Preparing Athletes for the Realities of Modern Competitive Sport
A systematic mental skills training program that helps athletes perform with consistency, resilience, and confident execution in high-pressure competitive environments.
Competitive sport looks different today.
There are more showcases, more evaluation, more cost, and more scrutiny.
For many athletes, pressure is no longer occasional.
It is constant.
Parents often notice the same early signs.
Their athlete becomes more tense.
Mistakes feel heavier.
Emotions run higher.
Recovery takes longer.
Enjoyment starts to fade.
Motivation feels fragile.
Burnout feels closer than it should.
This gap is not about effort, desire, or toughness.
It is about how well an athlete can function inside a demanding environment.
Pressure does not create problems. It exposes them.
As competitive demands increase, parents often notice that:
Clear focus turns into second-guessing
Manageable emotions turn into overreactions or shutdowns
Confident play turns into hesitation
Steady motivation turns into withdrawal or burnout
Confidence turns into self-doubt after mistakes
This is why capable athletes can struggle when the stakes increase, even when their physical skills have not changed.
Over time, these patterns do more than disrupt performance.
They drain energy, erode enjoyment, and make sport feel heavier than it should.
This is not a lack of toughness.
It is a lack of training for the environment athletes are in.
What athletes need is not less pressure
They need stronger mental skills
Pressure is part of modern sport. Removing it is not realistic.
The real question is whether an athlete has the mental skills required to:
Stay oriented when outcomes are uncertain
Regulate emotions when mistakes occur
Interpret challenge as something to engage with rather than avoid
Sustain motivation across long seasons and transitions
Trust their preparation under evaluation
These are not personality traits. They are trainable skills.
Introducing...
What This Training Provides
The Athlete’s Mental Blueprint (AMB) is a systematic mental skills training program designed strengthen how athletes think, regulate, and respond when pressure increases.
Rather than focusing on a single technique or quick fix, AMB trains a connected set of mental skills that help athletes stay composed, make clear decisions, and compete to their ability when it matters most.
This is performance training, grounded in regulation, resilience, and sustained engagement.
It is designed to help athletes perform more consistently while maintaining energy, focus, and enjoyment in the environments they are already competing in.
When pressure increases, these patterns often appear
Parents often notice these changes as competitive demands rise:
Feeling overwhelmed during competition in ways that disrupt execution
Becoming more easily distracted in practice or competition
Experiencing increased self-doubt when the stakes are higher
Struggling to stay motivated or goal-directed under pressure
Feeling mentally exhausted or burned out
Having difficulty regulating emotions in pressure moments
Showing inconsistent performance despite strong preparation
Struggling to bounce back after mistakes
Performing well in practice but not seeing it consistently carry over into competition
If this feels familiar, you're in the right place.
The Athlete’s Mental Blueprint trains five core areas of mental skill development that shape how athletes function when pressure increases. Each addresses a specific way pressure impacts athletes.
Together, they form a coordinated system that helps athletes stay regulated, engaged, and confident as expectations rise, so performance becomes more consistent rather than more fragile.
The Five Core Mental Skill Sets We Train
Direction and Motivation
Goal Setting
Athletes learn how to:
Distinguish between outcome, performance, and process goals
Anchor motivation to controllable actions rather than results
Track progress using feedback instead of emotion
Adjust goals without interpreting adjustment as failure
This provides direction when outcomes fluctuate and helps athletes stay invested during plateaus or setbacks.
What parents often notice:
More consistent effort, less discouragement during slumps, and clearer focus on improvement rather than results alone.
Emotional and Attentional Control
Control
Athletes learn how to:
Recognize early signs of emotional or physiological overload
Regulate attention and activation in competitive moments
Reset after mistakes instead of spiraling
Use routines, breath, and self-talk intentionally
This supports composure and functional decision-making under stress.
What parents often notice:
Faster emotional recovery, fewer meltdowns after mistakes, and steadier body language during competition.
Responding to Pressure and Challenge
Challenge
Athletes learn how to:
Appraise high-pressure situations as challenges to engage with
Shift from avoidance-based thinking to approach-based action
Take appropriate risks instead of playing not to lose
Use setbacks as information rather than identity threats
This changes how athletes show up when expectations rise.
