By Dr. Patrick Cohn, Ph.D., Mental Performance Coach | Peak Performance Sports, LLC
Last Updated: August 1, 2026
Common Questions About Sports Psychology
Browse the questions athletes and coaches ask most about sports psychology and mental training below. If you don’t find your answer, contact us about our mental training programs for individuals and teams, or read more on our resource hub.
What is sports psychology?
Sports psychology coaching helps athletes understand how the mind influences performance and apply mental strategies to compete at their best. It also improves practice efficiency and focus. You learn how to prepare mentally for competition and carry your practice form into games. Sports psychology is not therapy for problem athletes. It is performance training that helps you compete with confidence.
What is mental game coaching or mental training?
Mental game coaching is the practical side of sports psychology, also called mental training or mental toughness training. It helps athletes build mental skills and break through barriers in confidence, concentration, and composure. You replace the beliefs that hold you back with ones that support peak performance in sports.
What’s the difference between sports psychology and therapy?
Sports psychology focuses on performance, not personal or clinical issues. There are no couches, medications, or treatment for abnormal behavior. A mental game coach helps you build confidence, sharpen focus, stay composed under pressure, practice with purpose, and develop reliable pre-performance routines. A therapist works on personal challenges such as divorce or addiction and on clinical conditions. Read more about The Roles of a Sports Psychologist.
When should I work with a sports psychology expert?
The most common sign is performing well in practice but struggling in competition. Many athletes flounder or freeze under pressure, lose focus, or battle performance anxiety and fear of failure. If you recognize those warning signs, a mental coach can help.
Mental coaching also helps athletes returning from injury who need to rebuild confidence during recovery. Read more about What is a Sports Psychologist.
What kind of results can I expect from mental training?
Results vary by athlete. Mental toughness coaching is not a one-size-fits-all fix, and outcomes depend on your desire to improve, your willingness to apply the strategies, and your effort to work through the obstacles that get in the way of performance.
Common outcomes include greater confidence, better composure, sharper concentration despite distractions, and reaching the zone faster and staying there longer.
Why should I work with Peak Performance Sports?
Dr. Cohn is one of the nation’s leading mental performance coaches. He combines a Ph.D. in sports psychology with decades of hands-on coaching and his own background competing in football, hockey, baseball, tennis, lacrosse, and golf.
He founded Peak Performance Sports, LLC in Orlando, Florida in 1996. Over his career, he has worked one-on-one with athletes at every level, including NFL players, PGA Tour professionals, Olympic athletes, NHL players, motocross champions, and NASCAR winners, along with thousands of collegiate and youth athletes. Named clients include the Miami Dolphins coaching staff, PGA Tour winner Brian Watts, and PGA Tour player J.L. Lewis.
See what others say about Dr. Cohn and Peak Performance Sports, and read the full bio of our founder and mental training expert, Dr. Cohn.
What mental coaching programs do you offer?
Peak Performance Sports offers mental training programs for individuals and teams at amateur and professional levels. The most personalized option is working one-on-one with Dr. Cohn. We also offer video, phone, and email coaching, so you can find a program that fits your needs and schedule.
How do I know if I’m a good candidate for mental game coaching?
You are a strong candidate if you have the physical talent and skills for your sport and the motivation to perform your best, but you have realized one or more of the following:
- You should be performing better in competition.
- You perform better in practice than in competition.
- You have lost confidence or are in a performance slump.
- You can’t stay in the moment or are often distracted.
- You get upset with yourself after mistakes.
Find out if mental game coaching fits you. Email us to request our one-page mental game assessment.
What mental coaching program is best for me?
We help you choose the program that fits your needs. Call us at 888-742-7225 to talk through your options. Every coaching program begins with an AMAP (Athlete’s Mental Aptitude Profile) to assess your individual needs, then we build a customized plan around your goals.
What are your mental coaching options?
- FaceTime or Zoom virtual mental performance coaching from anywhere in the world
- Email coaching programs from anywhere in the world
- Face-to-face coaching at your site for teams and groups
- Online mental training at Peaksports
Contact us with your sports background to request information on our mental game coaching programs today.
Do you work with athletes or teams in all sports?
We work with any athlete, team, or performer who is open to change and motivated to improve their mental game. Our programs apply to every level, from young athletes and parents to junior, high school, college, and professional competitors, and to both individuals and teams.
Dr. Cohn and his team have coached athletes in golf, auto racing, motocross, running, shooting, gymnastics, skating, soccer, tennis, football, basketball, baseball, softball, hockey, BMX racing, swimming, triathlons, skydiving, competitive sailing, billiards, and bowling. Our assessments let us focus on the needs of each athlete, whatever the sport. To see feedback from athletes across sports, visit our client list.
Can mental training help my child perform better in sports?
Mental training for sports parents and kids helps you spot the areas of your child’s mental game that hold back performance. It also teaches the mental skills, practice routines, and communication that support your child. Learn how to become the Ultimate Sports Parent by visiting our Youth Sports site.
Do you certify mental game coaches, therapists, or sports psychologists in training?
Yes. We offer our exclusive Mental Game Coaching Professional (MGCP) certification training. If you want to help your athletes with sports psychology techniques, our certification program or our self-paced mental game coaching program gives you the tools to do it.
You can also enroll in our online mental training programs and work at your own pace through more than 500 pages of performance-boosting content.
When can a team best use mental game coaching?
Mental toughness coaching helps teams that want to improve overall performance. As a coach, you know the signs that your team is performing below its potential: players lack confidence, lose motivation, commit more mental errors than usual, or perform better in practice than in competition.
How can sports psychology help my team?
Sports psychology helps team athletes build confidence, improve focus, increase practice efficiency, and strengthen team unity. We also help a slumping team find why performance is below potential and how mental game strategies can turn it around.
What kinds of programs for teams are available?
Our team programs are customized for your team. We start by assessing your team’s needs, then build a program that combines seminars, clinics, workshops, and individual sessions to address the challenges you want to target. Contact us to build a custom program for your team.
Where are you located?
Our office is in Orlando, Florida, and we meet athletes in Windermere, near Disney World and Universal Studios. We also coach athletes worldwide by Zoom, FaceTime, and phone. If you prefer to meet in person, we can suggest Mental Game Coaching Professionals certified by Peak Performance Sports in your area.
How do I find out more or get started?
Call us during regular hours, 9 to 5 Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, or send an email and we will reply promptly.
- Contact us by email to discuss your sports background and specific needs.
- Request our one-page mental game test to see if mental coaching can help you.
- Call us: 888-742-7225 or 407-909-1700.
Related Articles:
- The Role of a Sports Psychologist
- How to Find Top Sports Psychologists
- About Sports Psychology
- Sports Psychology Coach
- Why Choose Peak Performance Sports?
- Mental Strength Coaching
- What is a Mental Performance Coach?
- More Sports Psychology Articles
- Mental Health for Athletes
- Mental Performance Coach on TikTok
- Online Sports Psychology Sessions
- Top Mental Game Questions Athletes Ask
Last Updated on August 1, 2026