3 Practical & Athlete-Approved Ways to Fit Mental Training Into Your Daughter's Busy Schedule

Speaker 0: 0:00

Welcome back to the Raising Elite Competitors podcast. I'm Coach Brie, a mental performance coach for girl athletes, and I am so excited that you're here. Whether you're just beginning this sports mom journey with your athlete or maybe you have a lot of seasons under your belt, this podcast is for you, to help you know how to raise a confident and mentally strong girl athlete. And today we are talking about how to fit mental training into your daughter's busy schedule Because, let's face it, the schedules are packed. We are going a million different directions. Seems like there's no time, but we know how important mental training is to your athlete's performance and to her overall development as an athlete and as a person. So how do we make it work Now? We've had thousands of moms and daughters come through our signature program called the Elite Mental Game and they've made it work. So I am going to be pulling out some of the practical tips that moms and athletes who have already gone through already done it and gotten amazing results. How they actually fit it into their schedule in a way that saved time and a way that their athletes actually really clung to and bought into. So before I get into that, I do want to give a shout out to one of these amazing athletes inside our community. Her name is Sloan. She just texted the other day this she said I'm not very far into the elite mental game, but the course is already working. I'm currently at a qualifier and my mental game has significantly improved. I'm so thankful right now, with a lot of hearts at the end of that text. So first of all, I'm super proud of you and also I want to point out that this is just how effective mental training is. She said. I'm not actually even very far into the program and I'm going to talk a little bit in this episode about how mental training actually saves athletes time. You actually don't need to put in a lot of time for this to work and actually saves time and you get out more than what you put in. So Sloan is a perfect example of this and Sloan super proud of you. Keep going and can't wait to hear the updates as you continue to go. All right.

Speaker 0: 1:54

Before we officially dive into the episode, I do have a favor to ask If you find this podcast helpful in any way. It would help us out a lot if you could rate and review the podcast. So if you are listening well, first of all, make sure you're subscribed. Click that little like subscribe button or the plus to make sure that you're following the podcast, that you're notified of new episodes, and then, while you're at it, if you want to give us a rating, give us a review. That helps us out a lot, and actually it helps you out as well, because we can spread the word and bring on amazing guests to support you and support your daughter. So if you've got some time, that would mean the world to us All. Right, let's get into it.

Speaker 0: 2:24

Moms, three practical ways to fit mental training into your daughter's busy schedule and these are athlete approved, by the way. And here's the deal. The reason why I'm recording this specific episode on this topic is because it's actually a question I get asked a lot from moms and athletes who are considering joining the elite mental game, and one of the main questions they ask is how long does it take? What's the commitment per week? My daughter is super busy, and how do we fit this into her schedule? I don't want it to become a thing that just becomes something to do or a source of stress, which I totally hear. So that's why I'm bringing you some strategies that have been really helpful to athletes who have already been through and families who have already been through.

Speaker 0: 3:01

But I first want to touch on two overarching beliefs when we talk about time and what we prioritize. Here's the truth. Yes, we are busy. I'm a sports mom too. My kids are playing multiple sports. I'm going all over, and so I hear you, and then, while also trying to prioritize our own need to working parents, you get the whole picture Okay.

Speaker 0: 3:18

But even with that, we make time for what is important to us. It's how it works when we prioritize things, and we say that we prioritize things in our life, it's reflected in the way that we spend our time. So, yeah, you and me, we both find our kids' participation in sports important to us, so we make time for it right. For me, my health is a big priority, so I make time for exercise right. I make time for my mental health as well, making sure that I am going to therapy, that I am meditating and journaling regularly, that I'm going on walks, like those types of things as well. We have to make time for it, and so there's some strategies to do that, and I'm not saying that you know we're perfect at all those things all of the time, but we really do make time for what's important to us. So we have to decide what is important to us, and not everything can be important right. And so if we decide that the mental health of our athletes is important and making sure that she has skills to navigate her sport with confidence, if that's important which it is, that's why we exist then we have to make time for it, and I'll get into the you know the kind of specifics around.

Speaker 0: 4:26

How much time do you actually need in order to, you know, have mental training be a part of your daughter's life? And it's not much time, by the way. But just know that this is a foundational concept that we all subscribe to, that we make time for what's important to us. Here's the other foundational concept that I want to cover before I get into these three strategies Mental training actually saves you time.

Speaker 0: 4:47

Your daughter learning the skills of being able to come back from mistakes, deal with pressure, have pre-performance routines so that she is feeling calm and confident when she competes. Having a post-competition routine so she's not beating herself up after she competes. Be able to handle pressure, believe in herself. All of that actually saves time, because how much time have you already spent in the car ride home with her trying to convince her that she is good enough? How much time have you already wasted trying to figure out the right words to say to her to try and get her to think positively and stop being so hard on herself? How much time has she already wasted believing that she is not good enough? How much time has she already wasted on the court or on the bench because she can't bounce back from a mistake? So this time is already being spent. You are already spending time in the car ride home with her trying to convince her she's good enough. She is already wasting a lot of time ruminating on mistakes, wasting a lot of time not believing in herself or doubting herself or comparing herself mistakes wasting a long time not believing in herself or doubting herself or comparing herself. She's already spending that time doing that.

