MENTAL PERFORMANCE COACHING
THE MENTAL GAME IS THE MISSING EDGE MOST PLAYERS NEVER TOUCH
Skill gets players to the door. The mental game decides who walks through it. After 20+ years working with players at every level, I've built a system that actually develops it.
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Why Talented Athletes Still Struggle to Perform Consistently
And what we’ve been missing in athlete development.
Why most mental game training produces zero results in game situations
The 5 beliefs that separate developed players from talented ones
What coaches, parents, and players each get wrong ... and what to do about it
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THE NEW MENTAL TOUGHNESS IN SPORTS
WHAT WE GET WRONG ABOUT MENTAL TOUGHNESS
This isn't a pep talk. It's a position statement built on 20 years of pattern recognition working inside real competitive environments. Download it. Read it. If it changes how you think about development, we're probably going to work well together.
01
Mental toughness is not a personality trait. It's a skill.
You build it the same way you build any other skill ... with awareness, structure, and repetition.
02
Generic mental advice is not mental training.
Telling a player to "believe in yourself" without knowing how that player is wired is not coaching. It's noise
03
If it doesn't show up in a game, it doesn't matter.
Every tool, every framework, and concept I build has to work under pressure in real competition ... not just when the game is easy
04
Talent gets wasted when the mental game is ignored.
I've watched too many skilled players stall because no one treated the mental game as a development priority
05
Coaches, players, and parents each play a different role ... and need to know how to optimize it
The manifesto breaks down what each one gets wrong and what to do instead
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THE MENTAL GAME MANIFESTO
20 years of hard-learned truths about how the mental game actually works ... written in plain language, no jargon. The full manifesto goes deeper on each of these beliefs and gives you a direct framework for where to start.
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THE REAL PROBLEM
SKILL ALONE DOESN'T WIN GAMES
Players spend thousands of hours on ice time, skating drills, and skill development. Almost none spend a single hour on the mental game ... not because they don't value it, but because no one has given them a real system for it.
That gap closes careers. The mental game isn't soft. It's the separator coaches watch for at every level.
WHAT HOLDS MOST PLAYERS BACK
They can't access their skills when the pressure is real
One bad play turns into a bad game ... rumination running the game
They can't manage their compete-level ... or be able to raise it on demand
They don't know what kind of impact they actually make on a team
Their inner voice is coaching them against themselves
Coaches and parents add pressure they think is motivation
THE FOUNDATION
KNOW YOUR PLAYERTYPE.
COACH TO IT.
Every program in this system starts with PlayerType. Before you can develop the mental game, you have to understand how that player is actually wired ... how they process pressure, respond to failure, compete, and lead.
Four types. 15 attributes across Drive, Grit, and Mental Acuity. Once you know your type, the coaching gets specific instead of generic.
PLAYER & TEAM PROGRAMS
FOUR FORMULAS
ESSENTIAL PARTS OF THE MENTAL GAME
Once you know your PlayerType, these four programs build the specific mental skills that show up in competition.
preview several clips
Most players think they're competing at a 4. My experience is they are actually competing closer to 3. That gap is where players stall.
The CLF uses a precise 5-level scale (Passive through Relentless) to measure compete level player by player. Then it gives you the tools to build it. Not through hype or slogans. Through wiring-specific development that actually changes behavior in competition.
preview several clips
The enemy is rumination ... the loop of replaying the turnover, the missed shot, the bad period. Rumination is not accountability. It's attention locked in the past while the game keeps moving.
The BBF replaces that loop with a 4-step reset process: Recognize, Own It, Reset, Next. It's built on how each PlayerType actually ruminates ... and gives every player a specific, personal reset they can execute in real time.
preview several clips
An Impact Player is a player that coaches trust without hesitation, teammates play harder around, and opponents genuinely don't want to face. Impact players are the ones who stand out and move up in their sport.
