You hear people talk about confidence all the time. Rarely are "they" talking about confidence correctly. Let's dig in and I'll break it down for you in this video.

I was a loose cannon when I first came to the Mental Edge and a bit skeptical until I realized immediately that this was a good thing. Shaun was able to help me with what was biting away at my mind. When I have a kid, I'll just give him Shaun's number and say call him!

How do you handle the heat of the battle? Watch as Shaun breaks down performing under pressure.

Mental Toughness training with Shaun Goodsell of the Mental Edge. Daily leverage on your competition so you can be your best when it counts the most!

We saw our kid go from a very dark place to a kid that is smiling! The worst thing as a parent is to see your kid not have friends...Tony now has friends! See what Ed says about having skepticism about seeing Shaun.

We hope you enjoy the video and if you are curious about working with Shaun, if Ed's words hit home with you, simply request a free coaching call here: https://www.shaungoodsell.com/freecoachingcall. It's free and no obligation!

Shaun and Dawn

We are going to be posting some videos that give you a behind the scenes look at what is it like to work with Shaun and the Mental Edge from our athlete's and parent's perspectives.

Many people think we just work with athletes on the mental side of sports. The reality is, those who work with Shaun experience not only better performance mentally in their sport, but also learn incredible life and relationship skills, too!

We hope you enjoy the videos and if you are curious about working with Shaun, simply request a free coaching call here: https://www.shaungoodsell.com/freecoachingcall. It's free and no obligation!

Shaun and Dawn

As I shared in past writings, gaining an edge on the competition can take on many points of focus. One can improve their strength, agility, skills, and speed. However, one of the skill sets that often gets overlooked is that of the MIND. I realize that the reason is often a lack of understanding of what it means, along with some MYTHS that cloud one's understanding keeping them at a distance from the experience. I am writing about some myths because if that is the reason why you have not pursued this work I want to attempt to take away that barrier.

Myth 3:  Doing MENTAL SKILLS work will be boring, painful, and a waste. I can do this on my own by just trying harder and being more positive.

If you talk to the people I work with, you will find that some started with this very thought. It was not too long before their Mental Skills work became their absolute FAVORITE part of training. It was INSPIRING, INSIGHTFUL, ENCOURAGING, HELPFUL, and maybe most importantly, SO BENEFICIAL!

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There are many questions athletes ask when they ponder the possibility of working with a Mental Skills Coach. Sometimes, many questions can be answered by simply unpacking some of the most common myths. In a past blog, I deconstructed one myth.

Today I'm deconstructing Myth #2.

Myth 2: If I work with a Mental Skills Coach it must mean that I am psychologically weak.

The truth is, engaging in mental skill work is more about mastery, leading to increased strength and skill. In other words, we are weakened because we lack skills. Most athletes are not weak people simply because skills are lacking. Over the last 20 years, I have learned that mastery is a long process and as one honors the struggle of mastery they see consistent growth and progress.

However, where our skills are inadequate to the challenge, then weakness is revealed.

In the world of sports when a weakness is revealed, then we become vulnerable. It is this vulnerability that leaves us lacking in getting where we want to go....

Myths are beliefs that guide our thinking and behavior that may contain partial truth while also containing misguided information.

When I was growing up my mom would tell me I could not go swimming after dinner because I would drown from immediate cramping. For many years I thought that eating and swimming were dangerous only to find out that it was not true. I could now eat and the jump in the water! FREEDOM.

I suspect that we all have hooked our wagons to mythical beliefs only to uncover or find out the error of our ways. When myths are uncovered, it is because a NEW TRUTH that dispels that myth is learned or discovered through experience. My purpose for writing about myths and mental skills training is to bring new and fresh information to you in a manner that helps open up new roads of understanding. When this happens, you just may uncover something that could help you reach new heights of living and performance.

Myth 1: You have to be struggling to benefit from mental skills...

One evening I got a call from a young athlete that had tried out for a specific team, and he was struggling to understand why he did not make the team. With great frustration and anger, he detailed for me all the work he did and how angry he was that the work did not seem to make a difference. As is often the case, I dug a bit deeper to understand what was truly fueling his intensity. He went on to describe how many of his friends would be on the team and how sad he was to miss out on those experiences. I replied; “Is there anything else that is hard for you?” He then said; “I know my dad is really disappointed in me. He told me that I needed to work harder to keep improving rather than play video games.”

I have had this type of conversation too many times to count.

Tryouts bring with them fear, anxiety, anger, frustration, joy, relief, and uncertainty.

This blog is not designed to be about the fairness, or lack of it in youth sports, although there might be...

Some months ago I was talking with a young athlete, and I asked him how things were going for him. His response was, “I DONT KNOW.” To most people this response would be a dead end and the conversation would have moved on to something else.

Not this time!

I continued to explore with him what “not knowing” meant. My next question was, “Does 'I don’t know' mean you don’t know how to describe how it is going?" With immediate tears, he said, “YES.”

This experience opened my eyes to the reality that many young athletes are living with deep disappointment, discouragement, and despair without the words to describe their reality. This has emerged as a trend as I have worked individually with young athletes. Much of their experience leaves them confused, frustrated, and without direction.

Recently, I spoke to a young athlete that expressed to me his deep desire to succeed, but with frustration and anger he said, “I have no idea what...