Book Lessons with Coach Jason

I'm a mental performance coach and certified sport psychology practitioner with more than 26 years developing athletes — from high school standouts to college, adult, and executive competitors. I built my craft on the floor first, as a basketball coach who took teams to championships and helped players earn college roster spots, then went deep on the science of performance. I'm trained through Brian Cain's Mental Performance Mastery and hold dual certifications from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, along with credentials in sport psychology coaching, emotional intelligence, and Maxwell DISC behavioral analysis. Today I coach competitive athletes and executives with the same methodology, and I'm co-authoring a forthcoming book, The Art of War for the Sports Coach. I coach virtually, so it doesn't matter where you are — only that you're ready to get better.

Most athletes train their bodies and leave their minds to chance. I help you close that gap. Together we'll build the mental skills that actually move performance: pre-competition routines you can trust, focus that holds under pressure, confidence that doesn't ride on your last result, the ability to reset fast after a mistake, and the composure to deliver when the stakes are highest — a college showcase, a championship, a high-pressure moment at work. Because the mental game is sport-agnostic, everything we build transfers, whatever you compete in.

Every session is built around you — never a generic program. We start with a quick check-in on where your head and your game are that day and what we're targeting. Then we go to work on a specific mental skill: a refocusing routine, a confidence anchor, a pressure rehearsal — and I'll often use behavioral insights (Maxwell DISC) to tailor it to how you're wired. We close with a clear, simple action plan to practice before we meet again because the reps that change performance happen on your own. You leave every session with something concrete to use, not just talk.

I came to mental performance work the way most great practitioners do — as a competitor myself. I played basketball at the high school and club level, I train in MMA with a focus on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and I competed in chess tournaments in high school, where I learned firsthand how much the mental game decides who wins. On the court as a coach, I led a boys' team to a Tennessee AAU state championship and guided a girls' program to a Southeast Regional AAU championship final, with multiple athletes going on to play in college, and I've spent 15+ years consulting to high school basketball programs on the mental side of the game. On the science side, I'm trained through Brian Cain's Mental Performance Mastery and certified by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, putting the same systems used with elite and Olympic-level athletes into your hands. I also coach CEOs & Presidents, founders, and former professional athletes now leading in business — proof that the mental skills that win games are the same ones that win in life. I'm currently co-authoring The Art of War for the Sports Coach with award-winning strategist Gary Gagliardi.

Curt Jeffryes, my cross-country and track coach, put values ahead of outcomes. He expected us to grow as people first and athletes second, and he never bent on the standard of being a good teammate — not as a rule, but as the foundation of a culture that carried us through good times and hard ones. What I remember most is what he never did: he never used force, coercion, intimidation, or threats with his athletes. He genuinely cared about each of us as a person and used the sport to teach us how to live, not just how to compete. He's the coach I strive to emulate with every athlete I work with.

For parents: I've worked with youth and young athletes for more than 26 years, I'm background-checked through the platform, and I treat this as a serious craft — professional, structured, and focused on your athlete as a whole person, not just their stats. I keep parents informed and involved where it helps, so there's transparency and trust on both sides.

For athletes: I'll meet you where you are and tell you the truth about what it takes. I do my best work with competitors who genuinely want to get better — driven high schoolers, college-bound and college athletes, and adults who compete at anything — and who'll do the small daily work that compounds. If that's you, the mental game is the highest-leverage thing you're not yet training. Let's fix that.