The IPF identifies the 6 observable behaviors that define it ... role clarity, competitive availability, consistency under pressure, emotional intelligence, coachability, and resilience ... and builds them type by type.
preview several clips
The enemy is autopilot: reacting to the play before you've read it. Most players look at the right thing at the wrong moment, or at the wrong thing entirely. The decision is late or off before the body moves.
The CIF trains a 3-step sequence: Read, Decide, React. It's built on where each PlayerType actually puts their attention under pressure, and gives every player a specific, personal way to redirect it in real time.
preview several clips
preview several clips
Most players think they're competing at a 4. My experience is they are actually competing closer to 3. That gap is where players stall.
The CLF uses a precise 5-level scale (Passive through Relentless) to measure compete level player by player. Then it gives you the tools to build it. Not through hype or slogans. Through wiring-specific development that actually changes behavior in competition.
5-level Compete-Dial with individual player results
PlayerType-specific activation. Compete-Level looks different per type
30-day Compete Challenge to lock in the habits
The enemy is rumination ... the loop of replaying the turnover, the missed shot, the bad period. Rumination is not accountability. It's attention locked in the past while the game keeps moving.
The BBF replaces that loop with a 4-step reset process: Recognize, Own It, Reset, Next. It's built on how each PlayerType actually ruminates ... and gives every player a specific, personal reset they can execute in real time.
4-step reset process: Recognize, Own it, Reset, Next
Personal reset trigger ... not generic, built for how you're wired
Speed-of-recovery tracking across the season
preview several clips
preview several clips
An Impact Player isn't the most talented player on the roster. They're the one coaches trust without hesitation, teammates play harder around, and opponents genuinely don't want to face.
Impact is a behavioral pattern.
The IPF identifies the 6 observable behaviors that define it ... role clarity, competitive availability, consistency under pressure, emotional intelligence, coachability, and resilience ... and builds them type by type.
Impact-Player profile with individual assessment
Role clarity framework.
Development plan for coaches to build more impactful players
The enemy is autopilot: reacting to the play before you've read it. Most players look at the right thing at the wrong moment, or at the wrong thing entirely. The decision is late or off before the body moves.
The CIF trains a 3-step sequence: Read, Decide, React. It's built on where each PlayerType actually puts their attention under pressure, and gives every player a specific, personal way to redirect it in real time.
In-the-moment self-coaching: a short question that redirects your attention mid-play
Personal Cognitive Development Plan built based on your type
PlayerType-specific decision patterns, strengths, and blind spots
TEAM and ORGANIZATION PROGRAM
WIRED TO COMPETE.
Wired to Compete is a 5-session live coaching program built for teams and organizations. Each session delivers one of the core formulas ... with coaches and players in separate meetings designed for their different roles.
Coaches get the strategy, data, and type-specific development levers. Players get activation ... personal results, personal meaning, and a specific challenge to carry into the next two weeks. Every session ends with a bridge to the next one.
This isn't a keynote. It's a structured development system you can run once a month across the full season.
01
PLAYERTYPE
Players and coaches learn how each player is wired ... the foundation every other session builds on.
02
COMPETE-LEVEL FORMULA
Players find out where they actually sit on the Compete Scale ... and get wiring-specific tools to raise it.
03
BOUNCE-BACK FORMULA
Players build a personal reset process and learn to recover faster from mistakes, setbacks, and slumps.
04
IMPACT-PLAYER FORMULA
Who changes the outcome of games ... and what does your impact signature look like?
05
COMPETITIVE-INTELLIGENCE
Read faster. Decide better. Execute under pressure. The Search-Decide-Execute framework applied to real game situations.
FOR COACHES
STOP GIVING
GENERIC MENTAL ADVICE.
Most coaches know the mental game matters. The problem isn't awareness — it's tools. "Play with confidence" is not a coaching cue. It's a wish. Wired to Compete gives coaches a real system for developing the mental game, player by player, based on how each player is actually wired.
You'll walk away with player data, type-specific development strategies, and structured meeting frameworks you can run yourself — month after month across the full season.
