About Success Starts Within
Success Starts Within provides sport psychology resources to athletes and performers looking to improve their mental game. Success Starts Within offers 1-1 mental performance coaching and mental training courses to help you build confidence, mental toughness, and all the mental skills you need to elevate your performance. We also provide many free resources, including weekly articles, podcasts, and videos that cover sport psychology topics to help you master the mental game. No matter your sport, skill level, or financial ability, you will find the mental training resources you need here at Success Starts Within.
Mission Statement
Make mental training and sport psychology accessible, affordable, and achieveable to all athletes.
Eli Straw, M.S. - Mental Game Coach
Eli is a mental game coach and the founder of Success Starts Within. He holds a Master’s Degree in psychology with a sport psychology specialization. He has worked one-on-one with athletes from 6 different continents and over ten different countries on building a stronger mental game.
Eli has extensive experience coaching, teaching, and consulting with professional, elite, college, high school, middle school, and youth athletes. Eli also has experience playing baseball at the collegiate and professional levels.
Eli works with athletes of all sports and all levels and is a current member of the AASP.
Founder of Success Starts Within, LLC
Sports Psychology Articles
5 Traits of Mentally Tough Athletes
Quick Summary:
- Mentally tough athletes manage their thoughts and return to a productive mindset when negativity or frustration shows up.
- They stay present instead of becoming distracted by worries, previous mistakes, or what other people might be thinking.
- They trust their preparation and allow themselves to play naturally rather than trying to control every result.
- They respond well to mistakes by keeping their composure, resetting quickly, and continuing to trust themselves.
- They avoid labeling entire games as good or bad and instead recognize both the positives and the areas they can learn from.
Mental Routine to Build Confidence in Sports
Quick Summary:
- Confidence is not something you either have or don’t have—it is something you build.
- A daily confidence routine should include self-talk, visualization, and mindfulness meditation.
- A pregame confidence routine should focus on remembering past successes and setting controllable goals.
- A postgame confidence routine should evaluate both what went well and what can be improved.
- Confidence grows when you consistently train your thoughts, focus, and preparation.
How to Stop Overthinking When You’re Playing Well
Quick Summary:
- When athletes start playing well, they often begin thinking, “I hope I can keep this up,” which can lead to overthinking and forcefulness.
- Trying to hold on to good performance often pulls you away from the mindset that created the success in the first place.
- You do not need to do anything new or special to continue playing well—trust what has already been working.
- Take responsibility for your success instead of viewing it as luck or something outside your control.
- Stay focused on the present moment rather than worrying about future results or protecting what you’ve already accomplished.
4 Tips to Play Without Fear in Sports
If you’ve ever felt nervous before a game, worried about making mistakes, afraid of letting people down, or hesitant to trust yourself in competition, you’re
How to Mentally Prepare for a Big Game
Whether it’s a playoff game, your first varsity start, a college showcase, a championship match, or a game in front of scouts, big games can
How to Use Your Mental Game to Improve Athletic Performance
Have you ever had a game where you knew you were physically prepared, but you still didn’t play your best? You practiced hard all week.
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