What parents often notice:
More assertive play, less hesitation, and a greater willingness to compete fully even in difficult moments.
Sustaining Motivation and Resilience
Commitment
Athletes learn how to:
Anchor motivation to learning and development rather than validation
Stay engaged when roles change or results fluctuate
Interpret setbacks as part of growth rather than failure
Maintain effort across long seasons and transitions
This protects against burnout and disengagement over time.
What parents often notice:
Greater consistency in effort, fewer emotional swings tied to outcomes, and a healthier relationship with sport.
Building Stable Confidence
Confidence
Athletes learn how to:
Understand where confidence actually comes from
Build confidence proactively through preparation and evidence
Trust skills even when outcomes are uncertain
Prevent confidence collapse after mistakes or losses
This allows athletes to compete freely rather than cautiously.
What parents often notice:
More composure under scrutiny and less reliance on external validation to feel confident.
Performance training with broader benefits
The Athlete’s Mental Blueprint is not therapy and does not treat mental health conditions.
It is performance-focused mental skills training.
However, research consistently shows that when athletes systematically train skills such as emotional regulation, goal setting, attention control, and adaptive coping, they often experience increased resilience and overall well-being as secondary benefits.
These outcomes are not the primary aim of the program.
They are common byproducts of learning how to manage pressure more effectively.
In this unique action-oriented training, your child will receive:
Comprehensive Training Modules
From learning how to respond effectively to pressure to building confidence that holds up in competition, the online and interactive video modules focus on training specific performance responses, not just concepts. Your child will receive training, activities, and exercises designed to help them apply each skill in pressure-relevant situations, so they can integrate these techniques into competition, not just their daily routine.
Expert Support
As a member, your child will receive six months of group coaching, including two live training calls per month. The first focuses on training and applying pressure-response skills for competition, with a live Q & A. The second is a live Ask Me Anything focused on implementation under real competitive conditions. All calls are led by experts in sport and performance psychology.
Exclusive Community Group
As a member, they will also gain access to an exclusive community where athletes can ask questions, get feedback, and troubleshoot performance challenges related to pressure and competition. Additional bonus trainings are released monthly to support continued application.
Are You Ready to Help Your Child
Perform When the Stakes Are Highest?
Meet Your Coaches...
Dr. Cari DeCandia, CMPC
Cari is a high-performance and leadership consultant and coach with a passion for working with elite performers, both in sport and business. Her work revolves around harnessing the power of individual and group flow, fostering high-performance cultures, and catalyzing growth both at the individual and team levels.
With a master's and doctorate in sport and performance psychology and a concentration in positive leadership, she has dedicated her career to understanding the human aspects of high achievement.
Cari’s unique blend of coaching expertise, a deep understanding of the neuroscience of flow, and the psychology of high performance have enabled her to become a trusted advisor to top executives, elite athletes, coaches, and high-performing teams.
When she isn't working with clients, you can likely find Cari spending time on the water, playing competitive tennis, or attending one of her kids' athletic events.
Dr. Richard Kroboth, LPC, CMPC
Richie is a mental performance consultant and licensed counselor specializing in helping elite athletes reach new levels of athletic success. Richie's goal is to empower performers to reach the pinnacle of their athletic potential and also thrive in life beyond their competitive pursuits.
With a 25+ years in human development and performance excellence, Richie brings a robust foundation of formal education to his practice. As a proud member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, he continuously stays at the forefront of cutting-edge techniques.
Richie’s expertise extends from working with elite club level athletes to Division 1 competitors. He is sought after to work with athletes in a variety of individual and team sports including hockey, tennis, swimming, basketball, volleyball, baseball, and soccer. He has a deep understanding of the mental demands within athletics. Recognizing that athletes often prioritize physical skills and game knowledge, Richie emphasizes the critical importance of mental skills in achieving peak performance.
What our clients are saying...
"So incredibly thankful for Richie coming into our life when he did. He has impacted My daughter in volleyball and in life and I feel confident about her going to college and thriving at the next level in part because of his help."
- Female, Volleyball, NCAA Division I Commit
"I stopped chasing scores and started trusting my process—soft hands, be where your feet are, one shot at a time. Building a pre-round plan and sticking to it made my rounds more consistent and way less stressful."