Player data you can actually use
PlayerType + Compete Level results for every player on the roster, overlaid so you can see the full picture at once.
Type-specific coaching language
What activates a Builder is different from what activates a Driver. You'll know the difference — and how to use it.
A system you can run every month
Structured meeting frameworks for both coaches and players — built to run month after month without starting from scratch.
FOR PARENTS
YOUR SUPPORT CAN BUILD THEM OR BREAK THEM.
Parents are the most undercoached people in youth sport. Most want to help. Most end up adding pressure they think is motivation. The line between support and pressure is narrower than it looks — and most parents don't know where it is.
The Ultimate Sports Parent guide is built for parents who want to genuinely support their player's development — not accidentally get in the way of it.
What to say ... and what not to say
The specific phrases that add pressure versus the ones that actually build confidence and autonomy.
The car ride home
What happens in the 10 minutes after a game shapes how a player processes performance. Most parents handle it wrong.
How to support mental development
Practical actions parents can take to support the mental game without trying to coach it themselves.
FREE DOWNLOAD FOR PARENTS
WHAT HOLDS MOST PLAYERS BACK
A practical guide for parents who want to support their player's mental development — not undermine it. Built on 20+ years of watching how parent behavior actually affects performance.
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MENTAL TOUGHNESS IS NOT OPTIONAL
what elite coaches know
As you move up the competitive ladder, skill can only take you so far. At some stage, your work ethic, focus, and determination have to take over.
- Ken Hitchcock
A lot of players give up before they realize how close they were to the finish line. That's mental toughness ... finding the strength to get through the tough days.
- Barry Trotz
Dedication to your craft means doing all the little things that make a difference. That's mental toughness in action.
- Bruce Boudreau
RESULTS
WHAT PLAYERS, COACHES & PARENTS SAY
the book
HOCKEY GRIT, GRIND & MIND
The definitive guide to mental toughness in hockey. Written for today's player — and the coaches and parents trying to develop them. Practical, direct, and built on two decades of real-world work.
The Complete Player framework for full mental development
Why mental training fails and what works instead
Tools that transfer to real game situations — not just theory
How to build grit, compete level, and composure
(ask about team orders)
(ask about team orders)
COACHING TOOLS
AUDIO-WORKBOOKS
ESSENTIAL SELF-PACED COACHING EVERY PLAYER NEEDS
Athletes learn best when they can engage with information at their own pace, revisit important lessons, and put what they've learned into practice.
These self-paced audio-workbooks make mental game training convenient, personal, and practical.
Listen while driving to practice, working out, or relaxing. Pause when something hits home, complete the exercises, and revisit lessons whenever you need them. No scheduling, no pressure, and no falling behind.
KNOW WHO YOU ARE
listen to a sample clip
Know how you’re wired. Change how you perform.
You can't fix what you can't see. This Audio-Workbook starts where everything starts — with an honest look at how you're wired as a competitor. Your patterns, your tendencies, your default reactions under pressure. Once you see them clearly, you can actually do something about them.
ADAPTIVE THINKING
listen to a sample clip
What you believe about yourself shows up in every game.
Every athlete carries beliefs about their ability, their potential, and what's possible for them. Most have never examined where those beliefs came from — or whether they're actually true. This Audio-Workbook does that work.
TRUST YOUR GAME
listen to a sample clip
Build confidence that holds up under pressure.
Most athletes build their confidence on outcomes. When things go well they have it. When things don't they don't. This Audio-Workbook shows you how to build confidence on something more durable — something that doesn't collapse when the results go against you.
EMOTIONAL CONTROL
listen to a sample clip
Stay dialed in when the pressure turns up.
Every athlete has an optimal zone — the internal state where they perform at their best. Most athletes have never mapped it, which means they can't aim for it. This Audio-Workbook changes that. You'll learn to manage your internal state deliberately — before competition, during it, and after it.
