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Sports Psychology/ Sports Counselling

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Sports Psychology/ Sports Counselling

Empowering Athletes in their Mental Health and Mental Game

Areas of Expertise

  • Professional experience as an athlete, coach, and counsellor. 
  • Personal experience as a National Champion and NCAA D1 goaltender and coach
  • Family experience of professional athletes
  • Someone who has been there as an athlete, coach, and now mental health professional specializing in working with athletes, coaches, and teams to enhance their competition performance.
  • Unique personal and professional experience to support athlete’s in their unique stressors for a strong mental health and mental game.
  • From personal experience as an elite athlete (back to back National Championships, USA Olympic Development Program, NCAA Division 1 athlete at Ohio State) and elite coach (Ohio State, University of British Columbia, Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy, & Elite Goalies) 
  • to professional experience with athletes across sports from recreational, High Performance, Junior/Major Junior, University NCAA and USport, Professional, National and Olympic team levels.
  • Partner with Canadian Sport Institute, Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, Pacific Sport Okanagan, UBCO, UBC, Okanagan College, Kelowna Minor Hockey, Thompson Okanagan Football Club, Thompson Okanagan Lakers Hockey Club, WHL Academy, events with NHL players Jordin Tootoo, Quintin Laing, Wade Redden, & Josh Gorges.
  • Studies show that athletes who use these sports psychology techniques are 9-10x more successful than those who do not. Why not get a leg up–or mind up– on your competition and become the best you? These mental skills do not just improve your game, but they are life skills you have long after the season is over.
  • Who wouldn’t want to be more confident? More consistent? Manage stress better? Set and stick to goals? Increase your ability to problem solve? Develop character, integrity, and leadership skills? Become mentally tougher and more resilient? Theses skills can help you lead well in your sport, school, work, relationships, and life.
  • Sport is in my DNA: my grandfather was a professional baseball player, my father was an elite dual-sport athlete and Sports Medicine Specialist/Orthopaedic Surgeon for professional sports teams. I even met my hockey-player husband while working a hockey camp, which was started by his hockey-playing father. My son was even born on the day the Chicago Cubs –one of my grandfather’s teams–ended their 108-year World Series drought.
  • I believe sport is a microcosm of life. We learn to manage stresses and time, work together, stay motivated, communicate, perform under pressure, and build resilience.

Replace Pressure Thoughts like “I better score,” “I hope I don’t screw up”, or “Don’t Lose the Puck” thoughts with Power Thoughts.

Issues you may be having

  • Who believes improving your physical strength & health will make you a better athlete? Most of us. 
  • How many of us do that? Again, most of us.
  • How do you do that? You probably work with a trusted strength and conditioning coach, stick to a workout program, watch what you eat, and get enough rest. 
  • Who believes improving your mental strength & mental health will make you a better athlete? Most of us.
  • How many of us do that? 
  • How do you do that?

How I can help

The last two questions are often left unanswered, because we don’t know how. Just as we work with a strength coach to get stronger and faster to improve our performance as an athlete, it can help to work with a mental coach to improve your game and overall health.  Especially someone who has been there as an athlete and coach, who has personally benefited from these sports psychology strategies, and is a mental health professional specializing in working with athletes. 

As a player and coach, I saw that athletes believed in the importance of improving their mental health and that improving their mental game could help them perform better in their sport. However, athletes did not know exactly how to do this, thus they were still lacking in performance, confidence, consistency, and enjoyment of their sport. That is why I am passionate about using my personal and professional experience to help you implement practical and powerful strategies to perform better in your sport and enhance your overall wellbeing in your life. 

Mental Strength, Mental Skills, and Mental Health, are just as important
as Physical Strength, Skills, and Health!

The reason? To be the best you as a hockey player and person. These sports psychology strategies can translate out of your sport into other arenas of your life, long after the season is over. For example, who wouldn’t want to be able to handle stress and pressure more effectively? Bounce back quicker after a set back? Rise to the occasion of tryouts or the big game vs. collapsing under pressure? Do not let the negative self-talk, doubt, worry or overthinking weigh on you robbing you of your confidence and enjoyment. Instead, replace it with power thoughts to help build confidence and consistency! Like the athletes above, you may agree this area–the mental game– is important, but you may be stuck on the how do I do this? I would love to help.

I work with athletes to create practical, personalized Mental Workouts they can do before practices and games to enhance consistency, confidence, and performance. Just as we have a physical pre-game warm up routine, we need to have a mental routine to warm up our mind and “get in the zone.”

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Common concerns among athletes

As a counsellor, and in working with athletes, the #1 thing I treat is some sort of anxiety or performance anxiety. Athletes have unique pressures and stressors. Common concerns among athletes are:

  • What is the best way to prepare for games? 
  • How can I play like I practice?
  • How do I not collapse under pressure?
  • How do I come back from injury?
  • How do I enjoy myself more? 
  • How do I replace negative self-talk instead of rehashing mistakes and getting down on myself? 
  • What can I say to myself to help me play better?
  • How do I keep myself ready when I haven’t  been getting a lot of ice time? And how do I make the most of the chances I am given?
  • How do I become more confident and more consistent?
  • What can I do to become more mentally tougher and more resilient? 
  • How can players use visualization, imagery, performance statements, and breathing to maximize performance and calm nerves?
These are strategies that can help in other arenas of life, not just sport. Who wouldn’t want to live their life more like that? 

Having a consistent routine is foundational to a strong mental health and mental game. It is how confidence and consistency can grow, elevating your performance to the next level. 

These mental skills are just like physical skills; they take time, consistency, and repetition. They may not come naturally at first. Just like working with a strength coach to get stronger to improve your health and game, you may consider working with a mental coach to improve your mental health and mental game— which will help improve your performance as an athlete and your overall wellbeing. If you want personalized help in this, or any area of your mental health or mental game, please contact me:

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Replace doubts, nerves, overthinking and overcome performance anxiety with confidence, consistency, and routine.

Have you ever wanted to

  • Improve confidence?
  • Become more consistent in game play?
  • Learn how to prepare for games
  • Work on self-talk so that a bad play does not become a bad shift, bad game, and bad string of games?
  • Work on resilience and bounce back quicker and stronger?

Think better. Feel better. Play better.

Get help with:

  • Your mental game to improve Confidence, Consistency, Enjoyment, Improved Performance in Sport, and Overall Wellbeing in Life
  • Pre-game Preparation
  • Personalized and practical Mental Workout routines to use before practices and games
  • Sports Psychology strategies of Visualization, Breathing techniques, Positive Self-Talk and Power Thoughts to calm nerves, manage stress, get “in the zone”, and enhance performance
  • Replacing doubts, nerves, overthinking, and overcome performance anxiety with confidence, consistency, and routine

Individual Sessions and Team Sessions available
(Online and In Person)

Email me at [email protected] to speak to your Team

or Book your individual session here:

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Proud to Work With

Testimonials

What separates the good from the great is between the ears, the way you talk to yourself, your inside communication  (Guimond, 2017)

 

The game is 10% physical and 90% mental” – Mark Messier

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Sports Psychology/ Sports Counselling

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Counselling

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Coaching and Consulting

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Speaking Events

For your comfort & convenience, I offer flexible hours including weekends, evenings, & phone or online sessions. Please note: Session rates are $125/hour. Extended health care benefit plans typically cover care with a “Registered Clinical Counsellor.” However, please check with your provider for details.

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