What is Mental Skills Training (MST)?
Similarly to the training you do to work on your technical skills and fitness, MST allows you to train to improve your mental skills. Specifically, working with a sport psychology professional provides you with:
- a setting to explore and develop your self-awareness of your athletic performances and overall sports participation.
- a variety of mental game tools that help you improve your focus, self-talk, ability to handle pressure, recovery from making a mistake, visualization, build confidence, set goals, stay motivated, and develop a pre-performance routine.
- the opportunity to talk to somebody neutral about issues that may arise in the sports setting ex. relationship with coaches, balancing school and sports participation, coping with expectations.
Q & A...
Question: I'm interested! How can I start working on my mental game?
Answer: Mark is available to work with you one-on-one. Initial sessions focus mainly on getting to know you as an athlete, assessing and understanding your mental game needs. A tailored MST program is designed for you to ensure you are developing in the areas you need to strengthen most. As an athlete you are constantly evolving. The MST program includes ongoing assessment to ensure that it is in sync with your progress.
Question: Are the sessions carried out in person?
Answer: Mark is based in West Los Angeles, CA. If you are, therefore, located in Los Angeles or are willing to travel to Los Angeles, sessions can be in person.
Question: I live outside Los Angeles or overseas; can I still do the mental skills training sessions?
Answer: Yes! If you are living outside LA, sessions will be carried out online by doing a Zoom video call. Some athletes living in LA sometimes still choose to Skype to eliminate travel time.
Question: How many sessions are recommended?
Mark recommends athletes sign up for a package of 10 sessions. This enables a complete assessment to be made and a tailored MST program to be implemented. It also allows time to make adjustments as you evolve in your training. Clients do however have the option of signing up on a session-to-session basis.