Sports Psychology Coaching for Athletes

Athletes rarely struggle because they lack talent or work ethic. More often, performance drops when pressure hijacks attention—confidence dips, focus scatters, and one mistake turns into three.

Strong & Connected offers sports psychology–informed coaching (mental performance coaching) to help athletes build repeatable mental skills for competition and training:

• confidence under pressure
• focus and composure in key moments
• performance anxiety (pre-game nerves, fear of mistakes)
• resilient bounce-back after errors
• routines that make performance more consistent

This is skills-based, practical coaching—built around what sport psychology organizations recognize as core mental performance domains (goal-setting, self-talk, attentional control, emotional regulation, and resilience). (Association for Applied Sport Psychology)

Delivery: virtual coaching across British Columbia and Ontario (and beyond).

👉 Book a Strong & Connected consultation
Proven method. Results oriented. Safe and empowering.

Golf, tennis, combat sports, endurance sports, strength sports—if you’re searching:

• “how do I stop choking under pressure”
• “how do I calm nerves before competition”
• “how do I stay focused”
  …this work is designed for you.

Basketball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball—especially if you want:

• fast resets after mistakes
• consistent confidence and communication
• steadier emotion and decision-making under pressure

Hockey is a perfect “mental game” sport: speed, contact, constant mistakes, and short shifts create nonstop opportunities to tilt—especially after a turnover, a missed assignment, or a soft goal.

We train mental performance skills that map directly onto hockey realities, including:

• shift-to-shift recovery routines (reset before your next shift)
• constructive self-talk after mistakes (no spirals, no shame loops)
• focus cues to keep your job simple (one role, one read, one action)
• composure under pressure (tight games, penalty kill, shootouts)

Hockey Canada has emphasized that cultivating mental performance (e.g., self-talk, focusing techniques, deliberate practice) should be integrated into everyday drills and recovery moments—not treated as a separate “extra.” (Hockey Canada)

For the broader mental health side of sport, the IOC consensus statement highlights that mental health symptoms and disorders can affect elite athletes and performance—reinforcing the value of having a clear pathway for support when needed. (British Journal of Sports Medicine)

We identify your pattern:

• what triggers pressure
• what your mind does next (overthinking, rushing, catastrophizing, anger, shutdown)
• what your body does (tightness, shallow breathing, tunnel vision)
• what your behavior does (avoidance, playing safe, forcing plays, losing discipline)

You’ll build skills you can practice like any other:

• attention control (anchors, cue words, target focus)
• confidence training (process goals + behavioral evidence)
• pressure training (practice reps that simulate competition)
• mindfulness/acceptance tools for staying effective while nervous

Recent research syntheses and meta-analytic work suggest mindfulness training can improve athletes’ sport performance and related psychological variables, though effects vary across sports and programs. (Frontiers)

Even elite athletes don’t perform in a vacuum. Performance is shaped by:

• coach/athlete communication
• parent/partner stress and conflict
• team trust and repair
• shame and self-criticism after mistakes

Strong & Connected brings a relationship-skills-forward lens: we help you build the inner stability (and relational stability) that protects performance.

• “I get nervous and play tight”
• “I overthink and choke in big moments”
• “I can’t reset after mistakes”
• “I need a pre-game routine that actually works”
• “I want confidence that doesn’t disappear under pressure”
• “I’m inconsistent—practice is great, competition isn’t”

Strong & Connected provides coaching, not diagnosis or mental health treatment.
If you need clinical care (e.g., panic disorder, depression, trauma, eating disorder concerns), we’ll encourage you to work with an appropriately licensed clinician.

If you’re comparing providers, the Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC) credential (through AASP) is a widely recognized standard in mental performance consulting, and AASP maintains information about certification and a directory. (Association for Applied Sport Psychology)

If you want a structured mental performance plan—confidence, focus, composure, flow skills, and bounce-back after mistakes—book a consult.

Book a consult and we’ll build your:

• pre-performance routine
• reset protocol after mistakes
• pressure training plan
• weekly mental skills practice schedule

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• AASP CMPC certification + directory (Association for Applied Sport Psychology)
• IOC consensus statement on mental health in elite athletes (British Journal of Sports Medicine)
• Hockey Canada article on integrating mental skills into practice (Hockey Canada)

Is this “sports psychology” or “mental performance coaching”?
This is coaching focused on performance skills (focus, confidence, routines, pressure response). For diagnosis/treatment of mental health conditions, work with a licensed clinician. The CMPC credential is one recognized standard in mental performance consulting. (Association for Applied Sport Psychology)

Does mindfulness actually help performance?
Meta-analytic research suggests mindfulness training can improve sport performance and related outcomes, with variability by sport and intervention. (Frontiers)

Can you help hockey players specifically?
Yes—hockey is high-speed and mistake-dense, so we train shift-to-shift resets, self-talk, focus cues, and composure under pressure. Hockey Canada has highlighted self-talk and focusing techniques as practical mental performance skills that can be reinforced continuously in training. (Hockey Canada)

Is virtual coaching effective?
For many athletes, virtual delivery is ideal for consistency, scheduling, and ongoing practice review (video, routines, debriefs).

- Association for Applied Sport Psychology. (n.d.). Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC) certification. (Association for Applied Sport Psychology)

- Association for Applied Sport Psychology. (n.d.). Find a CMPC directory. (Association for Applied Sport Psychology)

- Hockey Canada. (2024, September 21). Beyond physical skills: Skating, passing and shooting are important, but so too is cultivating mental performance in young athletes. (Hockey Canada)

- Reardon, C. L., et al. (2019). Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(11), 667–699. (British Journal of Sports Medicine)

- Si, X.-W., et al. (2024). A meta-analysis of the intervention effect of mindfulness training on athletes’ performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1375608. (Frontiers)