Peak Performance Counseling, PLLC

12/11/2025

Big News!

I’m thrilled to share that I have officially completed the training and educational requirements necessary for the Certified Sports Psychology Coach (CSPC) program and am now a Certified Sports Psychology Coach!

This certification represents my continued commitment to helping athletes, teams, and performers unlock their full mental potential—whether it’s building resilience, enhancing focus, mastering emotional regulation, strengthening confidence, or developing the mindset needed to perform their best under pressure.

I can’t wait to bring new strategies, insights, creative ideas, and tools to support athletes at all levels in achieving peak performance—both on and off the field.

11/27/2025

Today, I had the opportunity to work with the Gull Lake Varsity Women's Basketball Team on one of the most important mental skills in sport (and life): learning to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

We talked about the moments that test athletes most — tough conditioning, new expectations, mistakes, pressure, and adversity — and how discomfort isn’t a sign to quit, but a signal that growth is happening. The best players don’t avoid hard things… they lean into them.

When athletes learn to stay present, push through resistance, and respond with purpose instead of panic, their confidence and resilience skyrocket.

Proud of this group for embracing the challenge and committing to becoming mentally tougher, more self-aware, and more intentional competitors. The real progress happens when things feel hard.

09/16/2025

🟢 September is Su***de Prevention Awareness Month 🟣

As a sports psychologist, I want to remind athletes, coaches, and communities: you are not alone.

Behind every uniform and performance is a person who may be carrying silent struggles. Talking about mental health, checking in with others, and reaching out for help are powerful steps that save lives.

💬 It’s okay to not be okay.
🤝 Support is always within reach.
📞 If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 in the U.S. for the Su***de & Crisis Lifeline.

Let’s work together to break the stigma and build a culture of care—on and off the field. 💙

***dePrevention

09/03/2025

Reminder: It’s okay to have bad days.

Not every practice will click. Not every game will showcase your best. Not every day will you feel your best. And that doesn’t mean you’ve failed—it means you’re human.

As a sports psychologist, I remind athletes that performance is a journey. Progress includes ups and downs, and growth often comes from the harder days just as much as the great ones.

Give yourself permission to feel, learn, and reset. Tomorrow is a new opportunity. 🌟

We're excited to announce that Ettore “Big E” Ewen’s story “Sour” was selected by Nif Muhammad for The Year's Best Sports Writing 2025 — out October 7 from Triumph Books. Revisit his story: “I’d give anything to be able to look in the mirror now, see 9-year-old Ettore staring back, and just reach out and hug him. I’d give anything to be able to talk to that kid at a time when I know how desperately he needed it. But I can’t….. so I guess I’ll have to settle for talking to my old-ass 39-year-old self. That’s a guy who’s been through a lot. And when I see him in the mirror next March, I think I know what I’ll say.

I think I’ll tell him, ‘DON’T YOU DARE BE SOUR. CLAP FOR YOUR—’

No, I’m kidding. I’ll tell him what he already knows: It’s OK to be sour.

It’s OK to get frustrated, or sad, or down on yourself — or even wake up some mornings and not want to be yourself. It’s OK to have bad days.

But just keep having days. Just keep going. Just keep waking up and trying again.

Because every day won’t be like that, I promise.

And tomorrow is a new one.”

Read his story here: playerstribu.ne/BigE

📷: WWE

08/11/2025

The mental game matters just as much as the physical one.

I recently had the privilege of working with the dedicated coaching staff at Gull Lake High School to dive into common mental challenges athletes face — from performance anxiety and fear of failure to difficulty bouncing back after mistakes.

We explored mental skills that can strengthen both performance and well-being:
✅ Confidence-building
✅ Stress management
✅ Positive self-talk
✅ Focus under pressure
✅ Mindset shifts for resilience

When coaches understand the mental side of sport, they can better support their athletes both on and off the field. Proud to see Gull Lake coaches leading the way. 💙

06/02/2025

🌈 Happy Pride Month! 🌈

Pride is more than celebration — it’s visibility, resilience, and the ongoing fight to live freely and authentically. Pride is Healing. Pride is Power.

As a mental health therapist, I honor and affirm the strength, resilience, and beauty of the LGBTQIA+ community — this month and every month.

Therapy should be a space where you never have to shrink yourself to feel safe. You are seen. You are valid. You are worthy of care exactly as you are.

Let’s honor Pride by creating space where every identity is respected, supported, and celebrated.

💛💚💙💜❤️

05/19/2025

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

As athletes, we train our bodies relentlessly — but peak performance also demands a strong, healthy mind.

