Today, I want to fill you in on what I’ve noticed after 10 years of coaching female athletes to become mentally tough and confident. Some of the greatest benefits are actually occurring off the court and field!

When most athletes and parents start to understand and utilize the power of mental training, it’s typically to help with things like:

- Performance anxiety
- Getting out of playing slumps
- Bouncing back from mistakes
- Playing consistently to potential
- Performing in pressure situations

I could spend hours telling you stories about how athletes have overcome their limiting beliefs, changed their self-talk, and created routines for themselves to improve performance on the court/field. 

However, today I’m talking about the unexpected transformations that parents and athletes have reported that you might not notice on the court or field. 

#1: They Make Better Decisions

Athletes who have developed a deep confidence in themselves through mental training are more secure about who they are as a person off the court and have a vision of who they want to become. Mentally tough athletes are committed to making choices that push them in the direction of where they want to go. 

#2: They Take Healthy Risks

Just the other day, one of the athletes in the Elite Competitor Program told me that she decided to reach out to college coaches with game film and asked to set up a meeting to talk to coaches. To her surprise, most responded AND set up a meeting with her! She reported that if not for her increased confidence through working on her mental game, she wouldn’t have even tried to reach out in the first place. 

#3: They Have Improved Relationships

Jamie, mom of Elite Competitor athlete Marissa told us this after watching her daughter become more confident through mental skills training:

“I have noticed her ability to move through difficult situations, with her school work, change dramatically. She’s able to remain calm and focused in times where she used to get frustrated and maybe even a little emotional. I've seen a boost in her confidence when communicating with friends as well.”

#4: They Are Better Equipped to Navigate the Challenges of Life

Mentally tough athletes have the ability to bounce back from mistakes, setbacks, and losses on the court/field. But that skill doesn’t stop there. These athletes apply these skills to the challenges of life, school, and relationships. 

#5: They Have Improved Body Confidence 

Improved body confidence is one of the most beautiful, unexpected benefits that I’ve seen in the athletes I work with. Game-changer is an understatement. More like life-changer!!

There you have it! The unexpected benefits of mentally tough, confident athletes. It goes far beyond the court/field and into athlete’s lives, relationships, and future! 

Helpful Links:

• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
•  Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

The BEST way to help us spread the word and get this information into the hands of millions of parents, coaches, and female athletes is by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Thank you in advance for joining us on our mission!

We get what we repeat... your confidence is a lagging measure of your daily mindset habits.

To get results,  athletes need to train their minds daily (not every once in a while).  Same goes for us, moms!

Here’s three simple ways they can get started now:

#1: Practice Productive Self-Talk

We say over 50,000 things to ourselves daily! If we aren’t aware of what’s going on in our minds, these thoughts can easily become negative and limiting. 

Our self-talk is directly linked to confidence. For athletes, this means practicing self-talk that is productive - meaning it’s in line with their goals and the athlete that they want to be. 

Examples of negative self-talk include things like:

“I’m not good enough”
“I suck at defense”
“Everyone else is better than me!”

Left unchecked, these thoughts become reality! 

To work daily on more productive self-talk, athletes should be creating affirmations around the type of athlete they want to be. Affirmations are written, positive, first-person statements affirming something desirable to be true. 

I'll teach you how to make affirmations in this episode.

#2: Visualize

Visualization as part of a daily mindset routine is something every athlete can do daily. Visualization is an extremely powerful way for athletes to connect with the athlete they want to be, how they want to play, and how they want to show up. 

To do this, athletes should carve out 2-3 minutes a day of uninterrupted time. During this time, athletes will take a few grounding breaths. Then, they will say their affirmations to themselves one at a time. 

After each affirmation, athletes will spend 10-15 seconds visualizing the affirmation with as much detail as possible. Recruit all five senses: what does this image look like, feel like, sound like, smell like, and taste like? How does the athlete feel when bringing it to mind?

Repeat for all three affirmations! Visualization helps the mind align thoughts, habits, and actions to allow athletes to literally become and perform what they are visualizing. 

Check out podcast episode #5 to learn the all the ins and outs of visualization so that it becomes your athlete's superpower!

#3: Do something challenging every day!

Here’s a great way to build confidence daily: give yourself proof of how strong and powerful you are! Find something challenging to do daily to allow yourself to see what you’re capable of and apply that to your sport and life. 

