Becoming HeadStrong

On this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Kristina talks about how we can be at our best as a team. How can we bring the best version of ourself to bring out the best in others? Sometimes our teammates are unable to bring their best to any given day, but we can bring our attitude and effort to them to elevate how much they can bring. As individuals, we are able to bring down the team as a whol...

According to the research, if you take less than 5649 steps per day, you are more prone to experiencing bouts of depression and anxiety. How many steps does the average American get? Find out the answer to that question and more in this podcast episode.

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Josh talks about being grateful and acknowledging it each day. This can help you stay present and keep the life around you in perspective. Along with this, Coach Josh also talks about his Thanksgiving experience back in Minnesota and how it reminded him of an exercise he uses with clients. 

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach HIllary talks about attitude. We have all been in a moment where we did not have the positive attitude we want, but how can we bring that attitude up when we need to? Coach Hillary breaks down some strategies involving looking back on past performances to bring our attitude back up right now in the present.

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Amanda gives us some practical tips for pushing through fear. Fear is a shared human experience, and we need to understand that first. How can we accept that fear is there rather than deny it is there? How can we allow it to be with us while healthily controlling it? Get answers to these questions and more in this episode to help push through fear and...

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Chelsea breaks down what trust looks like in a team. How can we build trust within a team outside of the usual practices, meetings, etc.? We need to foster an environment where we know each human on the team and not just the athlete. We can learn more about eachother including hobbies, pasttimes, and other areas of life to build a more trusting relatio...

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Kristina helps guide us to the mental toughness we have already shown. We strive to become more mentally tough than we were yesterday, but it is also important to acknowledge the toughness you already have. Kristina breaks down several areas that we can look at within ourselves to show the mental toughness we already have while we search for greatness.

Misogi is a term that comes from Japanese culture that indicates a challenge you take on once a year with a 50/50 chance of success. In this episode, you'll learn what a misogi is and why you should do one.

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Josh discusses the Law of Effect. This general rule is primarily rule is applied to teams and group settings often, but how can we apply it to ourselves? How can we use our own self-talk and internal communication to improve our performance? Tune in with Josh this week to learn an effective tool to help in our pursuit of being the best version of ourse...

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Hillary targets being present or being here now. We find ourselves thinking futuristically often telling ourselves we will be happy once we achieve something in the future. We need to, however, enjoy the process and the moments that bring us to the outcome. The moment can be hard and challenging, but if we can enjoy those parts as well, it will be more fulfi...

In this episode, Coach Chelsea continues with the last C of mental toughness and talks about how confidence is incredibly important in becoming mentally tough. 

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Amanda talks about team cohesion. Coach Amanda has worked with athletes of all ages and backgrounds on team cohesion which shows it's importance. How can teams stay united and aling towards the same goals? What are the different kinds of team cohesion that can be seen in different teams across genders? Amanda answers these questions and others in this...

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Dr. Nick breaks down how we can strive for our plan A while not feeling entitled to it. What do we do if Plan A goes sideways? How can we prepare ourselves for a situation in which we need to adapt? Having a Plan B can be key in our ability to push through situtations in which things are not always on schedule.

Happy Halloween HeadStrong family! In this episode, Coach Kristina, talks about fear and scary events that can come up during performance. A lot of these times, it can affect us physically through heart rates, the shakes, and countless other ways. Coach Kristina gives us three tips to handle these fearful situations: Don't drag it out, dissociate your fear, and make a decision to get through your...

We often hear talk about getting "1% better everyday". While this seems very manageable, what does it actually look like? 

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Josh talks about the difference between positivity and optimism. A lot of times as athletes and performers, we are told to just "be positive." When in fact, this can push our feelings to the side when we need to acknowledge these feelings before growing from them. In reality, we should strive to be optimistic to allow us to continue to build and build.

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Hillary talks about letting go of mistakes. A highlight of this episode is to control our reactions to mistakes. Are you going to learn from it and move forward or sit on that mistake? Mistakes can build up and weigh us down, so we need to choose to let go of these mistakes to keep ourselves from slowing down from this weight. 

In this episode, Coach Chelsea continues talking about how to build mental toughness by actual definition. She continues on with the C's of mental toughness and talks about the C of Challenge. Listen to see how you can grow in being high in challenge!

In the 500th episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Amanda breaks down professionalism in collegiate sports. With college athletes now able to make money, there was a lot of celebration. However, there are some negative effects that can arise from this. Amanda breaks down how this affects sport specialization, contract and money chasing by athletes, and outcome motivation opposed to the love of the...

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Dr. Nick revisits the idea of pressure. Coaches can sometimes encourage athletes by letting them there is "no pressure," but is this productive or minimalizing the moment? Nick breaks down how we can redirect this pressure towards preperations and the process to handle it in a controllable way while also reaping the benefits of pressure.

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Kristina talks about what we want to be as players, performers, coaches, etc. Once we can find out what we want to be, we can use this to guide ourselves towards that goal. Kristina also connects this to the role of parent, coach, and leader, as these positions also need to ask what their players want to be, so they can be a guide to that goal.

Stress seems to be killing us all, yet if we recognize that a meaningful life is a stressful life..... we can learn to utilize stress in a positive, facilitative way.

In this episode, Coach Josh walks through one of the hardest mental games out there, golf. Josh talks about working as a process golfer and not an outcome golfer. This includes not putting your focus towards the outcome of the shot beforehand and instead thinking our way through the best preperation for the present shot at hand.

In this episode of Becoming HeadStrong, Coach Hillary breaks down communication in both verbal and non-verbal senses. Communication is crucial to team success, but how do we improve on it? Coach Hillary breaks down four ways to become better communicators during performance in both verbal and non-verbal ways.