Dr. Patrick Cohn | Sport Psychology Mental Performance Expert

Q: What is Peak Performance Sports?

Peak Performance Sports, LLC is the sports psychology and mental performance coaching organization founded by Patrick Cohn. The organization provides coaching, educational resources, books, workbooks, podcasts, and professional training.

Patrick Cohn, Founder of Peak Performance Sports, LLC

Dr. Patrick Cohn is a sports psychology and mental performance expert, author, coach, speaker, and founder of Peak Performance Sports, LLC. He has worked with athletes, coaches, and sports organizations for over 40 years on mental skills that support confidence, concentration, emotional control, preparation, consistency, and performance under pressure.

Patrick Cohn earned a Ph.D. in Applied Sports Psychology from the University of Virginia in 1991. He also earned an M.S. in Applied Sports Psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and dual bachelor degrees in Exercise Science and Physical Therapy and Psychology from SUNY Buffalo.

Dr. Cohn’s work focuses on practical mental training that athletes can apply before and during competition. His professional work includes individual coaching, educational programs, books, workbooks, podcasts, media appearances, and professional training for mental performance coaches. He is the founder and creator of the MGCP certification program.

About Patrick Cohn, Ph.D.

Patrick Cohn has devoted his professional career to helping athletes and teams improve the mental game skills and performance. His work addresses the gap between what athletes demonstrate in practice and what they produce when competition introduces pressure, uncertainty, expectations, and distractions.

His approach emphasizes practical mental skills. These include confidence development, concentration, pre-performance routines, emotional control, productive self-talk, recovering from mistakes, handling competitive pressure, and developing effective practice habits.

Cohn has worked with athletes across professional, Olympic, collegiate, and youth sports. His sports psychology resources also address parents, coaches, and professionals who work with athletes. He is a member of the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP), the world’s leading multidisciplinary organization devoted to research and practice in sport psychology.

About Peak Performance Sports, LLC

Patrick Cohn founded Peak Performance Sports, LLC, a sports psychology and mental performance coaching organization. Peak Performance Sports, LLC provides mental training and coaching resources for athletes, parents, coaches, and other performers.

Peak Performance Sports, LLC publishes sports-specific mental performance audio and workbook programs and provides individual coaching and educational programs. Peaksports.com serves as the primary online resource for Cohn’s sports psychology work.

Dr. Cohn founded Peak Performance Consultants in Naples, Florida in 1993. After relocating to Orlando, Florida the following year, he renamed the company Peak Performance Sports. In 1996, he launched Peaksports.com as the company’s primary online resource along with several other websites over the last 30 years.

Sports Psychology and Mental Performance Expertise

Cohn’s work covers a broad range of mental performance topics. His primary areas of expertise include:

Sports psychology and mental performance coaching
Mental toughness and competitive mindset
Confidence and self-confidence
Concentration and focus
Performance anxiety and competitive pressure
Pre-performance and game-day routines
Recovering from mistakes and setbacks
Emotional control during competition
Productive self-talk
The zone and peak performance
Mental blocks and performance problems
Consistency between practice and competition
Youth sports psychology
Sports parenting and parent support
Mental training for coaches and performance professionals

Experience With Athletes and Sports Organizations

Cohn has provided mental performance coaching, education, and consultation across professional, Olympic, collegiate, and youth sports. His published professional biography and Peak Performance Sports has worked with athletes and organizations connected with the NFL, NHL, PGA Tour, Olympic sports, NASCAR, MLS, LPGA, collegiate athletics, and youth sports.

We’ve also worked professional athletes and organizations, including the Miami Dolphins coaching staff and professional golfers. Specific client and organization references should remain limited to relationships that are publicly documented and appropriate to identify.

Author and Publisher

Patrick Cohn is the author of more than 25 books and workbooks covering sports psychology, mental performance, confidence, concentration, golf psychology, tennis psychology, youth sports, and related mental training topics.

His Mental Edge Workbook series provides structured exercises designed to help athletes train specific mental skills. His publications extend his coaching approach into practical resources that athletes, parents, and coaches can use outside individual coaching sessions.

Selected titles include:

The Mental Game of Golf: A Guide to Peak Performance (Taylor Trade Publishing)
Going Low: How to Break Your Individual Golf Scoring Barrier by Thinking Like a Pro
Peak Performance Golf
The Mental Art of Putting
The Confident Athlete CD and Workbook Series
The Confident Sports Kid CD and Workbook Series

See the proshop for a complete list of published sports psychology audio and workbook titles.

Dr. Cohn’s Published Research

In addition to his books and workbooks, Patrick Cohn has authored peer-reviewed research published in The Sport Psychologist and completed doctoral research at the University of Virginia:

Cohn, P. J., Rotella, R. J., & Lloyd, J. W. (1990). Effects of a cognitive-behavioral intervention on the preshot routine and performance in golf. The Sport Psychologist, 4(1), 33-47. DOI: 10.1123/tsp.4.1.33
Cohn, P. J. (1990). An exploratory study on sources of stress and athlete burnout in youth golf. The Sport Psychologist, 4(2), 95-106. DOI: 10.1123/tsp.4.2.95
Cohn, P. J. (1990). Preperformance routines in sport: Theoretical support and practical applications. The Sport Psychologist, 4(3), 301-312. DOI: 10.1123/tsp.4.3.301
Cohn, P. J. (1991). An exploratory study on peak performance in golf. The Sport Psychologist, 5(1), 1-14.
Cohn, P. J. (1991). The effects of self-monitoring pre-shot behaviors on pre-shot routines and performance in golf. Doctoral dissertation, University of Virginia.