I'll share some examples in this episode.

There you have it. Athletes that want to build confidence need to be working on it daily, just like any other skill! 

Another simple way to do this is to enroll your athlete in our Confidence Boost Text Membership! With this membership, athletes receive weekly confidence and mindset strategies, tips, and exercises straight to her phone Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays! Easy to access, effective, and at a price that is less than what you likely spend in coffee in a week! Sign up here: www.kristinabreanne.com/boost

Helpful Links:

• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
• Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

One common concern I hear from parents is this:

“My daughter doesn’t feel like she’s good enough!”

Good enough to be on the team…
Good enough to compete with other athletes…
Or, just that nothing she does will ever be “good enough”! 

It can be hard as a parent, especially if you feel like you tell her all the time that she IS good, but she won’t believe it. 

Below, I’ve compiled some key drivers in our role as parents to help our kids have the confidence to know they are good enough (on and off the court/field!)

Separate Who She Is from What She Does

It’s really easy to point out our daughter’s accomplishments. And we should celebrate when she scores the goal, brings home the awesome report card, or earns the award!

However, when we only celebrate them for what they DO, they lose their confidence when they can’t or don’t do it. They also put unneeded pressure on themselves to be performing always because that’s what they think they need to do in order to receive your praise. 

We'll talk about what to do instead in this episode.

Reframe Your Reaction To Failure/Mistakes

If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that one of the most important part of a player’s growth and development is her ability to fail, make mistakes, LEARN, and get better. 

The learning and getting better can’t happen without the mistake! It’s important that athletes know this and truly believe it. 

However, as parents, our verbal and nonverbal reactions to mistakes carry a lot of meaning. We can tell our daughter that mistakes are necessary to growth...but if we are showing signs of disapproval when she makes one, those words hold no weight. 

When she feels like she can’t make mistakes for fear of disappointing you (or seeing your reaction), she will be less likely to risk and play to her potential. Therefore, feeling like she isn’t good enough and even worse when she does make a mistake.

We'll talk about some some simple ways to ensure your reaction to her mistakes/failure encourage your daughter to continue to get better and know she’s good enough.

Give Information Over Criticism 

Along the lines of failure and mistakes, when we talk to our daughters about where they came up short, make sure to give information vs criticism. 

Criticism sounds like: 

“Why can’t you get your work done faster?”
“You need to be more aggressive and serve more like _______ (teammate name)”
“It’s your fault that you procrastinated!”

We'll talk about what it looks like to be giving information:

Helpful Links:

• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
• Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

Help us spread the word and get this information into the hands of millions of parents, coaches, and female athletes by leaving a rating and review. It's THE BEST way to help our podcast be seen and heard! Thank you!

In working with thousands of female athletes, I’ve been able to see a wide range of personalities and behaviors on and off the court/field. 

One that tends to baffle coaches and parents alike?

Athletes that are shy, timid, or hold back during competition. 

Sometimes accused of being “too nice,” these athletes have a tendency to back down when the competition gets fierce. They pull it back instead of going for it. They let others take the lead and set the tone for the competition. 

As a parent and a coach, it’s probably hard not to just tell your athlete things like “be aggressive!” or “Go for it!!” and hope for the best. 

Sound familiar? If your athlete tends to be more on the shy side or holds back in competition, there are a few reasons why that might be. 

Learn what they are in today's episode, as well as my go-to strategy she can use to unleash her inner beast on the court/field! 

First...Why is she holding back?

In my experience, there are a handful of reasons why female athletes tend to back down or become more timid in competition. Usually it's because of...

1. Her physical characteristics (or perceived limitations)

Too short. 
Too tall. 
Too slow. 
Too young. 
Too big. 
Not big enough. 
Not enough experience.

The list goes on...

Athletes can be quick to decide that their physical characteristics or experience don’t set themselves up for whatever sport/activity they are competing in. 

I'll talk about how can athletes still show up and play all-out even if they might be undersized or slower than their competition.

2. Her personality

Some player’s personalities are naturally a bit more reserved, shy, and introverted. Maybe they prefer others to take the lead and don’t mind taking a more supportive role. Maybe they feel like others will think they are “mean” or “rude” if they are more aggressive. 

There is nothing wrong with being more reserved and introverted! (It’s important that athletes know this). 