- Male, Golf, 16 yo
"As a parent, I appreciated how actionable everything was—breathing, cue words, and a short routine we could support at home. The change showed up not just in performance but in our athlete’s confidence day-to-day."
- Parent of Female, Volleyball, 16 yo
"Richie helped me understand my competitive triggers, regulate my emotions to get into my best performance state, and build simple routines with positive self-talk so I recover fast and move to the next ball."
- Female, Tennis, NCAA Division I
"The biggest shift was learning to notice and name my thoughts without letting them run the show. That skill alone has helped me show up calmer, tougher, and more consistent under pressure."
- Male, NAHL Hockey, 20 yo
"I struggled with confidence and performance anxiety in high-pressure moments. We built simple, practical tools to interrupt negative thoughts on and off the field. After putting them into practice, I felt a real shift: a calmer presence, faster adjustments, and more trust in my game when matches got chaotic."
- Female, Soccer, NCAA Division 1
"Once all of the physical training is done, it is the mind that determines how well an athlete executes."
-Peter Haberl (US Olympic Committee)
But don't just take our word for it...
"The game is 90% mental and the other half is physical."
-Yogi Berra
"I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but how they recover when they fail."
-Serena Williams
"You have to be able to accept failure to get better."
-Lebron James
"The most important attribute a player must have is mental toughness."
-Mia Hamm
"If you want to be the best, you have to be willing to do things that other people aren't willing to do."
-Michael Phelps
"Mental strength is just as important as physical strength and will help you achieve your goals."
-Cristiano Ronaldo
Forget about the "hacks" and random tactics
Your child will learn the underlying skills they need to regulate their response to pressure, so their training shows up consistently… even during the most pressure-filled moments.
Our 7-Day Test Drive Guarantee
We are so confident in the value and quality of this training that we offer an unparalleled 7-day Test Drive Guarantee. This means you can enroll today and experience the first week of the course with complete peace of mind. If within these 7 days, you find that the training isn't the right fit for you, simply let us know, and we'll process a full refund, no questions asked.
But that's not all - as a token of our appreciation for giving this training a try, any bonus trainings you've received during this period are yours to keep, absolutely free. This is our way of saying thank you for trusting us with your learning journey
So, why wait? Dive in and discover the transformative power of this research based training, risk-free!
Get Started Now!
Additional Bonuses...
When you enroll your child in the Athlete's Mental Blueprint, they will also receive:
[Tool]
Goal Tracking Dashboard
What gets measured gets managed and with our expertly designed goal tracking dashboard, they'll have a user-friendly tool to set, track, and accomplish their goals.
As your child navigates through their sport journey, they'll enjoy a clear representation of their progress month by month as well as a yearly overview. Also, because it was built using Google Sheets, they can access it anywhere or download it into their preferred format.
[Training]
Performance Profile
In this evidence-based exercise designed to elevate your child's athletic excellence, they will be guided through identifying the characteristics of an elite athlete in their sport. They'll engage in a reflective process, rating their current skills against the ideal, and then strategically craft a game plan to enhance each aspect of their performance.
They can expect to emerge with a clear, actionable roadmap that bridges the gap between where they are and where they aspire to be, setting them on a path to sporting excellence.
[Assessment]
Validated Assessments
Your child will be provided with two research-backed assessments, designed to bring awareness to their starting point and reveal potential areas for growth. These assessments provide a comprehensive baseline and offer valuable insights into their mental game.
Armed with this knowledge, your child will be empowered to make informed decisions that steer them toward sport mastery and mental toughness, setting the stage for a transformative path to peak performance.
Still have questions?
Is this training right for my child?
This training is tailored for athletes who are committed to elevating their performance. We firmly hold the view that intentional mental skills development is beneficial for athletes of all ages, however, the essence of this program is to cater specifically to competitive athletes who are dedicated to advancing their game. If your child is serious about pushing their limits and enhancing their competitive edge, then this training is indeed the right fit for your child. It's designed to provide the tools and techniques that can transform not only how they perform but also how they approach their sport mentally, giving them that crucial edge in high-stakes competitions.
How do we access the training?
