Podcast: What is a Mental Game Coach with Ann Zaprazny on the Derek Volk Show

Listen in to find out what Mental Game Coaching is and how it can be applied to the field, office, classroom, and personal life.

On Saturday, July 28, 2018 @9am, I had the honor of being interviewed by Derek Volk on The Derek Volk Show. 

You can listen to the interview here. 

It was so great being apart of Derek's Podcast.  He's more than a talk show host, he is a respected business man, community supporter and President of Volk Packaging Corporation in Biddeford, Maine. Volk Packaging is actually the only Maine owned and operated corrugated box manufacturer since 1967! 

In this Podcast I talk about how I got into Mental Game Coaching and why I went from working in the office to work in helping athletes and coaches train their brain for success in sports. I also talk about what Mental Game Coaching is all about and the steps we go through together when someone reaches out for my Mental Game Coaching services. Mental Game Coaching is for athletes, coaches and also parents. 

We discuss the key for parents and how they can make a positive change in their child's mental game. 

It's about focusing on the EFFORT AND THE MASTERY OF THE GAME, NOT OUTCOME. 

We cover simple sentences you can say to support and help your athlete increase their performance instead of making them shut down. 

You can listen to the podcast here. 

We cover how the brain thinks in positives. Derek loved focusing on the mental game of softball since that is the sport his daughters played. "Your brain can't think in negatives, it can only think in positives." - Derek Volk 

I love this phrase because that is exactly what happens.

For example: If you say, "Do not think about losing your car keys." "Do not think about losing your car keys." What's the first thing that comes to your mind and what you start to visualize?

...Losing your car keys.

See how that works? 

Your brain doesn't see the don't or won't, it just sees the main idea which is losing your car keys.

The same thing applies to sports. "Don't think about striking out, don't strike out, don't strike out.." Chances are you're going to strike out because all your brain is hearing is, "strike out."

Think about his next time you don't want something to happen. Instead think of the thing you do want to happen, or you do want to focus on.

The thinking in positives goes beyond sports. It goes into life and handling stressful situations,in business, and in our personal lives. 

In this podcast interview, we go back and forth about experiences of different athletes I've coached and how Mental Game coaching helped them. 

I've found there is a high demand for younger athletes and this is great because they are highly motivated athletes that will do the work and have started seeing the benefit show up in the sport and in the classroom. 

So many athletes are so focused on not losing, and being perfectionist. They have unrealistic expectations and this huge fear of failure. I teach them how to direct and confront that fear and move though it. 

I try to stress a goal and what you're doing all the work for. We want you to focus on the process of playing well, instead of just thinking on the outcome. When you're putting to much stress on yourself and not focusing on executing well, then you set your self up for disappointment because when that unrealistic expectation isn't met and that anger then plays a negative roll in the rest of your game, bringing you down and throwing off your game. 

You can listen in and hear more about Mental Game Coaching from this interview  here on the Derek Volk Show. 

If you're also curious and looking to learn a little more about my Interviewer, Derek Volks, here are a few more fun facts about who he is as a father, and a person.

Derek is the author of “Chasing the Rabbit: A Dad’s Life Raising a Son on the Spectrum.”  His son Dylan is releasing his own book soon.  They also travel around the country speaking to people about life with Asperger’s syndrome. Derek Volk is also very involved and committed to his community, the state of Maine, and his family.

He serves as Vice-Chair of the Manufacturers Association of Maine.

He is also on the boards of: 

• The Maine Chamber of Commerce
• Maine Economic Research Institute
• Maine Business Leadership Network

If you're ever looking to get the latest scoop on Maine businesses and Maine people, or just an entertaining and educating podcast, Derek Volk is the man to listen to. You can learn more about Derek Volk here.