for athletes, from the moment information hits your senses to the moment a play runs on autopilot. Memory trains just like a muscle. The more reps and depth you give it, the stronger it gets.

In this episode you will learn

• The path every memory takes, environment, senses, short-term memory, depth of processing, and long-term memory
• Why the brain takes in one thing at a time, and how to stack reps so a new play sticks
• The forgetting curve, and why spacing reps over a few days beats cramming
• How meaning and emotion lock memories in deeper
• The visual sketchpad, using imagery to see the play and see yourself in it
• The self-talk loop, talking through the play and listening back to yourself
• Three extra boosts, elaborate on the why, test yourself on the sideline, and learn with intention
• Why walking through a play where you'll perform it makes it stick

Parents and coaches, pick one mental exercise from the board and hand it to your athlete this week. Lock it in now, so they can stop thinking and just play when the games start.

If this episode helps, follow, subscribe, leave five stars, and share it with an athlete, parent, or coach.

Free resources and training links are below.

Website: ⁠https://www.theathleteshealth.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gaberummeltah/⁠

Free Athlete Assessment: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/free-mental-max-out-finder

Free Parent Snapshot Questionnaire: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/tah-mental-max-snapshot

Text us! (319) 349-9553

Keywords

memory for athletes, how to learn plays faster, sports memory, muscle memory, depth of processing, working memory, forgetting curve, spaced repetition, mental imagery, visualization for athletes, self-talk, learning new plays, sports IQ, mental performance playbook, mental performance coach, mental exercises for athletes, sports psychology, student athletes, sports parents, youth sports, Gabe Rummel, TAH, Top Athlete Habits

Mental Performance Playbook Episode. Brought to you by TAH.

You step up to the tee and tell yourself, don't hit it over there. And that is exactly where the ball goes.

In this episode of the Mental Performance Playbook, Gabe Rummel pulls out the whiteboard and uses his own golf game to map the mental training continuum. Early on, the game is mostly physical. As the skill locks in, it becomes more and more mental. Clarity, Confidence, and Composure is how athletes handle that shift, in golf and in every sport.

In this episode you will learn

• The mental training continuum, why physical training leads early and mental training takes over as you get better
• How muscle memory turns into brain memory, and why that lets you play on autopilot
• The trap of thinking about what you already know, and why pressure pulls an automatic swing back into your head
• Clarity, the mountain goal and seeing the shot, focus on the pin and not where you don't want it to go
• Confidence, one shot and one focus, using a single word to commit and let the swing happen
• Composure, the three-way replay to scratch a bad shot and replay it the right way
• Why most athletes want to start with composure, and what parents and coaches can build before and after it

Next round, pick one word for every swing. After every bad shot, run the three-way replay. Train it, then trust it.

If this episode helps, follow, subscribe, leave five stars, and share it with a golfer, parent, or coach.

Free resources and training links are below. [Add links]

Keywords:

golf mental game, mental training for golfers, golf psychology, muscle memory, choking under pressure, overthinking in sports, swing thoughts, pre-shot routine, one shot one focus, three-way replay, bad shot reset, clarity confidence composure, mental performance playbook, mental performance coach, mental exercises for athletes, sports psychology, student athletes, junior golf, sports parents, Gabe Rummel, TAH, Top Athlete Habits

Check out more!

Website: ⁠https://www.theathleteshealth.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gaberummeltah/⁠

Free Athlete Assessment: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/free-mental-max-out-finder

Free Parent Snapshot Questionnaire: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/tah-mental-max-snapshot

Text us! (319) 349-9553

Mental Performance Playbook Episode 178. Brought to you by TAH.

It's midseason. Legs are heavy, bodies are banged up, and every athlete is asking the same question. Do I push through this or not?

In this episode of the Mental Performance Playbook, Gabe Rummel heads to the whiteboard and breaks pain versus soreness into four boxes, so athletes, parents, and coaches know what they are dealing with and what to do next.