Gaining access to this transformative training is straightforward and convenient. Upon enrollment, you'll receive exclusive access to a private web portal, which serves as the central hub for all the training modules. This portal is also accessible through a dedicated app, available for download on both the Google Play Store and the App Store, ensuring you can engage with the training on your preferred device, anytime, anywhere. Additionally, our group coaching sessions, an integral part of the program, are conducted via this same private portal. This cohesive approach ensures a seamless and integrated training experience, allowing you to focus fully on developing your mental skills without the hassle of navigating multiple platforms.
How long will this training take my child to complete?
The duration of your child's journey through this training is as unique as their path to becoming an elite athlete. At its core, the program consists of five comprehensive modules, released weekly. Within each module, they'll find a series of 3-6 training videos, with each video being approximately 10-15 minutes long.
For a foundational grasp of the concepts, they can comfortably progress through the program in 5 weeks. However, true mastery in mental toughness, much like physical training, benefits from revisitation and refinement. We encourage every individual to continually revisit the modules and exercises, integrating them into their routine long-term. This iterative approach allows them to not just learn but to internalize and adapt the methods to suit their evolving needs and goals as an elite athlete. Remember, in this journey, the pace is less important than the lasting impact and depth of understanding they gain.
How much time should my child commit each week to this program?
Your child's commitment to this program is a pivotal part of cultivating mental toughness, a skill that thrives on consistent practice and dedication. Embracing the principle that frequent, focused learning sessions enhance retention and mastery, we've designed the program with their busy schedule in mind. Within each of the modules, they'll find 3-6 concise yet impactful videos, each ranging from 10-15 minutes. This manageable format allows your child to easily integrate learning into their daily routine.
Our recommended approach? Devote a small portion of their day, perhaps a post-training wind-down, to watch one video. Then, actively engage with the exercises presented. This steady, daily commitment not only fits seamlessly into their life but also ensures a gradual and deepening understanding of the mental strategies essential for elite performance. Remember, in the realm of mental toughness, consistency is key to unlocking your child's full potential.
What outcomes can we expect?
By joining this program, you're aligning yourself with a training method grounded in research proven to enhance an athlete's mental toughness. We firmly believe that through your child's active engagement and commitment to the training, including consistently practicing the exercises and implementing the strategies we provide, you both will experience a noticeable improvement in several key areas.These outcomes include an enhanced ability to bounce back from setbacks, a sharpened focus and heightened motivation, and a significant boost in their resilience levels, to name a few. These improvements are pivotal in elevating their overall athletic performance.
It's important, however, to remember that the effectiveness of this program is directly linked to your child's effort and dedication. The work they put in is what ultimately shapes their results. Embrace the process, and they can look forward to reaping these rewarding benefits.
Does this training improve mental health?
This training primarily focuses on enhancing performance for athletes both in their sport and in their everyday lives. The strategies and exercises included in the Athlete's Mental Blueprint are tailored to enhance aspects like focus, resilience, and mental toughness in sport. While these elements can positively influence overall well-being and may indirectly contribute to improved mental wellness, it's important to clarify that the primary goal of this program is not mental health improvement. We aim to equip athletes with specialized skills and techniques for peak performance. For those seeking dedicated mental health support, we recommend exploring programs and resources specifically designed for that purpose.
Do you offer team pricing?
Yes- In addition to individuals, we also offer pricing options for both teams and organizations. Participating as a team can be particularly effective, as it promotes a unified understanding and application of the mental skills and strategies taught. When all team members are aligned in their approach to mental toughness, it often leads to more cohesive and effective outcomes.
If you're considering this training for your child's team or organization, we encourage you to contact us directly via email at Hello@ThePerformanceBlueprint.com
This allows us to understand the team's specific needs and objectives. Our goal is to support your team in developing a shared mental framework that contributes positively to both individual and team performance.
Do you offer individual or private team coaching?
Yes, we specialize in both individual and team coaching or consultation. A significant portion of our work is dedicated to offering personalized consultation and coaching, whether it's on a one-on-one basis or within a team context. Our focus is to assist our clients in reaching their self-set goals effectively. If you're interested in exploring these options further, we encourage you to contact us directly via email at [email protected]. This way, we can provide you with more detailed information and discuss how our services can best align with your specific needs and objectives.