About Us
Hi, I Am Mandy Patterson
Mental Performance Coach, owner of Mandy Patterson Coaching, and founder of the Mind Over Mental Block and A-Game Athlete Coaching Programs, where we teach athletes how to rediscover their passion, pursue their goals and ultimately experience authentic joy in their sport and life.
As a young athlete, I experienced mental blocks on multiple occasions throughout my career, which caused me to doubt myself and struggle with confidence. I was a hard worker who wanted to be the best but constantly felt I fell short of my full potential, never living up to expectations of myself and others. I was able to grind my way through each setback with considerable time (and expense from my parents) and continue competing in the sport I loved, but I knew I could have done more.
As a tumbling, cheer, and gymnastics coach for a decade following high school, I expanded on the methods I personally used to overcome blocks and helped countless athletes conquer their fears and master new skills, but I still did not fully understand what worked. Then, something amazing happened. I had a conversation with a young girl whom I had encouraged to try cheerleading, and it was like looking at a younger version of myself. She was struggling with mental blocks and desperately needed a non-clinical solution. That’s when I decided to step up and dive deep into studying sports psychology, personal development, and anything I could get my hands on to understand how to overcome fears and achieve success in both sports and life.
With my experience as an athlete and coach for over a decade, along with my research and certification through the Mental Game Coaching Professional Program, I now dedicate my life to teaching mental game skills to athletes so they can overcome fears and performance challenges and get back to confidently thriving in their sport and life.
Since opening in 2019, we have helped hundreds of athletes who are stuck, defeated, and questioning if they are good enough to regain their confidence and joy for the sport they love.
On average, athletes in our 1:1 coaching programs improved their mental game by 40% in the first 3-months of training based on our baseline assessment, the MGCP Athlete Mental Aptitude Test.
I love hearing stories from my athletes who say not only did they see progress in their sport, but they noticed a positive change in other areas of their lives as well.
Here is what a few of our athletes had to say…
“I have grown my confidence and worked really hard to reach my goals! I have more confidence and now, tumbling and practice is enjoyable. [MPC] helps you fully trust yourself again and realize things you may have never noticed before.”
“I have gotten all of my tumbling back. I believe in myself and I push hard for my tumbling. [MPC] helped me get out of my mental block!”
“Being more confident in my skills, getting my round off bhs tuck back, learning to like beam more, learning that my negative thoughts can be changed, and that I can have a new normal. It really helps you just got to be open to new things but the best thing is what a difference it makes in your confidence!! THE PROGRAM IS AMAZING! I WILL BE RECOMMENDING MPC TO ALL OF MY TEAMMATES THAT HAVE MENTAL BLOCKS!!!!!”
"Your success in your sport is important and worth investing in, but
your self-confidence and unwavering belief in yourself as a person is priceless."
- Mandy Patterson
WE SUPPORT OUR SPORTS PARENTS every step of the way because we understand the importance of their role in raising confident athletes. We walk alongside them so they know they’re never alone in this journey.
Here’s what some of our amazing parents had to say about their experience and the support they’ve received:
“Thanks to Coach Mandy, my teenage daughter has become so confident – not only with her gymnastics, but with other aspects of her life. She struggled with a mental block for years and Coach Mandy has helped her make great progress in overcoming it. We are so grateful and continue to work with Coach Mandy because her work and support are invaluable.”
“[The MPC Program] was just what we were hoping for and expecting. [Mandy] Took time to get to know our child where they felt heard and understood and will talk about the issues they are facing… Our child was very comfortable talking with Mandy and she was able to help him work through his mental blocks and help him get back to loving the sport he cares so much about. She provides great feedback to the parents so we know how to best support our child.”
My Mission
An athlete’s sport plays a massive role in their life. It is where they learn to take chances, believe in themselves, pursue their dreams, make friends, and deal with challenges. Unfortunately, many life lessons get lost in the push for championships and perfection. Instead of focusing on action and prioritizing growth, many athletes operate out of fear of failure and comparison with others, which results in performance challenges, low confidence and self-esteem, and eventually burnout.
I know this from personal experience. The same mindset and perfectionist tendencies that drove me to succeed in the corporate world eventually led to burnout. That’s why I’m passionate about helping athletes achieve true, lifelong success by teaching them crucial life skills through an avenue they understand best ____ their sport.
My mission is to help athletes develop mental toughness so that they can tackle anything life throws their way. I want them to know how to persevere, appreciate their efforts, and celebrate their victories, big and small. We help them understand how to approach situations with confidence, knowing they have what it takes to succeed. When an athlete has a strong mind, they experience true joy, both in their sport and in life.
At Mandy Patterson Coaching, we are empowering resilient athletes who are prepared to win the game of life!
Interview With Mandy
As a competitive cheerleader in middle and high school, I can remember the frustration I felt after the 3rd, 4th, and sometimes even 5th private tumbling lesson of the week in an attempt to overcome a mental block in my tumbling skills. I spent so much time, energy, and money trying every avenue I could think of to get over the block. As a cheerleading and tumbling coach, I have worked with athletes in similar situations, who are desperately trying to overcome the fear and utilizing every approach I could think of to help them push past it.
I understand what athletes with mental blocks experience and the desire coaches and parents have to help in any possible way they can…
I knew there had to be a better way to tackle these blocks at the source, the mental game. With the knowledge I have acquired as a certified mental game coaching professional, research, and expert interviews, as well as the life experience as an athlete and coach, I have acquired the tools to help cheerleaders tackle their blocks at the source.
