My Philosophy

CREATE - LIVE - ACHIEVE

moments of excellence that define your epic journey of achievement.

As a Mental Skills Coach since 2010, I specialize in helping athletes develop mastery and perform their best when it matters most. I take great pride in the progress and success of the athletes I work with.

The foundation for your success as an athlete starts by developing the physical, technical, tactical, and mental skills specific to your sport.

Physical Skills

The physical strength, agility, speed, and conditioning
to play your sport

Technical Skills

The specific skills necessary
to play your sport

Tactical Skills

The strategic understanding
of your sport

Mental Skills

The motivation, grit, determination, and mindset required to be focused in high pressure game situations.

TO ACHIEVE MASTERY AND BECOME THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF
takes time, dedication, and the willingness to get comfortable being uncomfortable. As an athlete, success is defined by focusing on the journey and the little things that get you to your desired goal.

It's critical to understand and address the social, emotional, and physical development necessary to be the best athlete and person you can be.

While your physical development is dependent on being active, your social interactions are important for personal growth. Being physically and socially active can work hand in hand to help or stunt your growth as an athlete and as a person. I'm passionate about focusing on the long-term development of athletes by addressing both, their athletic capabilities as well as their social emotional capabilities.

At the heart of it, Epic Sport Mindset is here to help you understand the physical milestones, as well as the social and emotional milestones necessary for your success.

I look forward to the opportunity to work with you.

Get in Touch

FOUNDATIONS OF ATHLETIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Explore the following links for athletic and social development models, and being active for life.

7 Stages of Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) by the Canadian Sports for Life Society

This model provides age appropriate levels of training and skills development for athletes. The goal of the Canadian Sports for Life Society is to educate people on age appropriate training and skills development so that kids and adults will become more active, stay active, and pursue excellence in sport. For more information, visit the Canadian Sports for Life website.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development by Erik Erikson

This model helps parents of athletes better understand the social-emotional and athletic milestones that your child will face over the course of their life from infancy to adulthood. I'm a firm believer in Erik Erikson's theory that, over the course of a person’s life she/he develops through social adaptation. As people interact and develop social relationships throughout their lives, their ability to problem-solve determines their development and personality.

For my practice, I categorize the valuable insights from these two methodologies into age-specific areas of growth:

Birth - Age 6: Foundation Building

7 Stages of Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD)
Erickson’s 8 Psychosocial Stages of Development
LTAD Stage 1: Active Start (ages 0-6)
Erickson Stage 1: Trust versus Mistrust (approximately age 0-1)
Erickson Stage 2: Autonomy versus Doubt/Shame (occurs between ages 1 to 3)
Erickson Stage 3: Initiative versus Guilt (age 3-5)

Ages 6 - 12: Acquisition of Skills

7 Stages of Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD)
Erickson’s 8 Psychosocial Stages of Development
Stage 2: FUNdamentals (girls 6-8, boys 6-9)
Stage 3: Learn to Train (girls 8-11, boys 9-12)
Erickson Stage 4: Industry versus Inferiority (ages 6 to 11 or 12). Erickson originally stated the age span was 6 to puberty.

Ages 11 - 23: Learning to Compete and Identity Development

7 Stages of Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD)
Erickson’s 8 Psychosocial Stages of Development
Stage 4: Train to Train (girls 11-15, boys 12-16)
Stage 5: Train to Compete (girls 15-21, boys 16-23)
Erickson Stage 5: Identity versus Role-Confusion (ages 12 to 18)

Ages 20+: Competition Ready and Love

7 Stages of Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD)
Erickson’s 8 Psychosocial Stages of Development
Stage 6: Train to Win (girls 18+, boys 19+)
Erickson Stage 6: Intimacy versus Isolation (early adulthood, typically from your 20’s to the end of your 30’s)

Ages 30+: Active for Life, Giving Back and a Reflection on Life

7 Stages of Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD)
Erickson’s 8 Psychosocial Stages of Development
Stage 7: Active for life (any age)
Erickson Stage 7: Generativity versus Stagnation (middle adulthood, usually between ages of 40 and 60)
Erickson Stage 8: Integrity versus Despair (ages 60 or 65 to the end of life)

PARENTS OF ATHLETES

At the beginning, most parents want their children to participate in sports to help build character, learn life lessons, develop friendships, to be active, and to enjoy the experience. But the moment your child shows success and is touted as being extremely talented. The seduction of success and positive validation can change both your child's and your original expectations, for better or worse.

In all the excitement - complete with visions of scholarships and professional contracts - it's important to have perspective. At the end of the day, you have to remember that you're child is human. Therefore, as important as it is to encourage their athletic successes, it is vitally important to give them the best opportunity to grow as a well-rounded person.

Celebrating and encouraging this success is an outstanding thing to do! Your child might be offered better coaching, receive invitations to train and play with the best athletes their age. If you're able to open these doors for your kids, that is outstanding and encouraged.

This is why I like to focus on the entirety of the athlete. It's critical that your young athlete grow their emotional and social understanding and capabilities in order to experience continued success in their sport... and their full life to come.

I look forward to the opportunity to work with you and your athlete, and encourage you to reach out asap, to explore ideas of how that may work.

Contact Me