I've spent the last 9 years in locker rooms, living rooms, and everywhere in between — observing what allows young athletes to be themselves when everyone is watching. That's what my Mental Mailbag is for. Three questions. Three straight answers. No fluff.Just what works. Every Monday, I will answer three questions on performance and parenting, as well as something personal periodically. This week's mailbag was empty. Good thing I'm not shy — so I'm kicking things off with three questions I...
2 days ago • 1 min read
I love sharing Sunday Stories. It lets me be authentic — and sometimes vulnerable. More importantly, I love sharing my work as a mental performance coach in a concrete way. Not in a "let me prove how smart I am" way. But here's the truth: it's not as engaging as I hoped it would be. Mental performance coaches need to reflect too. So it's time to change things up. I'll still share stories to help you help your athlete. But now, it's time to open Mike's Mental Mailbag....
8 days ago • 1 min read
Last week, one of my athletes stood in the on-deck circle with the bases loaded. A new pitcher had just come in, throwing well. The kind of moment where his mind used to run wild. This time, he told me, he just kept repeating one thing to himself. This is my moment. This is my moment. I've got this. He barreled the ball up exactly how he wanted. Game one of that same tournament, he wasn't himself. entative. A step slow. Scanning the stands instead of seeing the ball. New field. Unfamiliar...
17 days ago • 1 min read
I’ve had four conversations with fathers of young athletes in the past two weeks. A 14-year-old baseball player.A Class of 2027 basketball recruit.A Class of 2028 baseball recruit.A college baseball player. All of them stressed about situations they wish they could control. I understood. I’m a father too. Being a parent is hard. We want the best for our children.We want them to live up to their potential.We want them to be happy. We also want them to just listen to us. When we do everything...
24 days ago • 1 min read
Happy Father's Day to all the dads reading. ast year, I shared a story about how hard it can be for fathers to ask for help. I know. I've lived it. Here's that story again in case you missed it 👉 Every Father's Dilemma *** On Friday, my son Patrick graduated from high school. It was the best Father's Day gift I could have received. I've been reflective lately — about his development from a boy into a young man. Most of that reflection has come through the lens of sports. I spent years...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
“It can’t always be me. He’s got to make it okay for himself. He’s got to learn to fight through and fix it.” A father said this to me as we wrapped up a one-hour consultation about his 11-year-old son this past Friday. As a father myself, I know how hard it is to “take our hands off the wheel.” We want to fix things for our kids — because we’ve been there. We have the experience. The wisdom. The answers. But fixing things for them? That’s not generally a long-term solution. And the hardest...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
In case you missed this past Sunday's story about a rising high school freshman basketball player who described going on autopilot mid-game — here it is: 👉 In case you missed it *** One Thought. I talk a lot about reset routines. Having a planned response to bounce back from mistakes is critical for young athletes. However, the routine is useless without the awareness it's needed in the first place. If a young athlete doesn't recognize they’ve drifted, the routine never fires. That's the real...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
"I was on autopilot." That's what a rising high school freshman basketball player (we'll call him Damien to protect the innocent) told me earlier this week. He wasn't talking about his drive to the gym. He was talking about what happens inside his head when things start to go sideways in a game. Something doesn't go his way. He feels bad about himself. His attention turns inward. And then he's stuck — watching the game happen around him instead of competing in it. Sound familiar? I had my own...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I recently had the pleasure of joining Coach George Vaz on the Transforming Basketball Podcast. I wanted to share it with you directly because I think it speaks right to what so many basketball families deal with. We talked about mental performance coaching — what it actually is, why it matters, and most importantly, how your young athlete can start using these skills right now. Here's some of what we covered: ✅ Why mindfulness and breathing aren't just "soft" skills — they're...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read