3. Fear

Lastly, some players hold back and are timid during competition because of fear. 

Fear of making a mistake. 
Fear of disappointing teammates. 
Fear of what the coach might think. 
Fear of the spotlight and being better than others. 

These fears can take over and cause athletes to fly below the radar in hopes they don’t mess up or get noticed. 

Enter: The Alter Ego Technique

One strategy that applies to all the situations above is called the Alter Ego Technique. Athletes can implement this strategy to help them separate who they are on the court/field from who they are off. Listen in as I describe how your daughter can use this strategy today!

There you have it! Three reasons why athletes may be more shy/timid on the court/field and my favorite strategy to help them unleash their inner beast on the court/field. 

Helpful Links:

• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
•  Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

Help us spread the word and get this information into the hands of millions of parents, coaches, and female athletes by leaving a rating and review. It's THE BEST way to help our podcast be seen and heard! Thank you!

Being “benched” or not getting the playing time athletes desire isn’t fun. 

However, it’s bound to happen at some point in an athlete’s career. Usually the response to getting benched is negative and can easily cut a player’s confidence if she doesn’t have strategies to use when she finds herself on the sidelines. 

Fortunately, there are some simple ways that athletes can regain their confidence in this tough situation. 

In this episode, I'll go over what your athlete can do!

Focus on Breath + Thoughts

If an athlete is being pulled from a game (for reasons other than normal rotation or to give her a break), there are likely some emotions happening. Maybe frustration from the coach or athlete herself. There could be confusion. Maybe the team is losing and the energy is funky. 

This is the perfect time to get back to two things that will ground and center the athlete from being carried away: Breath and Thoughts. 

We'll dig in on both of these in the episode.

Stay Engaged On The Bench

Experts agree that the majority of communication is nonverbal. 

Meaning our body language and our facial expressions are communicating more than our words, especially when we get benched. 

Follow the flow of the game, be ready to give information to your position group or the person who went in for you, high five and encourage your teammates, and make sure that you are still contributing to your team through your energy and knowledge (remember, you don’t have to be on the court/field to do this!)

You also never know when your coach needs you to go back in, so be ready and prepared mentally and physically! 

Ask For Feedback

If your coach didn’t give you a reason for pulling you out of the game (and it wasn’t obvious to you), schedule a time when you can meet with her/him and seek some feedback. 

This could be a good time to clarify your role on the team as well if that seems to be a little fuzzy (remember - not all roles include starting/playing all the time). 

In the episode, I'll give you some things to keep in mind when asking for feedback.

Bonus: Parents - Encourage Your Athlete to Reflect and Seek Feedback 

Parents, one of the most powerful things you can do when your daughter is in this position is to direct her to focus on her own improvement. 

Have her complete a post-competition reflection to get honest with herself and take ownership over how she can improve. 

If she is still puzzled and confused as to why she was benched, encourage her to talk to the coach. 

In short, being benched isn’t fun. But, just like everything in life, our athletes get to choose how they respond. With these strategies, they can use their situation as an opportunity to grow! 

Helpful Links:

• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
•  Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

Help us spread the word and get this information into the hands of millions of parents, coaches, and female athletes by leaving a rating and review. It's THE BEST way to help our podcast be seen and heard! Thank you!

If you’ve been in the sports world for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard of visualization. 

And if you’re here, you probably have a hunch that it’s important. 

I’m here to tell you you’re absolutely right! 

Professional and elite athletes use visualization and imagery regularly as a part of their training and success. 

The great news is that this is available to athletes of any age! And it’s simpler to do than you might think. 

Below, you’re going to learn why visualization is your athlete’s superpower to become the player she wants to be and exactly how to get started with three easy steps. 

What Is Visualization?

Visualization is creating a mental image, visual, or storyline in your brain. It is similar to watching a movie or seeing yourself perform a movement, skill, or task (without actually physically doing it). 

Visualization allows us to experience events before they happen. When done correctly, our brain activates the exact same neuromuscular patterns as it would if we were actually performing the movement, skill, or task. 

In other words, our brain doesn’t know the difference between real and imagined when we visualize. 

And the science happens to tell us it works REALLY well to improve performance. Just check out this study, or this one where athletes were able to increase their skills and strength all through visualization alone. 