In this episode you will learn

• The one question that tells pain from soreness, is it a point or is it spread out?
• Pain's purpose, and the loop it creates, shallow breathing, less blood flow, more muscle tension
• The kinked hose, a simple way to picture what pain does to performance
• Zone training (relaxation training) and how it helps sleep, muscle tension, endorphins, and brain focus
• Physical mental exercises, the big breath and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)
• Mental exercises, attention control, imagery, and mindfulness
• How to recover from soreness fast, move, hydrate, eat, and sleep
• What to do when you have to perform through it, keyword plus breath plus reset routine

Next time something hurts, ask this. Is it one sharp point that happened in a click, or is it spread out and took time to show up? Sharp pain in one spot is a signal to tell your athletic trainer, coach, or doctor.

If this episode helps, follow, subscribe, leave five stars, and share it with an athlete, parent, or coach.

Check out more!

Website: ⁠https://www.theathleteshealth.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gaberummeltah/⁠

Free Athlete Assessment: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/free-mental-max-out-finder

Free Parent Snapshot Questionnaire: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/tah-mental-max-snapshot

Text us! (319) 349-9553

Keywords

pain vs soreness, muscle soreness, playing through pain, sports injury, athlete recovery, relaxation training, zone training, progressive muscle relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, breathing for athletes, imagery, mindfulness, attention control, mental performance playbook, mental performance coach, mental training for athletes, mental exercises for athletes, sports psychology, student athletes, sports parents, Gabe Rummel, TAH, Top Athlete Habits

Mental Performance Playbook Episode 177. Brought to you by TAH.

In episode 177 of the Mental Performance Playbook, Gabe Rummel heads to the whiteboard and breaks down three key brain areas behind performance under pressure, pulled from his grad school work in sport and performance psychology.

In this episode you will learn

• The amygdala, the alarm system for fear, threats, and emotion
• The basal ganglia, where habits and muscle memory get wired in
• The anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), the conflict monitor that decides if you push through discomfort
• How all three show up when an athlete freezes on a free throw, a PK, a catch, or a dive
• Two mental exercises to take control, the reset breath and knowing your zone temp (Caitlin Clark near a 10, Kobe near a 1)

Parents and coaches, you do not need to teach the neuroscience. Just hint at the reset breath and the zone, and it will quietly help all three.

Pick one pressure moment this week and name which part of the brain is running the show.

If this episode helps, follow, subscribe, leave five stars, and share it with an athlete, parent, or coach.

Free resources and training links are below. [Add links]

Covered in this order

1. Welcome and why these three brain areas
2. Whiteboard, amygdala (fear, threats, emotion)
3. Basal ganglia (habit formation)
4. aMCC (conflict monitor, effort and control)
5. Example, freezing in a big moment
6. Mental exercise 1, reset breath
7. Mental exercise 2, your zone temp
8. Tie back to Clarity, Confidence, and Composure

Keywords

brain and performance, sports neuroscience, amygdala, basal ganglia, anterior midcingulate cortex, choking under pressure, why athletes freeze, performance anxiety in sports, reset breath, breathing for athletes, mental performance playbook, mental performance coach, mental training for athletes, mental exercises for athletes, sports psychology, student athletes, sports parents, clarity confidence composure, Gabe Rummel, TAH, Top Athlete Habits

Check out more!

Website: ⁠https://www.theathleteshealth.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gaberummeltah/⁠

Free Athlete Assessment: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/free-mental-max-out-finder

Free Parent Snapshot Questionnaire: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/tah-mental-max-snapshot

Text us! (319) 349-9553

Mental Performance Playbook Episode 176. Brought to you by TAH.

Great practice, bad game, scouts in the stands. Any one of these can knock a student athlete off their game, even the good ones.

In this episode of the Mental Performance Playbook, Gabe grabs the whiteboard and breaks down the dial. It's a simple way to picture how the brain and body rise toward peak performance and fall away from it, and how athletes can take control of it.

In this episode you'll learn

• Why injuries, bad games, and losing a starting spot don't have to hold an athlete down
• Why great practices, hot streaks, and scouts can get athletes stuck in their heads
• How to flip each one into something to train, like new and improved, routine, and process
• The one word that ties it all together, trust, and why the mind is harder to trust than the body
• How to turn the dial on and find the right station for each practice and game

Parents and coaches, use this language at home and at practice. Ask your athlete, "What station are you on today?"

Want help building this into your athlete's game-day routine? Book a session with TAH at the links below.

If this episode helped, follow, share it with a teammate or parent, and leave a 5-star review.

Check out more!

