Mental Performance Coaching & Sport Psychology for Athletes Who Want to Perform With Confidence
Build the mental skills that separate good athletes from great ones.
Success Starts Within provides 1-on-1 mental performance coaching, team mental training programs, and structured online courses that help athletes overcome fear, manage performance anxiety, and compete freely under pressure.
Click below to learn more about the 1-on-1 mental performance coaching program.
The Only Thing Between You and Consistent Success Is Your Mind
You train your body. You practice your skills.
But if fear of failure, second-guessing, or pressure show up during games, your mental game needs training.
Through applied sport psychology principles, and structured mental performance coaching, athletes learn to:
Stop second-guessing
Build repeatable pre-performance routines
Perform freely under pressure
What Does Mental Performance Coaching Improve?
Mental performance coaching develops the core psychological skills that allow athletes to translate preparation into performance. These are not personality traits, they are trainable mental skills that improve through structured mental training and applied sport psychology.
Confidence
Build stable self-trust rooted in preparation rather than results. Athletes learn how to trust their training, stay assertive during competition, and recover quickly after mistakes.
Focus & Concentration
Develop the ability to control attention before and during competition. Athletes learn how to stay locked into the present moment, refocus after distractions, and maintain consistency under pressure.
Emotional Control
Learn how to regulate nerves, pressure, and emotional reactions during games. Instead of fighting anxiety, athletes develop tools to stay composed and perform freely.
Resilience After Mistakes
Mistakes are inevitable in sport. Mental training helps athletes reset quickly, avoid emotional spirals, and stay engaged in competition after setbacks.
Positive Self-Talk
Take control of internal dialogue before and during competition. Athletes learn how to reduce negative thinking, stop overanalysis, and use self-talk to reinforce confidence and execution.
Mental Toughness
Mental toughness is built through confidence, emotional control, resilience, and focus — not motivation alone. Athletes develop the ability to stay composed, aggressive, and committed under pressure.
1-on-1 Mental Performance Coaching
The most effective way to develop elite mental skills is through personalized coaching grounded in applied sport psychology and structured mental performance training.
Through weekly one-on-one sessions, athletes:
Complete a detailed mental performance assessment
Build a personalized mental training plan
Develop pre-game and in-game routines
Strengthen confidence, focus, and composure under pressure
Receive ongoing accountability, guidance, and feedback
This is not generic mindset advice. It is applied sport psychology and performance-based mental training built specifically around your mindset, your sport, and your competitive environment.
Not Ready For 1-1 Coaching? Check out one of our self-paced online courses.
The Confident Competitor Academy
The Confident Competitor Academy is a structured 6-week mental training course designed to help athletes build confidence, reduce fear, and perform more freely in competition.
Many athletes understand what they should do mentally, but struggle to apply it consistently in games. This course provides a clear, step-by-step system that teaches you how to train your mindset the same way you train your physical skills.
Inside the program, athletes learn how to:
Let go of fear of failure and fear of mistakes
Build real, repeatable confidence rooted in preparation
Improve self-talk and reduce negative thinking
Stay present and focused during competition
Manage pressure and avoid overthinking
Play freely instead of holding back
The course includes structured lessons, guided mental training exercises, and practical tools you can apply directly to your sport.
This is a great starting point for athletes who want guided mental training at their own pace, and it can also serve as a strong foundation before moving into personalized one-on-one mental performance coaching.
The Mentally Tough Kid – Mental Training for Young Athletes
If you’re a parent looking to help your child build confidence, handle pressure, and enjoy their sport more, the Mentally Tough Kid program provides a simple, structured introduction to mental training for young athletes.
This program helps young athletes learn how to:
Build confidence and self-belief
Manage nerves and performance anxiety
Let go of mistakes and frustration
Develop positive self-talk
Stay focused and enjoy competing
The goal is not just better performance, but a healthier relationship with competition, confidence, and growth.
This program is a great starting point for younger athletes and can also serve as a foundation before moving into one-on-one mental performance coaching.