Why Is Visualization Important?

We can use the science behind visualization to our advantage! 

Visualization preps our brain and body for action and allows athletes to practice and become what they want to accomplish before they actually step on the court to do it. 

This is SUCH a powerful tool because it allows athletes to be prepared and align their actions to who they want to become. 

The more clearly athletes see their goals and the actions they need to take to achieve them, the more achievable these goals will be. 

Through seeing success before they achieve it, athletes build confidence, can regulate their emotions, improve their skill, and help come back from injuries or setbacks. 

On the other hand, if athletes DON’T have clear goals or a way to mentally prepare themselves, they will be at the mercy of what we call an “accidental future.” This is where we sabotage ourselves and let external circumstances control our reality. 

Three Simple Ways To Start Now

You know that visualization is key to athlete success. But how does my athlete get started?!

It’s easier than you think! She doesn’t need any fancy equipment, just a drive to level up (check!) and a couple of interrupted minutes a day to put this into practice. 

We go through my three step process in this episode!
Athletes, this is something you can start today!

Helpful Links:

• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
• Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

Help us spread the word and get this information into the hands of millions of parents, coaches, and female athletes by leaving a rating and review. It's THE BEST way to help our podcast be seen and heard! Thank you!

What if I told you that you could control the outcomes you get in life?

That by simply making one shift, you can change the results you’re getting?

See, the thing is that many athletes that I work with WANT something different - more playing time, better performance, to play at the higher level - but feel like they have no control over what’s happening in reality. 

They get stuck in loops that keep them playing and performing below what they’re capable of. 

Well, today’s episode is all about how to flip that script on its head. 

In fact, what we’re talking about today is so important that we call it one of our foundational concepts. I taught our first foundational concept in episode #3 (the three non-negotiables to elite performance), so if you missed that, go back and take a listen. 

Today is another key concept, and that’s: How our thoughts create our reality. 

We’re going to chat all about how outcomes are created, examples of why this is so important to an athlete’s success (or lack of), and what athletes (and parents/coaches) can be doing to ensure they are owning their outcomes and results. 

So, let’s dive in. 

Here's what we'll cover today:

1. How Thoughts Create Our Reality -> The Thought Wheel

You will see how changing just one thought can change the outcome. That’s because our actions and our results are a reflection of what we think. 

2. What We Focus On Expands
Have you ever heard that saying “the grass is greener where you water it”... I have a story about that to share! I see this all the time in athletes, and people who are “watering the weeds” with their thoughts. They are giving attention and care to their negative, limiting thoughts, and therefore growing them bigger and bigger.

3. Awareness Is The Starting Point
It can take some time to identify the thought that is leading to the outcome or result. But, awareness is key and the sooner we can get athletes thinking about their thoughts, the better.

4. Get Started - Challenge Your Thoughts!
Here’s what I encourage athletes to do: challenge your thoughts! Every single one of them! Now, really get honest with yourself. What THOUGHT are you telling yourself about your situation? 

As parents and coaches we can do this in our own lives. We can also encourage our athletes to instead of focusing on the outcome or the situation itself, focus on what thoughts they are choosing to focus on around the situation.

I hope you see how important this foundational concept is! 

Research shows that we say over 50,000 things to ourselves a day. Knowing that our thoughts create our reality, we know that athletes who harness this awareness and are intentional with what they are telling themselves have the competitive advantage over athletes who let their thoughts run wild. 

Helpful Links:

• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
• Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

Help us spread the word and get this information into the hands of millions of parents, coaches, and female athletes by leaving a rating and review. It's THE BEST way to help our podcast be seen and heard! Thank you!

Elite Performance...it’s what our players are after, and what we want for our athletes, right? Athletes want so badly to...

• have confidence from the inside out
• have consistent performance
• play to potential 
• experience continuous improvement
• move past mistakes quickly
• come in clutch 

And as parents and coaches, we want these things for our athletes, too. And it’s hard to know what to do when we notice those things aren’t happening. 

But, sometimes it seems like the path to get there seems non-existent. 

What I hear from players and parents is that athletes are working hard, getting extra reps in, training, and doing everything they can to achieve Elite Performance, but aren’t always seeing the results they want!

They feel like they don’t know what else to do, and they’ve tried everything. 

More often than not, it’s because one of the following three pillars to elite performance is missing. 

