Book Private Mental-performance Lessons with Coach Logan

In high school, I was an All-WPIAL player and Beaver County Times Baseball All-Star at West Allegheny High School. I then moved on to Washington & Jefferson College, where I played over 120 games in my career. I was an All-Conference performer at 3rd base and won a PAC conference tournament every year of my career. I hit over .300 for my career at W&J in both the regular season and the NCAA Tournament.

From a mental perspective, I can improve an athlete's performance in a myriad of ways. First, I feel that through my experiences as an athlete, I can relate to their struggles and look back on what I was able to do to pull through those same situations. I also lean back on my education and the things I have learned, although in a more real-world sense. I don't like to bore athletes with a textbook-driven approach. Alternatively, I look to take those concepts and apply them in a way that allows each athlete to understand and use them in their careers. I look at mental performance from a two-pronged approach: mental health and mental performance. I strive to help athletes achieve success in both of those areas to allow for a clear and well-performing mental game to take them to the next level.

A typical training session is usually in the form of a conversation, or I am even comfortable going to a private practice or training session. Usually, I like to talk to players and get a gauge on how they're feeling, how their practices or games have been going, and how they are from a mental health perspective. Based on an athlete's response, I begin to formulate a discussion and a plan for the individual athlete on how to overcome their shortcomings, or even to further highlight their successes. I like to have these conversations in the form of a talk that they would have with a parent or friend, I do not like the therapy-type of setting where I am just listening and taking notes. Of course, I will be doing such, but I want a back-and-forth conversation that allows the session to be collaborative and allows the athlete to feel a sense of control over their own performance.

The best coach I ever had was my high school football coach at West Allegheny, Bob Palko. Coach Palko was my favorite coach ever due to his process and approach to coaching. On the field, he coached hard and demanded near-perfection, but was always willing to help me grow and learn and surrounded me with other coaches with the same ideals. He preached the importance of little things, not just in football but in life, and those lessons still resonate with me to this day. Off the field, Coach Palko always had an open-door policy, and I could always talk to him in those settings about anything. He genuinely cared about me and my teammates as people first, then football players. His coaching style was very empowering and led to performances that I didn't even know I had in me.

I want athletes and parents to know that I am not just doing this job for money. Of course, it's the way I make a living, but I have a genuine passion for this job and line of work. I am passionate about seeing my clients and athletes perform to the best of their ability, regardless of where they are in their careers. I get the ultimate satisfaction out of this job if each athlete I work with can take the mental processes and skills from our sessions and apply them in their sport to aid their success. I also care about each client as a person, not just an athlete. I look to create a personal connection and trust with every client to cultivate a comfortable working environment that allows the content of our sessions to shine through.