What is a Mindset Coach and Why Do You Need One?
Put simply: mindset is everything in sports. This is what separates good players from great players. Many young athletes possess the physical requirements for success, but fewer have the mental resiliency to match their physical prowess..
It’s only natural to experience self-doubt and limiting beliefs, to not be able to perform at their best every game. When you’re young, you don’t know where these thoughts are coming from, or how to overcome them. Fortunately, that’s what a mindset coach is for.
A mindset coach helps athletes identify the mental struggles that are holding them back from reaching their full athletic potential. Since soccer is such a mental game, is a necessity for every player to be coached on their mindset. Unfortunately, with the modern youth game, coaches simply have too many players to be able to give the time each player needs to adequately coach their players’ mindsets…which is why getting a mindset coach is so important.
What is a Mindset Coach?
A mindset coach is a specialized professional who helps young athletes develop mental routines and strategies to perform at their best. Under the coach’s guidance, athletes look within themselves to unpack negative thought patterns that are hindering their growth and success. By clarifying these thought patterns and understanding where they come from, the athlete can cultivate a healthier mindset that helps them deal with the demands of high-level sports.
What Does a Mindset Coach Do?
When you work with a mindset coach, they’ll begin by trying to understand your current mental framework. You’ll discuss existing beliefs, thought patterns, and perceptions that are affecting the way you view your sport. This will set the trajectory for the rest of your coaching journey.
Another key element of this experience is goal setting. Your mindset coach will work with you to articulate clear, achievable objectives based on what success looks like for you, and you specifically.
Once you know what’s holding you back and what you want to achieve, your mindset coach may introduce different techniques for re-shaping your mental processes. This will likely involve replacing negative or unproductive thoughts with more positive and constructive alternatives.
Do You Need a Mindset Coach?
A mindset coach can be particularly helpful for athletes who struggle to stay focused after making a mistake or suffering some sort of setback. The ability to remain composed in the face of adversity is one of the most important skills an athlete can possess. It allows you to look at your mistakes objectively so you can understand what went wrong. Young athletes often fall victim to negative thought patterns in these moments, causing them to make the same mistake over and over again.
Likewise, many athletes lose focus during high pressure situations. A mindset coach can identify what it is about these situations that’s making them uncomfortable and develop a solution for creating and maintaining a more positive mental state that enhances performance, not inhibits it.
Additionally, a mindset coach can be very valuable for athletes who struggle with motivation. These days, it’s very easy to get so caught up in the future that you lose track of why you’re playing this sport in the first place. A mindset coach can help an athlete narrow down what fuels them to show up to practice every day and find this same source of fulfillment in competition.
Lastly, Mindset Coaches are not just for when things are not going well. When things are good, their tips, tools, and knowledge will help avoid future obstacles as they present themselves.
At Beyond Goals Mentoring, we specialize in uncovering the “why” behind a young athlete’s goals, or what it is about their sport they truly love. As two former pros, we know that passion is what drives athletes to rise above adversity. So, if your athlete is struggling with the mental aspect of sports, let’s set up a session todayto see how we can help.