Speaker 0: 5:51

And here's the deal when your daughter learns these very simple but effective tools to train her mindset, talking, visualization, breath work, how to shift limiting beliefs, how to shift negative self-talk, how to have productive routines that support her pre-competition and also post-competition, she is actually going to save time. She's not going to be spending time beating herself up as much. She's not going to be wasting this time spiraling after mistakes. She's not going to be wasting this time pre-competition just totally beside herself because she is nervous. So investing a little bit of time to give your daughter these skills actually saves time on the back end. She actually gets out more than she puts in, meaning that if she spends three to five minutes visualizing how she wants to perform and focusing on her goals, that is going to save her potentially minutes and hours of beating herself up after a game because she couldn't come back from a mistake, right, which is pretty cool. That it's one of those phenomenons that she gets out more than she puts in. And you're going to spend this time either way. You really are. The time will be spent.

Speaker 0: 6:49

So do you want to spend it enjoying your daughter's sports journey, because she has these skills and also you have the skills you know to say to her before, during and after she competes and you have routines of connection before she competes and after she competes right. Or do we want to spend this time stressing over it and trying to convince her she's good enough and beating your head against the wall trying to figure out how to get her to believe in herself. I'm telling you right now it doesn't have to be like that. It has been a change for thousands of moms and athletes who have been through the elite mental game, where they're not doing that, they're enjoying the sports journey. They can actually relax and watch their daughters compete, knowing that they have the skills. The parents have the skills to know what to say and do, and athletes have the skills to be able to come back from mistakes, shift their negative self-talk, deal with the pressure all the normal parts of being an athlete. By the way. However, most athletes actually don't know how to navigate that. Okay, so let's get into these practical tips on how we can fit this into your schedule, how we can fit this into your daughter's schedule. And in order for me to really bring this episode to home, I interviewed some of the athletes and the parents inside the program and I asked them how do you fit it in, what do you do to make this work? And I gathered and compiled a lot of what they said to synthesize it into these three things.

Speaker 0: 7:59

Now, before I get into the first one, I first want to put this into perspective, if we're talking specifically about the elite mental game, so our signature mental training program for girl athletes and also for their parents. So half of it is for girl athletes and half of it is for their parents. So athletes are going through their side of the training. It's all on-demand trainings very short, easy to consume while also being supported via our athlete coaches as they go through as well. So they get live support in addition to those on-demand trainings. And then also parents are going through their side of the program as well, learning exactly how to support their athlete. Athlete have to show up as the best sports parent possible. So you're both going through your own set of trainings and it does not take a lot of time.

Speaker 0: 8:34

Our training plan for athletes lays out a plan for them that requires 30 minutes a week of trainings, 30 minutes a week and they can break that up as whatever way they want. 30 minutes a week is not a lot of time. And if we're breaking that up into you know three 10 minute chunks where they are consuming very short videos. These videos, like I said, are engaging. I was a high school teacher for 10 years, so I bring a lot of my teaching background into these trainings. They're interactive, so she's also doing things and she's commenting in the portal. So it's not like they're boring and she is just like watching a screen or anything like that.

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Okay, so 30 minutes a week Not very much time. The training plan is easy for her to follow. She checks off the trainings as she does that and at that pace athletes get through the program in about three months. Now a lot of athletes go a lot faster than that because they find the trainings are engaging, they're getting results, they're going through them in a way that allows them to want to continue and also it's a game. The elite mental game is a game where they earn points, they earn points, they earn prizes, so they're getting rewarded as they go through. So I would say the average athlete goes through the program in about two months, but the training plan at 30 minutes a week guarantees that they will get through it in about three months.

Speaker 0: 9:40

I also want to bring up the in-season versus out of season, because that does impact how much time you have available. There's no wrong time to do the program or to do mental training. There are benefits to doing it in season because she has opportunities right in front of her, right. She's maybe highly motivated to implement things right away, and so that's a really great time to do it Now. Out of season is also amazing because she is implementing things in lower stakes environments and maybe she does have more time right. So 30 minutes a week obviously isn't a whole lot, but when you're in season it could feel like there's a lot going on, so out of season can provide a little more breathing room.

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The other great thing about the elite mental game is athletes have lifetime access to the content. So we design it that way so that athletes can actually go back through when they start their season. We recommend they go through phase two. There's five phases of the program. We recommend they go back through phase two every time they start a new sports season because in phase two, that's where they learn how to set their goals. They create their daily mindset routine, they create their visualizations that are going to guide them through the program or through their season rather, and so going through phase two at the start of every sports season is actually something that we recommend and why we have lifetime access to the program. One other note on that is EMG comes with three months of free live support. So coaching from our coaches, community live calls all these amazing benefits that athletes and parents get in order to have that live interaction. And we have athletes who you know they join the program in off season and they activate their live support when their season starts so they can get more of that individual coaching. So there's a lot of different ways that you can approach this no wrong way and it's really whatever works best for your family. So I just want to lay that out there to show you that it doesn't take a lot of time. 30 minutes a week training plan and also in season versus out of season, there's really no wrong time. But a lot of athletes will join the program in the off season and then activate their live support when they're in season, when they want a little more coaching.