Team Mental Performance Coaching
In addition to one-on-one coaching, we offer a structured 12-week mental coaching program for teams designed to help coaches build stronger, more resilient competitors across their entire roster.
This program goes beyond motivation or one-time workshops. It provides a clear, progressive mental training system that teams implement throughout the season.
The team program focuses on developing:
Leadership and accountability within the locker room
Emotional control and composure under pressure
Clear, confident communication during games
Faster recovery after mistakes
A consistent mental approach across the team
Through structured sessions and practical implementation strategies, teams learn how to translate preparation into confident performance, especially when the stakes are high.
This approach is ideal for coaches who want their athletes to stop tightening up in big moments, improve consistency in games, and respond better to adversity as a unit.
Eli Straw, M.S. - Mental Performance Coach
Master’s Degree in Psychology (Sport Psychology specialization)
Member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)
Former collegiate and semi-professional baseball player
Mental performance coach for professional, elite, collegiate, high school, and youth athletes
Eli has worked with athletes across multiple countries and competitive levels, helping competitors from youth to professional ranks strengthen their mental game and perform with greater consistency under pressure.
He combines applied sport psychology principles with real competitive experience to help athletes translate preparation into confident performance.
Mental performance coaching isn’t theory. It’s applied sport psychology tools and techniques for real competition.
Meet Your Coach
Free Sport Psychology & Mental Performance Resources
Success Starts Within is a leading resource for sport psychology education and applied mental performance training for athletes of all sports and competitive levels.
In addition to one-on-one coaching and structured programs, we publish consistent educational content designed to help athletes strengthen their mental game independently.
New articles, videos, and podcast episodes are published regularly to help athletes stay mentally sharp throughout their season.
You can explore:
These resources cover topics such as:
Fear of failure in sports
Performance anxiety and nerves
Confidence building
Mental toughness
Pre-performance routines
Self-talk and thought control
Playing under pressure
Recovering from mistakes
- Step-by-step mental game strategies for competition
Recent Sport Psychology Articles
The Right Way to Use Visualization Before a Game (And the Mistakes to Avoid)
About Success Starts Within LLC
Success Starts Within is dedicated to helping athletes strengthen their mental game through applied sport psychology and structured mental training programs.
We offer:
- 1-on-1 mental performance coaching
- Team mental performance coaching
- Online mental training courses
- Free sport psychology education
Our mission is to make mental training accessible, affordable, and achievable for athletes of all sports and all levels.
Whether you struggle with
- Fear of failure
- Sports performance anxiety
- Low confidence
- Trouble moving on from mistakes
- Negative self-talk
- Or overthinking
You’ll find practical, structured mental training tools here.
Mission Statement
Make mental training and sport psychology accessible, affordable, and achievable to all athletes.
Sport Psychology & Mental Performance Definitions
Mental Performance Coach
A mental performance coach works with athletes to strengthen the psychological skills that influence competition, including confidence, focus, emotional control, and resilience. Rather than providing therapy, a mental performance coach applies sport psychology principles to help athletes perform consistently under pressure and translate preparation into game-day execution.
Sport Psychology
Sport psychology is the study and application of psychological principles to athletic performance. It focuses on how thoughts, emotions, motivation, and behavior impact performance in training and competition. Applied sport psychology helps athletes manage pressure, build confidence, and develop mental skills that improve consistency and composure.
Performance Anxiety
Performance anxiety in sports refers to the nervousness, fear, or pressure athletes experience before or during competition. While some nerves are normal, excessive anxiety can lead to overthinking, hesitation, and underperformance. Mental training strategies help athletes manage anxiety so it enhances focus instead of disrupting execution.
Peak Performance
Peak performance is the ability to perform at or near your highest potential during competition. It occurs when confidence, focus, emotional control, and preparation align. Peak performance is not accidental — it is developed through consistent mental and physical training.
Mental Toughness
Mental toughness is the ability to stay composed, confident, and focused under pressure. It includes resilience after mistakes, emotional regulation during adversity, and the discipline to stay committed to process over outcomes. Mental toughness is not a personality trait — it is a skill set that can be trained and strengthened over time.
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