My role is to help educate and support the athlete, coach, and parent through mental blocks and fears. I help athletes recognize the limiting beliefs they have about themselves and their skills and to understand how these beliefs are affecting their performance. Through one-on-one coaching and the use of workbooks and assessments the athlete is able to begin to change their mindset and improve their mental game.
I help athletes learn how to set goals without having strict expectations about their performance and to implement effective strategies around practice and performance so they are prepared to show up with confidence and a peak mental state. I help parents to understand what is contributing to their child’s performance challenges and give them guidance on the most effective ways to help support their child.
Performance Sports like cheerleading and gymnastics rewards perfectionism. You are judged on how perfectly you can execute a routine by not only successfully hitting all skills but by doing it without any mistakes. If you do not understand how to process your emotions and monitor your own mental game, you will begin to only focus on perfection, not progress. Have you obsessed over a tumbling pass on video that was landed successfully but maybe your legs were not together or you bobbled on the landing?! Over time, this can lead to blocks in your skills and contribute to performance anxiety.
When you and I work together, you will get support, tactics, strategies, and accountability. You have someone on your side that understands what you are going through and can support you through the challenges. I offer direction when you feel stuck and help you manage the emotions that will be experienced on this journey towards overcoming your blocks and fears.
If you are reading this and do not have a mental block, that tells me that you can absolutely benefit from mental coaching! You want to be the best you can be and achieve your goals by being a well-rounded athlete. You understand that there are things that are holding you back if your performance… maybe its confidence, or anxiety surrounding performance, or fear of failure or any number of other mental game challenges but you know there is something keeping you from performing at your absolute best level and it is not physical…
Championship athletes train 4 areas: fitness, technique, strategy, and mentality. An athlete’s mentality is so important because it impacts your ability to access the other areas fully. For example, if a gymnast is strong enough to perform a tumbling pass on floor such as a roundoff back handspring tuck and has the technical skills to do so but cannot focus during competition, their strength and technique cannot be accessed fully so the athlete is unable to perform the skill successfully. The mental Game is crucial to success as an athlete and avoiding blocks.
I help teams to improve their cohesion which will result in more productive practices and improved performance. Often, athletes fall into what is called social loafing. This is where they may not give their best to the stunt because they understand they are part of a team where effort and responsibility are shared. This is their way of easing the pressure of blame but leads to frustration on the part of the team members. I help athletes learn how their performance impacts the team, how to communicate effectively, and how to join forces to accomplish a shared goal. I offer seminars to teams as well as customized programs so the needs of the team are met.
Imagine there is a wall … on 1 side you have the athlete and on the other is the skill. Before, the athlete was trying to break through the wall but without the proper skills which used so much energy (mentally and physically) in the indecision and attempts. My job is to teach the athlete the skills necessary to successfully get to the other side of the wall. These tools also take mental and physical energy but the athlete is clear on the path. As they begin to use the tools, they will see the wall start to breakdown and it will eventually be weak enough to collapse.
Every athlete is different which is why as a mental coach, I approach the block from multiple angles ensuring it is dealt with appropriately so the athlete can fully recover and chase their next goals confidently without fear of the block returning.
When parents are helping athletes work through a mental block they often try a variety of gut driven techniques which may include: threats (“if you are not going to tumble you will have to quit”), bribery (“I will give you $20 if you throw it” or “we will go get ice cream if you do your tuck”), yelling out of frustration, loving on the athlete and avoiding the topic of their stuckness, and then eventually… they don’t know what to do so they give up trying to help. This is all in the best interest of their child whom they love and just want to support.
I help parents to understand what is happening to their child and give them tips on how to help so they are not lost in this frustration cycle. My one-on-one coaching programs include monthly sessions with parents as well as weekly summaries so they understand what their child is working on and ways they can help. I also offer seminars to parents of teams and organizations.
Like parents, coaches do not always know what is causing athletes to freeze up, but their experience has taught them a variety of tools they can use to push the athlete. Techniques could include: drills on the broken down skill, adding variety to the practice surface, extra conditioning, and maybe even getting kicked out of practice after a bailed tumbling pass.
I support coaches by helping them understand the level the athlete is at mentally and how to challenge them and push while staying within the bounds of their current mental strength. I offer sessions for coaches in my 1-on-1 programs so they can understand how they may be contributing to the athlete’s mental game. I help guide communication between the athlete, parent, and coach so that everyone is on the same page. The support of the parents and coaches for the athlete and each other is essential to reducing anxiety for the athlete and helping them succeed. I also offer seminars to coaches.
Overcoming a mental block and fears is a process that unfortunately, does not happen in 1 or 2 “quick fix” sessions. To support athletes through the entire process of achieving mental strength, I offer 1-on-1 coaching programs that are structured in 3, 6, and 9 month terms. My programs are comprised of a proven process developed through the Mental Game Coaching Professional Program along with athlete-specific modifications.
Athletes will have a customized Mental Game Plan which is implemented by weekly coaching sessions, workbooks, assessments, and practice/performance application guides to ensure they are consistently implementing their new and improved mental game skills. Athletes and parents receive weekly summaries outlining focus points of the week and feedback on progress. Most importantly, athletes and parents have access to me when they need it, so they are never stuck or left to figure it out on their own.
Absolutely! I can’t wait to hear your story 😊 The next step will be to schedule a complementary Performance Check Session by completing my online questionnaire BY CLICKING HERE. Following completion, you will receive an email with a link to my calendar so we can schedule a time to meet. I am so excited to “meet you” and uncover if we are a fit for working together!