The Most Important Training Your Athlete’s Not Doing

Why the Best Train Their Minds Before It Breaks Them and You Should Too

You know what’s funny?

We spend thousands on pitching coaches, private hitting instructors, strength trainers, nutritionists, massage guns, Normatec boots, even custom cleats with your kid’s freaking initials stitched into them…

But when his confidence crashes?
When the pressure eats him alive?
When he starts crying after games and says, “I’m just not good enough”?

That’s when you start Googling “mental coach near me.”

Too late.
Like always.
Reactive, never proactive.

Let’s Talk Facts

A 2017 NCAA survey found that 91% of athletes reported high levels of mental or emotional distress during competition.
Not stress.
Distress.

By 2021, the NCAA doubled down. In a follow-up study, they found:

• More than 85% of coaches believed mental training was “very important”

• But only 26% of programs offered consistent mental performance support.

You read that right.
Coaches know it matters.
But they still don’t prioritize it.

Why?
Because just like parents, they wait until the wheels fall off.

Now Let’s Talk Pros

You think the pros are winging it?

Think again.

The NFL now has a mental health clinician on every team.
MLB clubs? Most have full-time mental performance coaches.
NBA teams? They’re hiring entire “performance psychology departments.”

Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, Tom Brady, Simone Biles, LeBron James, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka…
Every one of them credits mindset training as critical to their success.
Most of them say they wish they started earlier.

You know who doesn’t say that?

The 12-year-old hitting .600 in Little League who thinks it’s all sunshine and dingers.
The parent who still believes mindset is for “when something’s wrong.”
The coach who says, “He just needs to toughen up.”

“But My Kid Doesn’t Want to Do It…”

No shit.

Of course he doesn’t.

He doesn’t even know what it is.

He thinks “mental performance” means sitting on a couch and talking about feelings.
Or closing his eyes and pretending he’s in a forest.
Or worse he thinks it’s for kids who are broken.

That’s the real problem.
We’ve done such a piss-poor job explaining what this is, most kids (and parents) have no clue it’s the edge they’ve been missing.

They don’t know that mental performance training:

• Builds focus under pressure

• Trains positive self-talk instead of negative spirals

• Creates pre-game routines that lock them in

• Rewires how they recover from failure

• Boosts consistency when things get messy

It’s not therapy.
It’s not crystals and good vibes.
It’s reps for your brain.
It’s the real work that shows up when the lights come on and your swing disappears.

But because no one explains it and because it doesn’t come with a bat sensor or fancy facility
Most people ignore it.

Until they can’t.

Want Your Kid to Win Long-Term?

Teach them to:

• Lose with purpose

• Talk to themselves like a leader, not a victim

• Shake off failure without shaking their identity

• Compete when they’re nervous, tired, or overwhelmed

• Trust themselves when it actually fucking matters

This is what the best do.
And they don’t wait until they’re broken to do it.

Bottom Line:

If you’re serious about helping your athlete grow, succeed, and enjoy the game long-term…

Stop treating mental training like therapy.
It’s not a couch session.
It’s the gym for the mind.

And just like physical training, it’s only effective if you do it before the injury, not after.

Still think your kid doesn’t need it yet?

Let’s talk in a year.
After the slump.
After the anxiety.
After he wants to quit something he used to love.

But don’t say I didn’t tell you.