Website: ⁠https://www.theathleteshealth.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gaberummeltah/⁠

Free Athlete Assessment: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/free-mental-max-out-finder

Free Parent Snapshot Questionnaire: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/tah-mental-max-snapshot

Text us! (319) 349-9553

Mental Performance Playbook Episode 175. Brought to you by TAH.

The game comes down to who gets the most good reps, and those reps do not have to happen on the field, court, track, mat, or water.

In this episode of the Mental Performance Playbook, Gabe Rummel walks through the whiteboard and breaks down 5 ways to see the game anytime, anywhere using mental imagery, also called visualization.

You will learn rotation, scanning, third person POV, first person POV, and five senses. You will also hear how student athletes, parents, and coaches can use each one to build clarity, confidence, and composure.

Pick one of the five ways and try it for 5 minutes this week.

If this episode helps, please follow, subscribe, leave five stars, and share it with an athlete, parent, or coach.

Want training or resources? Links are below. Check out more!

Website: ⁠https://www.theathleteshealth.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gaberummeltah/⁠

Free Athlete Assessment: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/free-mental-max-out-finder

Free Parent Snapshot Questionnaire: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/tah-mental-max-snapshot

Text us! (319) 349-9553

Time stamps

• (00:00) Welcome, why seeing the game matters, and how to get more reps
• (03:24) Whiteboard time, mental imagery and the 5 ways to see the game

Keywords:

mental imagery, mental imagery for athletes, visualization for athletes, sports visualization, how to visualize in sports, mental rehearsal, mental reps, mental performance playbook, mental performance coach, mental training for athletes, mental exercises for athletes, sports psychology, athlete mindset, student athletes, youth sports, sports parents, performance under pressure, clarity confidence composure, five senses visualization, Gabe Rummel, TAH, Top Athlete Habits

Mental Performance Playbook Episode 174. Brought to you by TAH (The Athletes Health).

Your athlete's attention goes somewhere every second of the game. The only question is whether they're steering it or it's steering them.

In this episode, Gabe breaks down Nideffer's attention theory on the whiteboard and turns it into a simple four zone system called RAAP. It's the difference between an athlete who spirals when things get tight and one who has a focus point ready to go, just like a free throw shooter locking onto the front of the rim.

Learn where your athlete's attention should go before the game, during it, and when things start to snowball.

Check out more!

Website: ⁠https://www.theathleteshealth.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gaberummeltah/⁠

Free Athlete Assessment: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/free-mental-max-out-finder

Free Parent Snapshot Questionnaire: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/tah-mental-max-snapshot

Text us! (319) 32-3917

Keywords:

mental performance training, attention training for athletes, sports psychology for youth athletes, focus exercises for athletes, Nideffer attention theory, mental toughness training, youth athlete mindset, pregame anxiety exercises, sports focus techniques, athlete confidence training, mental performance coach, focus under pressure in sports, high school athlete mental training, attention control in sports, sports psychology podcast

Mental Performance Playbook Episode 173. Brought to you by TAH (The Athletes Health).

Most problems in sports don't come from bad talent. They come from a definition nobody agreed on.

In this episode, Gabe breaks down why definitions might be the most important word in sports, and how one skipped conversation can throw off an entire season. You'll hear real stories from working with student athletes, why "injured" doesn't mean the same thing to every coach and parent, and how a team captain's added pressure came from a definition, not a title.

In this episode:

• A way to define what you're actually training before you train it
• Three different ways to define "injured," and why the difference matters
• A simple question to ask before you react to any coach, parent, or teammate
• And more!

Follow, subscribe, and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

---

Check out more!

Website: ⁠https://www.theathleteshealth.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gaberummeltah/⁠

Free Athlete Assessment: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/free-mental-max-out-finder

Free Parent Snapshot Questionnaire: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/tah-mental-max-snapshot

---

mental performance training, sports psychology for athletes, mental training for student athletes, athlete mindset coaching, sports parent support, coaching communication in sports, defining expectations in sports, athlete confidence and pressure, team captain leadership pressure, injury definition in sports, online mental performance coaching, mental exercises for athletes, youth sports communication, coach and athlete communication, student athlete mental toughness

Mental Performance Playbook Episode 172. Brought to you by The Athletes Health.