Speaker 0: 11:27

Okay, tip number one in order to make this work with your schedule is to calendar it. I live by my calendar. If it is not on my calendar, it is not happening. Okay, so I use Google calendar. Whatever you use, maybe you have something like a family calendar that you put up on your refrigerator or your wall, or maybe you have a shared Google calendar with your daughter, with your family. Put it on there just like an appointment, just like a practice. Put 30 minutes, wherever it goes. Okay, if it's like you know, tuesday evening we've got 30 minutes of EMG and that's when we're going to do it.

Speaker 0: 12:00

And look ahead, like some athletes like to say, you know this, one time a week is when I'm going to do my mental training and that's when it's going to be, and so it's like a cadence for them. And then some athletes also, just depending on what their week looks like, they will fit it in. But the thing is, do it ahead of time. If it becomes a leftover thing, then it likely won't happen. If it's like, oh well, when I have time, likely it's not gonna be filled with. Oh, the first thing I'm gonna do is, like my mental training, it time for talking teenagers might be to scroll and, you know, not not do mental training. So get it on the calendar so that it's just a thing that you don't have to spend mental energy figuring out when it's going to happen. Okay.

Speaker 0: 12:39

Number two make it something to look forward to and, depending on the age of your athlete, one thing that is has been a really beautiful kind of ritual for some moms and daughters in the program is that they make a date out of it. So they'll'll say Saturday morning we are going to go to a coffee shop, we're gonna have coffee together, have a treat, and then we're gonna sit down and do EMG and maybe mom's gonna do her side of the program, athlete's gonna do her side and we're just gonna spend 30 minutes doing that. And it's something that they look forward to, because there's food involved and and it also becomes this beautiful time where moms and daughters can connect, which is a really great thing. Now, if your daughter is older, I mean she may or may not be down for that, but you know you don't have to do the program together, so your side and her side can be done. You know, at different times they do line up so and you do have some conversation points between the two of you. There's some touch points. However, you can go at your own pace, she can go at your own pace, she can go at her own pace and if she is on the younger end, you might actually want to listen to her side of the program as well to make sure that she's tracking along. But making it something that you look forward to is a really easy way to do make sure it's on the calendar and it's something that you're both looking forward to doing.

Speaker 0: 13:43

Okay, number three stack onto what you are already doing. Okay, one of the athletes that I talked to she was like, I listen to it when I'm folding laundry. You know it's something that I already have to do, so I just put it on in the background as I'm folding laundry. Now, obviously, some of the athlete trainings are interactive, so they are accountable to having to do some things and visualize. But you know, if there's something easy that they're doing that doesn't require a lot of mental energy to have it on, that's on the way to tournaments. If she's not driving, if you're driving on the way to tournaments, put the AirPods in, have her do it in the car. All right, in her free period. Some athletes were like well, I have a free period at school where you know it's like a study hall. I do it then, and so that's also a great way for moms. You can listen to your side of the program just like a podcast. You just put it in whatever you're doing, have it be kind of the soundtrack of your day and have that on in the background. So there's things you know where can you think about, like what you're already doing in your day and how can you stack this on Athletes also within you know one of the first onboarding lessons.

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We talk about how to prioritize this, how to get on your calendar. You know all about how are they going to make sure that it gets done. And a lot of athletes will say things like I already have to do homework on. You know, certain nights of the week and on one night of the week I am going to do EMG before I do homework. Okay, so that's another great way to have it stack. So those are three strategies that I've heard from our community that really work.

Speaker 0: 15:03

Also, remember it's not a lot of time. 30 minutes a week is likely wasted. I mean, I've wasted 30 minutes already today. So 30 minutes a week is something that we can easily prioritize and be intentional with. So number one is get it on the calendar right. Make sure it is there. Number two, make it something to look forward to. So can you make it like a date with your daughter? Can it be something where you involve some food, because that's always motivating. Number three, stack it onto what you're already doing. Are you already driving to a tournament? Are doing? Are you already driving to a tournament? Are you already in the car so you can put it on in the background. Is your daughter already having to do something for school and she can tack it on to there?

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So really, what we find overall is that athletes, when they get into the program, they go through at a pretty reasonable pace because they are getting wins, they're unlocking points, they're earning prizes.

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It's something that's motivating, it's something that's giving them a competitive advantage, it's something that's actually helping them in their sport. So it is something that is making them want to continue instead of something that is like another chore or another duty. So I hope this is helpful for you to kind of visualize and see what this is all about Remembering we prioritize what matters to us. We know that mental training actually saves time. Even putting in a little bit of time saves time later. It saves that car ride home when she's beating yourself up, saves that time where she's already spiraling right. The time is going to be spent either way. So how do we want to spend it? What do we want our experience to be? And remember those three practical tips that have worked for other athletes and other families inside our program. All right, moms, I hope that this was helpful. I am Coach Bree, a mental performance coach for girl athletes, and I will see you in the next episode of the Raising Elite Competitors podcast.