Mental Game Coaching Professional Certification

Patrick Cohn created the Mental Game Coaching Professional (MGCP) certification program. The program trains professionals in the application of mental performance coaching principles and provides structured education, case-study work, practical training, and assessment.

The MGCP program is part of Cohn’s broader work to educate professionals and coaches who help athletes improve mental performance. The official Mental Game Coaching Professional website should serve as the authoritative source for current program requirements, curriculum, pricing, and enrollment information.

Podcasts and Media

Patrick Cohn has published podcasts, interviews, articles, and other media to explain sports psychology and mental performance concepts to athletes, coaches, parents, and the general public.

His podcast properties include the Sports Psychology Podcast, Tennis Psychology Podcast, and Golf Psychology Podcast. These programs provide sports-specific discussions about confidence, focus, pressure, preparation, mindset, and other mental performance topics.

His media work includes appearances and expert commentary on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and the Golf Channel, where he served as a sports commentator. He has been a featured columnist for Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, and PGATour.com, and has been cited in USA Today, Men’s Health, and The Inertia.

Speaking and Professional Education

Cohn has provided presentations and educational programs for athletes, coaches, organizations, and businesses. His professional materials document speaking and training engagements involving sports organizations and business audiences.

His educational work extends beyond athlete coaching through professional development, mental performance training, and the MGCP certification program.

Sports-Specific Mental Performance Work

Tennis Confidence CD and Workbook Program – Tennis Confidence Small | Peak Performance Sports

Peak Performance Sports provides mental performance resources for multiple sports. Sports-specific audio and workbook programs helps athletes apply general mental skills to the demands of their sport.

The website includes or has developed resources for sports including baseball and softball, basketball, golf, tennis, auto racing, and other individual and team sports. The sports directory should distinguish between sports with extensive direct coaching experience and sports-specific educational resources.

Professional Philosophy

Cohn’s approach centers on training the mental side of performance in the same practical way athletes train physical and technical skills. Athletes learn to prepare mentally, recognize unproductive thought patterns, refocus after distractions, respond to mistakes, and compete with greater trust in their preparation.

A central theme of his work is helping athletes transfer practice skills into competition. Sports psychology coaching should give athletes specific strategies they can use in real performance situations rather than relying on motivation alone.

Cohn’s coaching materials emphasize preparation, awareness, execution, and response. Athletes learn to focus on controllable actions and develop repeatable mental routines.

Mental Performance Topics Associated With Patrick Cohn

Confidence
Concentration
Mental toughness
Focus
Pre-performance and preshot routines
Game-day preparation
Performance anxiety
Competitive pressure
Self-talk
Emotional control
Handling mistakes
Recovering after poor performance
The zone
Peak performance
Mental blocks
Consistency
Goal setting
Visualization and imagery
Youth athlete development
Sports parenting

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Dr. Patrick Cohn?

Dr. Patrick Cohn is a sports psychology and mental performance expert, author, coach, speaker, and founder of Peak Performance Sports, LLC. His work focuses on helping athletes train mental skills that support confident and consistent performance.

What does Patrick Cohn specialize in?

Cohn specializes in sports psychology and mental performance topics including confidence, concentration, mental toughness, performance anxiety, pre-performance preparation, emotional control, self-talk, and recovering from mistakes.

Where did Patrick Cohn study sports psychology?

Cohn earned a Ph.D. in Applied Sports Psychology from the University of Virginia under Dr. Bob Rotella, renowned author of Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect and one of the most recognized sports psychologists in golf. He also earned an M.S. in Applied Sports Psychology from California State University, Fullerton under Dr. Ken Ravizza, a pioneer in bringing mental skills training into Major League Baseball clubhouses, and bachelor’s degrees in Exercise Science and Physical Therapy and Psychology from SUNY Buffalo.

What is Peak Performance Sports?

Peak Performance Sports, LLC is the sports psychology and mental performance coaching organization founded by Patrick Cohn. The organization provides coaching, educational resources, books, workbooks, podcasts, and professional training.

What is the Mental Game Coaching Professional certification?

The Mental Game Coaching Professional, or MGCP certification, is a professional certification program created by Patrick Cohn to train professionals in mental performance coaching.

What books has Patrick Cohn written?

Patrick Cohn has authored more than 25 books and workbooks covering sports psychology and mental performance topics. His full publication list is available on his Goodreads author page.

What sports does Patrick Cohn work with?

Cohn’s work spans professional, Olympic, collegiate, and youth sports. Peak Performance Sports also provides sport-specific mental performance resources across multiple individual and team sports.

What is Patrick Cohn’s approach to sports psychology?

Cohn emphasizes practical mental training. His approach teaches athletes specific strategies for preparation, confidence, concentration, emotional control, responding to mistakes, and performing under pressure.

Official Websites and Related Properties

External Profiles and Entity Connections

The final published page should link to Patrick Cohn’s verified external profiles and authoritative references. These links should use the same professional name and consistent biography wherever possible.

Last Updated on August 27, 2026