Prime Sport

The aim of Prime Sport is to assist athletes in maximizing their athletic development and achieving their goals in their sport and in life. Prime Sport means athletes “performing at a consistently high level under the most challenging conditions.” Prime Sport provides athletes with the information and skills necessary to allow their minds to help rather than interfere with their competitive performances. Prime Sport offers the means for athletes to enhance the benefits of training, optimize their sport performances, and to facilitate their athletic and personal growth.

Rationale for Prime Sport

Athletes spend many hours each week in their physical and technical training. When asked how important the mind is as compared to physical and technical aspects of sports, athletes always say as or more important. Yet little time is devoted to preparing the mind for competition.

On any given day, at a particular level of competition, everyone has similar ability, conditioning, and equipment. So what separates the winner from the also-rans, the athletes who perform their best from those who do not perform up to their ability? It must be what goes on in their minds. Prime Sport offers athletes the framework and tools they need to develop a comprehensive mental-training program that will enhance their training efforts and enable them to perform their best when it matters most.

Prime Sport Programs

Prime Sport is comprised of a variety of programs that comprehensively address the mental needs and goals of athletes, coaches, and teams.

Mental Training

Mental Training prepares athletes to perform their best in competition by teaching them essential mental skills that impact performance. Mental “muscles” that are addressed include motivation, confidence, intensity, focus, and emotions. Mental “tools” that are developed include positive thinking, mastering pressure, maintaining focus, mental imagery, and competitive routines.

Prime Sport Training

This part of Prime Sport shows athletes how to get the most out of their practice efforts. The goal of Prime Training is to maximize the quality and benefits of training. Prime Training improves all forms of training including technical, strength, and aerobic. Key topics include goal setting, understanding skill acquisition, and developing good training habits.

Performance Counseling

Performance Counseling focuses on establishing a health perspective on competition, success, and failure. It also uncovers the psychological and emotional obstacles that prevent athletes from achieving their goals. Issues that athletes often confront that interfere with their competitive aspirations include overinvestment, perfectionism, fear of failure, unhealthy emotions, and a preoccupation with results. The goal of Performance Counseling is to understand and remove the obstacles that keep athletes from attaining success and happiness within and outside of the sports arena.

Team Development

Team Development provides a coaching staff with a framework and process for taking a group of athletes and shaping them into a high-functioning high-performing unit. Team Development first creates the foundation of values and attitudes that establishes a team.  It then identifies essential themes and goals that will impact a team’s atmosphere, functioning, and performance. Finally, Team Development teaches practical strategies and techniques that guide a team’s  practice and competitive behavior.

Coaches Education

This program assists coaches in addressing the diverse needs of athletes whom they coach. Coaches Education focuses on showing coaches how to incorporate mental skills into normal training and competitive preparation. The emphasis is on offering coaches simple and practical techniques they can use to compliment their physical, technical, and tactical coaching. Coaches also learn more about the significant impact that they have on the personal development of athletes.

Sport Parent Training

Sport Parent Training offers parents the knowledge and perspective they need to ensure that their involvement in their child’s sports participation is positive and healthy. Parents learn about the roles that they can play to facilitate their child’s personal and athletic development. Important issues that are addressed include building self-esteem, expectations and goals, separating their needs from those of their children, and how much to push.

Prime Sport Payoff

• • Better quality training.
  • More comprehensively prepared athletes.
  • Strong mental muscles.
  • Well-stocked mental toolbox.
  • Increased ability to handle the pressures of competition.
  • Improved life skills for success and happiness outside of sport.
  • Improved relationships with family and coaches.
  • More skillful coaches.
  • High-performing team.
  • More effective sport parents.