So, that’s what we’re talking about today! 

To ensure your daughter is on the path to confidence and elite performance in her sport, there are three non-negotiables that have to be present in her training. They are like the three legs to a stool. The stool won’t hold up or be effective without all three! 

So, let’s get into it.

We'll be talking about:
1. Knowledge of the Sport
2. Physical Training
3. Mental Training

The three non-negotiables to elite performance. Knowledge of the sport, physical training, and mental training. Athletes absolutely need all three in order to reach their full potential, and I hope that by tuning in today you can pinpoint what might be missing and how to cultivate that as a parent, athlete, or coach. 

Until next time, remember: “everything you need is within you already.” 

Helpful Links:

• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
• Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

Help us spread the word and get this information into the hands of millions of parents, coaches, and female athletes by leaving a rating and review. It's THE BEST way to help our podcast be seen and heard! Thank you!

Alright parents, and coaches. I want you to give me a nod if you can relate to one of the following...

Parents, you’re seeing your athlete do “all the things.” You’re providing opportunities for her, getting her private lessons even. You see the work she’s putting in, yet she still lacks confidence in herself and feels stuck. 

Coaches, you’re experiencing the same thing on your teams. You provide all the training, situations, and scenarios they need to be successful..yet when it comes to competition and performance, it’s like they are a different team. 

I see and hear about this all the time. Athletes that are stuck feeling like no matter how hard they train, they aren’t seeing results. 

What is this all about?! Doesn’t it make sense that the more work you put into something, the more you get out? Output = Input?

I’m here to tell you that there’s a missing link when it comes to playing to potential and elite performance. And it’s more than just the physical that counts. Which is why so many athletes feel like they are not getting the results they want even though they are training their tails off. So, what’s missing?

Simply put, they are missing the link to high performance: Mental Training. 

Specifically, I’m talking about how to train our minds to perform under pressure, bounce back from mistakes, play with confidence every time an athlete is on the court/field.

And without it, at some point all athletes will get stuck. Because the fact is, many of the physical blocks they are experiencing: not playing to potential, making multiple mistakes in a row, inconsistent performance...are actually NOT physical blocks. 

So, today I’m diving into 3 reasons why mental training is the missing link to an athlete's performance: 

• Mental Training Addresses the Underlying Cause of Poor Performance 
•  When talent is equal, it’s the mental training (not physical) that separates athletes
• Physical and mental training compliment each other for peak performance

We'll also talk about 3 reason why we don't see mental training as often as we should:

• Some people don’t understand the value of mental training
• Coaches aren’t trained in mental training (or have lack of resources)
• Mental training is usually an afterthought

Remember: The secret sauce: Mental + Physical Training = Elite Performance

If you’re a parent or coach who knows that mental training is the missing link to achieving elite performance, a simple way to get started is what you’re doing right now! 

Make it a part of your weekly routine to tune into the Elite Competitor Podcast. Each week, we are bringing you simple, proven, actionable strategies to help female athletes develop lasting confidence and elite performance. No more wondering what you can do to help your athlete level up and start believing in themselves. 

Helpful Links:

• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
• Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

Help us spread the word and get this information into the hands of millions of parents, coaches, and female athletes by leaving a rating and review. It's THE BEST way to help our podcast be seen and heard! Thank you!

 You can expect weekly episodes dedicated to inspiring and enabling female athletes to unlock their true potential. We'll bring you proven systems, strategies, and tips designed to address the underlying causes that are holding female athletes back from playing with confidence and elite performance. And we'll always include actionable ways to utilize high-quality mental training so that athletes can truly step into their power, start playing to potential, and level-up on and off the court or field. 

Our goal is that you leave each episode feeling inspired, motivated, and armed with simple and effective ways to make this happen. Whether you’re a parent wanting to know how you can help your daughter play with confidence, an athlete ready to unlock your next level, or a coach who wants to bring this power to your team - there’s something for everyone here in our collective mission to lift our female athletes and allow them to become the best versions of themselves. 

Thanks for joining us, getting to know us a little bit, and helping to raise up a generation of young women who will change the world!

Helpful Links:

• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
• Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

Help us spread the word and get this information into the hands of millions of parents, coaches, and female athletes by leaving a rating and review. It's THE BEST way to help our podcast be seen and heard! Thank you!