ATTENTIONAL CONTROL
listen to a sample clip
Where your focus goes, your game goes.
Attention is a limited resource. In competition, where yours goes determines everything about what happens next. This Audio-Workbook teaches you to control it — to keep it where it belongs, and get it back fast when it wanders.
MASTER YOUR INNER COACH
listen to a sample clip
What you say to yourself changes everything.
You have a voice in your head that talks to you through every practice and every game. Most athletes have never listened closely enough to know what it's actually saying — or what it's costing them. This Audio-Workbook teaches you to hear it, change it, and turn it into something that actually helps.
RAPID DECISION-MAKING
listen to a sample clip
Read. Decide. React. Own every moment.
Every sport is a continuous stream of decisions. Most athletes have been coached on what to decide — but never on how to decide faster, trust their reads under pressure, and commit fully in the moments that matter most. This Audio-Workbook addresses all of it.
MENTAL RESILIENCE
listen to a sample clip
It's not the adversity that defines you. It's the response.
Real toughness isn't about feeling nothing. It's about absorbing pressure, adapting to it, and staying in the game. This Audio-Workbook reframes what mental toughness actually means — and gives you a practical system for responding to adversity at every level.
BOUNCE-BACK ABILITY
listen to a sample clip
Bust out of a slump — a plan for finding your game again.
Every athlete goes through slumps. What separates the ones who get out fast from the ones who stay stuck is not talent — it's understanding what a slump actually is and having a real plan for navigating it. This Audio-Workbook gives you that plan.
PERFORMANCE READINESS
listen to a sample clip
A mission without a plan is just a wish.
Most athletes have hopes for their career. Fewer have actual plans. This Audio-Workbook teaches you how to set real goals — specific, connected, written down — and build the follow-through system that keeps you working toward them through an entire season.
BOOST COMPETE-LEVEL
listen to a sample clip
Compete level dialed all the way up.
Talent gets you to the game. Compete level is what you do when you get there. This Audio-Workbook is about the intensity, the edge, and the willingness to go into difficult places in competition — not just in the big games, but every time.
RELENTLESS DISCIPLINE
listen to a sample clip
I will…
no matter what.
Motivation is unreliable. Discipline isn't. This Audio-Workbook is about the habits, systems, and standards that make consistent effort automatic — so the right work gets done regardless of how you feel when it's time to do it.
MASTER INTERNAL DRIVE
listen to a sample clip
Motivation that doesn't wait for the right mood.
Why do you actually compete? Not the answer that sounds right — the real one. This Audio-Workbook helps you find it, protect it, and use it on the days when the feeling isn't there and the work still needs to get done.
GAME CHANGING IMPACT
listen to a sample clip
How you show up for your team defines the player you become.
The complete mental game isn't just about you. It's about what you bring to the people around you. This Audio-Workbook is about being the kind of teammate, the kind of competitor, and the kind of presence that makes every environment you walk into better.
PERFORMANCE BLINDSPOTS
listen to a sample clip
Your mental game starts before you think it does.
Most athletes assume they have a mental game problem when things go wrong — but sometimes the real problem is sleep, nutrition, hydration, or two hours on their phone before competition. This Audio-Workbook teaches you to check the physical and environmental foundation first, because no mental skill will hold up when that foundation is quietly working against you.
MEDIA
NHL RADIO SIRIUS XM
Catch Dr. Kevin Willis on Prospect Radio, Channel 91
COACHES: FIND HOW TO TURN A WORKBOOK INTO A FULL TEAM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
What if one workbook could become the foundation for weeks of meaningful mental game training with your team?
Each workbook gives you a ready-made topic, practical skills, and exercises you can build into team meetings, individual conversations, and ongoing player development.
You don't need to be a sport psychologist to start developing the mental side of your players. You just need a plan, the right tools, and a willingness to make mental game training part of your team's routine.
Start with one workbook. Build a program
Mental performance coaching for hockey players, coaches, and parents. Built on 20+ years inside the game.
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