Every quarterback carries a curse. No time to celebrate the touchdown. No time to sulk over the interception. The next play is already coming, ready or not.

In this episode, Gabe breaks down the quarterback's curse: the forced short memory that looks brutal from the outside but is actually a trained mental exercise. You'll learn the exact 4-step process quarterbacks use to reset between plays, and how any athlete, in any sport, can train the same skill.

What you'll learn:

• Why the "quarterback's curse" is really a mental exercise, not a personality trait
• The 4-step reset: stop the last play, prepare for the next one, treat the next play like the only one, repeat
• How to build a personal cue (a breath, a word, a routine) that trains your body to move on before your mind does
• Why letting go of the outcome before the play even happens is the final piece elite athletes train

This isn't just for quarterbacks. Volleyball players reset between sets. Golfers reset between swings. Swimmers reset between races. Every sport has a next play. Learn how to train yours.

Follow the Mental Performance Playbook for a new mental exercise every week. If this episode helps, share it with a parent, coach, or athlete who needs it.

Show Notes / Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction to mental training for athletes: the quarterback's perspective(03:31) Step 1: Stopping the last play(05:27) Step 2: Preparing for the next play(08:02) Step 3: Playing like it's the only play that exists(10:05) Step 4: Repeating the process, play after play(11:18) Letting go of the outcome + recap

Check out more!

Website: ⁠https://www.theathleteshealth.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gaberummeltah/⁠

Free Athlete Assessment: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/free-mental-max-out-finder

Free Parent Snapshot Questionnaire: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/tah-mental-max-snapshot

Text us! (319) 349-9553

Tags/Keywords: mental performance, sports psychology, quarterback mindset, athlete mindset training, mental toughness, next play mentality, youth sports mental training, TAH, The Athletes Health, mental performance coaching, sports mental training, athlete confidence, focus in sports, reset routine for athletes, quarterback mental training, football mindset, sports mindset coach, athletic performance mindset, coach mental training, student athlete mindset, Gabe Rummel, Mental Performance Playbook, sports mom

Mental Performance Playbook Episode 171. Brought to you by The Athletes Health.

In this episode of The Mental Performance Playbook...

Every athlete knows that moment right before it matters most, the crowd noise, the hype music, the heartbeat racing right along with it. What most people miss is the other side of that noise. The best performers train themselves to find silence right when the pressure hits hardest, and that silence is the real secret weapon.

In this episode, Gabe breaks down silence as one of the most overlooked mental exercises in sports, and why it works like the Quicksilver effect from X-Men: when everything slows down internally, athletes react faster and play with more control.

What we cover:

• Why silence is a trained skill, not just the absence of noise
• The Quicksilver effect: how slowing down internally speeds up performance on the field, court, or in the pool
• Breath as the on-ramp into silence, including box breathing and the triangle breath
• How self talk fills the silence, and why the words an athlete uses matter more than staying quiet alone
• Real examples of using silence before the national anthem, a race start, or a first serve

If you're a student athlete, coach, or parent looking for a mental exercise that actually moves the needle under pressure, this one is worth trying before your next practice or game.

Try one piece of this out and let us know how it goes. Catch a new episode of the Mental Performance Playbook every week from TAH, The Athletes Health.

Chapters:(00:00) Introduction to the power of silence in sports(02:01) The Secret Weapon: Silence(04:19) The Quicksilver Effect (X-Men Analogy)(07:42) Breath: The On-Ramp to Silence(09:59) Self-Talk Inside the Silence(13:09) Real Game Examples (National Anthem, Race Starts)(15:07) Recap & Challenge to Try It

Check out more!

Website: ⁠https://www.theathleteshealth.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gaberummeltah/⁠

Free Athlete Assessment: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/free-mental-max-out-finder

Free Parent Snapshot Questionnaire: https://www.theathleteshealth.com/tah-mental-max-snapshot

Text us! (319) 349-9553

Keywords:

sports psychology, mental performance, mental toughness, athlete mindset, mental training, mental exercises, youth sports, student athlete confidence, focus under pressure, staying calm under pressure, breathing techniques, box breathing, self talk, silence and focus, pre performance routine, game day mindset, clutch performance, competitive mindset, sports mindset, sports parents, athletic performance, mental performance coach, quicksilver effect, TAH, The Athletes Health