One-on-One Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes
Mental Training Matched to Your Sport
MindBalanceSPORT provides personalized 1:1 mental performance coaching matched to your sport, competitive level, and goals. Sessions help you practice focus, confidence, and composure for competition. Coaching is available in person or online.
What Are Individual Sessions?
Individual sessions at MindBalanceSPORT are one-on-one mental performance coaching for youth, high school, collegiate, and elite athletes, matched to the athlete’s sport and built on The MBS Approach. Each athlete works with a mental performance coach (sometimes called a mindset or mental skills coach) who knows their competitive context. Coaching starts with the MBS Mindset Assessment and tracks progress on skills like managing pre-competition nerves, staying focused in big moments, and building confidence under pressure. MBS was founded by a licensed clinical psychologist and a licensed professional counselor, and our coaching team includes Certified Mental Performance Consultants (CMPC). Sessions are in person in McLean, VA and Plano, TX, or online nationwide.
What Does 1:1 Mental Skills Coaching Include?
A coach matched to you: MindBalanceSPORT considers your sport, competitive level, goals, and location when assigning a coach.
The MBS Mindset Assessment: The assessment establishes a baseline that guides your coaching plan.
A personalized plan: Sessions address the performance goals and mental skills most relevant to you.
Measurable progress: Your coach revisits the baseline and reviews how well you apply each skill in training and competition.
Support that fits your schedule: Sessions are available in person in McLean or Plano and online nationwide to accommodate training and travel.
Sports and Athletes We Coach One-on-One
MindBalanceSPORT coaches youth, high school, collegiate, and elite athletes in individual and team sports. The core mental skills are the same across sports — focus, confidence, and composure under pressure — but how they show up depends on the sport, so every athlete is matched with a coach who understands their competitive context.
| Sport | What athletes often work on 1:1 |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Resetting between pitches, working through slumps, and staying confident after an error |
| Basketball | Composure at the free-throw line and confidence after a cold shooting stretch |
| Volleyball | Next-point mentality and productive self-talk between rallies |
| Tennis | Resetting between points and staying composed in close matches |
| Gymnastics | Managing competition nerves and refocusing after a fall or mistake |
| Running & endurance | Race-day self-doubt and staying focused when it gets hard |
Don’t see your sport? We coach athletes across many more. Tell us at your consultation and we’ll match you with the right coach.
Meet Your Mental Performance Coaches
Many of our coaches are former collegiate, elite, or professional athletes and experienced coaches, so they know what athletes carry into big moments.
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Paula Castro, M.S., CMPC
Certified Mental Performance Consultant
Former NCAA Division I and Division III athlete and 2016 NCAA champion with Emory University.
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Brady Dinnsen, M.S., CMPC
Certified Mental Performance Consultant
Played volleyball at the University of Arizona and semi-pro beach volleyball; has worked as a mental performance coach and resilience trainer with the U.S. Army.
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Raven Gerald, M.A.
Mental performance coach (CMPC-in-progress)
Former Division I and Division II basketball player with eight years of college basketball coaching and more than a decade working with youth athletes.
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Matt Mascio, M.S.
Mental performance coach (CMPC-in-progress)
Former NCAA Division I baseball player at UC Davis; has worked within the athletics departments at Claremont McKenna and Pomona-Pitzer.
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Ben Kaplan, M.S.
Mental performance coach
Former collegiate baseball player and NCAA and high school coach.
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John M. Howard, M.A., LPC
Mental performance coach and Licensed Professional Counselor
Played high school basketball, baseball, and football; founded a mental skills summer camp for young baseball players.
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Dr. Junko Araki, EdD, LCPC, LPC, BC-DMT
Mental performance coach (CMPC-in-progress)
Focuses on the mind-body connection and coaches athletes of all ages in English and Japanese.
What Athletes Work On in 1:1 Sessions
The Five-Stage Framework
Coach Match & Consultation
Matched by sport, needs, and location.
MBS Mindset Assessment
Skills Training
Integration into Sport
Optimization & Refinement
Training Pathways
Performance Package
Ideal for athletes with a defined, near-term performance goal.
- One-on-one MBS coach
- Learn visualization and focus control
- Manage performance stress and work through mental blocks
- Integrated assessment feedback and measurable progress tracking
Mastery Package
Designed for athletes committed to comprehensive mental performance transformation.
- One-on-one MBS coach
- Complete five-stage MBS Approach
- Master visualization and focus control
- Manage performance stress and work through mental blocks
- Integrated assessment feedback and measurable progress tracking
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens in your first session with MindBalanceSPORT?