Mental health isn't a weakness — it's a foundation.
Whether it’s managing pressure, overcoming setbacks, or finding balance off the field, prioritizing your mental well-being is just as important as physical training.

This month, let’s break the stigma, open the conversation, and support one another — teammates, coaches, parents, and fans alike. Strong minds. Stronger athletes.

Kayla McBride shared her mental health journey in 2020: “10-year-old Kayla, I mean, she loved to ball.

It became my way out. Out of my head. And eventually out of my hometown, which was a big deal. Where I’m from, people don’t really leave.

I love my dad to death. Anybody who’s come in contact with my dad loves him. He’s traveled with me, he’s been to all my teams overseas. He’s come to Russia, he’s come to Istanbul. He never misses a game.

But he had trauma and anxiety and things that had happened to him in his own childhood that had a huge effect on who he was able to be back when he and my mom were raising us. And as I got older, and learned more about mental health, I realized that he was a part of a cycle in his own family that he wasn’t able to break.

I’m sure a lot of people reading this know what I’m talking about.

You might be reading this now, and thinking about your own anxiety and mental health issues, or maybe even a negative cycle that’s persisted in your own family.

Or, maybe, you’re the one who finally broke it....

One night, we got to talking, and to be honest, I can’t tell you exactly how it went there, but I just remember that there was alcohol involved, and I was … angry. I was very angry, and I told him exactly what I felt about everything....

I waited for his reaction. I just knew he would get defensive or upset.

But he didn’t get mad. He didn’t get angry....

Having that vulnerable moment with my dad and him just loving me through it was a big deal. It didn’t fix everything, but it’s almost like … it released me.

But to be honest, I still struggle with it. It’s still a big source of that 100-pound weight on my chest.

That’s what this is about. That’s why I’m writing this.

This is just one step of me trying my best to break the cycle.....

Mental health is a journey. It’s not a game that you either win or lose.

But I just want everyone out there, who is struggling silently, to know that you are not alone.

Those feelings you have, they are real, and they deserve to be heard and felt and worked through.”

Read her story here: playerstribu.ne/McBride

📸: David Sherman

05/01/2025

This week, I had the privilege of working again with the Kalamazoo College softball team, helping them embrace one of the most powerful mental shifts in sports: Finding comfort in discomfort.

These moments aren’t signs of weakness—they’re invitations to grow and challenge yourself.

We worked on rewiring the response to discomfort. Instead of avoiding it, the athletes learned how to lean into it—by breathing through it, reframing, and trusting their training. They learned that discomfort isn’t the enemy—it’s the environment of high-level sport.

And when you stop fighting it, you start flowing with it. That’s where peak performance lives.

04/23/2025

When everything clicks—your swing feels effortless, decisions are instant, and the game slows down—you’re in the flow state.

This week, I’ve been working with the Kalamazoo College softball team on mental strategies to reach that zone more often. We're diving into:

✅ Pre-performance routines
✅ Focus cues to quiet distractions
✅ Breathing techniques to stay grounded under pressure
✅ Visualization drills to prep the mind like we prep the body

Flow isn’t just for elite athletes—it’s a skill you can train and influence. When the mind and body align, peak performance becomes the norm, not the exception.

04/17/2025

Had the privilege of working with the Kalamazoo College Men’s Lacrosse team this week on how to bounce back after mistakes—because let’s be real, they’re part of the game.

Dropped pass? Missed shot? Bad decision? It happens. What matters most is how you respond.

👉 Take a breath
👉 Refocus and recenter yourself
👉 Shift energy to the 'next play' instead of the 'last play'

Every mistake is a chance to reset, learn, and show up stronger the next time.

Mental game = just as important as the physical one.

03/03/2025

Thank you, Kalamazoo College Women's Softball! I had the opportunity to return to my alma mater over the weekend for a team consultation to work with the talented ladies on the softball team to focus on the mental side of the game and work on how to adaptively respond to mistakes while performing.

Mistakes are inevitable—but how we respond is what sets us apart. Through discussion, exercises, and real-game scenarios, the athletes learned how to:

✅ Let go of errors quickly
✅ Stay present & focused on the next play
✅ Use mistakes as learning opportunities
✅ Build confidence under pressure
✅ Strategies to slow down after becoming elevated

Mental toughness is just as important as physical skill, and we’re committed to strengthening both. Stronger minds. Stronger team.

02/05/2025

Celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day! Today, we celebrate the strength of female athletes, past and present, who push boundaries and inspire the next generation!

Let’s continue to foster mental toughness, leadership, and self-belief in girls and women in sports. Their potential is limitless!