In your first session, your mental performance coach walks through your MBS Mindset Assessment results, introduces The MBS Approach, and begins goal-setting with you. You’ll leave with a clear objective for your mental performance work and the specific steps you’ll take toward it.
How long does it take to see results from mental performance coaching?
Many athletes notice a shift in how they mentally approach pressure, setbacks, and focus by around the third or fourth session, as new habits begin to take hold. Results vary by individual, and sustained improvement comes from continued practice in competition — at MindBalanceSPORT we support progress rather than guaranteeing specific outcomes.
How Can Coaching Address Lost Focus During Competition?
MindBalanceSPORT coaches use attentional-control exercises, pre-competition routines, and reset techniques to help athletes practice bringing their attention back to the next relevant cue — the next pitch, point, or play — instead of the last mistake or the scoreboard. Athletes rehearse these skills in sessions, then test them in training and competition, with the goal of making refocusing a habit when the pressure is on.
How Does Coaching Address Pressure in Competition?
MindBalanceSPORT may use productive self-talk, arousal-regulation strategies, and attentional-control exercises to address performance anxiety and pressure. Athletes practice these skills in sessions and apply them during training or competition. Coaching develops performance skills, but it does not guarantee a particular outcome or replace clinical mental health care.
Do you offer one-on-one coaching for high school athletes with performance anxiety?
Yes. Youth and adolescent athletes are a core specialization at MindBalanceSPORT, and many come to us for pre-competition nerves or pressure in big moments. Coaching builds skills like breathing and arousal regulation, productive self-talk, and pre-competition routines, matched to the athlete’s sport and age. If signs point to a clinical concern, support is available through the practice’s licensed mental health professionals or by referral to an appropriate provider.
Does MindBalanceSPORT work with my athlete's sport?
Most likely. MindBalanceSPORT coaches athletes in baseball, basketball, volleyball, tennis, gymnastics, running, and many other sports, and matches each athlete with a coach based on their sport, goals, and competitive level. Several of our coaches competed or coached in college, including in baseball, basketball, and volleyball, and every coach works on skills like focus, visualization, stress regulation, and composure within the athlete’s competitive context.
Does MindBalanceSPORT Offer Virtual Mental Performance Coaching?
Yes. MindBalanceSPORT offers secure, HIPAA-compliant virtual mental performance coaching nationwide, along with in-person sessions in McLean, VA and Plano, TX. Virtual sessions follow the same five-stage MBS Approach and can accommodate athletes whose training, competition, or travel makes regular office visits difficult.
How long does a typical program last?
Program length depends on your goals. Our Performance Package (6 sessions plus the MBS Mindset Assessment) targets a specific, near-term challenge, while our Mastery Package (12 sessions plus the assessment) delivers the complete five-stage MBS Approach for comprehensive development. Many MindBalanceSPORT athletes continue with periodic check-ins afterward.
Will mental performance coaching conflict with what my athlete's current coach teaches?
No — it complements a coach’s work rather than replacing it. We help athletes actually apply what their sport coaches teach when it matters most, by strengthening focus, composure, and confidence in competition. Many coaches encourage their athletes to work with a mental performance coach, and MindBalanceSPORT works as a complement to an athlete’s existing coaching, medical, and training support.
How Does MindBalanceSPORT Match an Athlete With a Coach?
MindBalanceSPORT matches each athlete with a mental performance coach based on their sport, competitive level, goals, and whether they want in-person or virtual sessions. Many of our coaches are former collegiate, elite, or professional athletes and experienced coaches, so athletes work with someone who understands their competitive context. Matching happens at the consultation, before the MBS Mindset Assessment.
How is progress measured during mental performance coaching?
MindBalanceSPORT begins with the MBS Mindset Assessment and uses its baseline to focus the coaching plan. Athlete and coach then review how skills hold up in sessions, training, and competition. Later progress reviews revisit the baseline to identify what the athlete applies consistently, what needs adjustment, and which goal comes next.
How is mental performance coaching different from therapy?
Mental performance coaching builds the psychological skills behind competitive performance, such as visualization, attentional focus, and stress management. It isn’t psychotherapy. Because MindBalanceSPORT includes licensed mental health professionals, clinical support is available when an athlete needs it, either in-house or by referral to an appropriate provider.
How do we get started?
Schedule a consultation or start with the MBS Mindset Assessment. Reach us by phone or email, or through the form on the site, and we’ll match your athlete with the right coach.
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Start 1:1 with MindBalanceSPORT
We are a private-pay practice and do not bill insurance. If an athlete has a suspected or existing mental health diagnosis, the practice’s licensed psychologist can evaluate them and, where appropriate, provide invoicing for that clinical portion, case by case.