Peak performance isn’t only about athletes — it’s about the coaches who guide them. As coaches, we step into every training, every match, and every tournament with a responsibility to bring our best selves forward so our athletes can do the same.
Over the years, I’ve come to realise that the same four levers athletes must learn to adjust — mind, body, emotions, and energy — also apply to us.
But our role has a second layer: noticing when an athlete’s levers are out of balance and helping them tune back into alignment.
The first lever is mind confidence. Our mindset as coaches sets the tone. If we’re scattered, hesitant, or carrying self-doubt, it shows in the way we give direction. It also shapes how we hear our athletes — whether we notice when they’re spiralling into unhelpful self-talk or quietly losing belief in themselves.
Helping an athlete shift their inner narrative can sometimes be as simple as one short reminder: “You know what you can do.” Psychologist Angela Duckworth reminds us that potential means little without perseverance; grit and mindset together often outpace raw talent.
Her work reinforces what I’ve seen on the floor: athletes with belief in their growth tend to recover faster and push further than those caught in cycles of doubt.
Coaching examples:
1. Self-doubt → reframing belief
Athlete: “I’m too slow.”
Coach: “Speed comes from timing. Trust your timing — it’s yours.”
Shifts the focus from a fixed weakness to an adjustable skill.
2. Overthinking → simplifying focus
Athlete: rattles off too many things (“hands up, move faster, block better…”).
Coach: “One thing. Just one. Breathe.”
Strips away clutter, re-anchors their attention.
3. Fear of opponent → grounding in preparation
Athlete: “They’re stronger than me.”
Coach: “Maybe — but they don’t know your game. Play your strengths.”
Reminds them of agency and preparation.
4. Negative spiral → present reset
Athlete: “I keep messing this up.”
Coach: “No emotion. Reset. Win this moment.”
Cuts the spiral, resets to now.
5. Lost confidence → anchor to body memory
Athlete: “I don’t think I can do it.”
Coach: “Your body knows — trust it. Let it flow.”
Brings them back to muscle memory when their mind wavers.
Practical strategy: Ask athletes pre-match, “What’s your one clear focus today?” If their answer is vague or fear-based, help them reset it to something simple, specific, and actionable.
The second lever is body confidence. For athletes, this comes from deliberate practice until movement is automatic. For coaches, it’s about structuring training so that repetition leads to fluency.
Daniel Kahneman describes two modes of thinking — slow, deliberate processing and fast, intuitive response. In competition, the goal is to train skills into that fast, automatic space.
When athletes can move without overthinking, they’re free to adapt, strategise, and respond. The coach’s role is to design practice that builds this unconscious competence — not just drilling harder, but refining smarter.
Coaching example: You notice an athlete second-guessing their technique — their body stiff, their mind scattered. Instead of pushing harder, slow it down. Meet them where they are: guide them to move with precision and full awareness. When they re-engage mind and body, the stiffness fades, confidence returns, and before long, they’re back in “just doing it” mode.
Practical strategy: Observe tension. If an athlete is too rigid, simplify — one small, confident rep is better than sloppy complexity. Praise fluency, not perfection.
The third lever is emotional control. Emotions will always be present; they’re signals, not enemies. But coaches carry a double responsibility: to manage our own emotions in the heat of competition and to guide athletes through theirs.
Susan David calls this emotional agility — the ability to notice, name, and move through emotions without getting stuck. In sport, this might mean helping an athlete reset after losing a point, or grounding them when excitement tips into distraction.
The key is composure. When we model steady presence, athletes learn not to fear their feelings but to ride them like waves — directing that energy into performance instead of letting it overwhelm them.
Coaching examples:
1. Your athlete loses a point and their shoulders slump. Between rounds, don’t lecture — steady your tone: “Reset.” Keep your voice calm and confident, and encourage eye contact. When they see your belief in them, it often becomes their way back.
2. Use simplicity to anchor
“Lost that one. Shake it off. Next point.”
Short, directive phrases help break the emotional loop and pull them into the present.
3. Channel emotion into focus
“You’re fired up — good. Now put it into distance and timing.”
Reframes the emotion as fuel, not a setback.
4. Borrow calm
Speak slower than normal, with relaxed body language: “Breathe with me. Ready?”
Sometimes it’s not the words, but the energy you transmit that restores balance.
Practical strategy: Watch eyes and breathing. Are they darting, wide, or locked? Are they holding their breath? Use simple cues like, “Breathe” or “Eyes up, centre yourself.” These micro-interventions regulate emotion in the moment.
Finally, there is energy control — the lever that ties all the others together. Athletes often fluctuate between under-arousal (flat, unfocused) and over-arousal (tight, burnt out).
Coaches face the same, especially in long tournaments. Sports psychologist Michael Gervais, who works with Olympic athletes and NFL teams, speaks often about “arousal regulation” — knowing how to shift energy up or down depending on the demands of the moment.
Coaches who master this give athletes a decisive edge. Sometimes it means using a calm, grounding routine before stepping on the mat; other times, it’s about sparking intensity with just the right cue.
Coaching example:
1. In warm-up, one athlete is bouncing like they’ve had ten coffees; another looks flat. For the first, bring calm: “Breathe. Walk it out. Save it for the match.” For the second, add spark: “Quick feet, sharper hands — let’s fire it up.” The goal is balance, not sameness.
2. Mirror & adjust
Over-hyped athlete: lower your tone, slow your movements.
Flat athlete: increase your energy, clap, get the tempo up.
They’ll subconsciously adjust to your energy.
3. Anchor with ritual
“Okay — three deep breaths together, then let’s bring it back.”
Creates a reset point for both high and low energy athletes.
4. Set the dial
Use a metaphor athletes can grab onto:
“Right now, you’re at a 10 — bring it to a 7. You’re at a 3 — push it to a 6.”
Helps them see energy as adjustable, not fixed.
Practical strategy: Think of energy like a volume dial. Too low = tune it up with sprints, claps, or high-energy cues. Too high = turn it down with breathing, grounding, or light humour. The sweet spot is a steady simmer — ready, not boiling over.
Flow: Where It All Comes Together
When these four levers work together, something greater emerges: flow. Researcher Steven Kotler, who studies elite performers from athletes to Navy SEALs, describes flow as “the state of optimal performance where time slows down, focus sharpens, and action becomes effortless.”
For athletes, this is when the match feels smooth and instinctive. For coaches, it’s when communication clicks, trust deepens, and the rhythm of the game unfolds naturally. Flow doesn’t happen by accident; it’s the product of awareness, alignment, and repeated practice in adjusting these levers.
In the end, coaching isn’t just about giving drills or chasing short-term results. It’s about building athletes who can self-regulate — who can manage their mind, body, emotions, and energy not just for one match, but for the long game.
When coach and athlete align on the four levers, the medals will follow, but the real victory will be something even greater: resilience, confidence, and skills for life.
Remember: Your job isn’t to do the work for your athlete — it’s to notice what matters, give the right cue, and steady them when it counts. Small words, calm presence, big impact. That’s the power of a coach.
Download the Coach’s Cheat Sheet
To make this framework practical for coaching, I’ve created a one-page “Coach’s Cheat Sheet.” It breaks the four levers down into quick spotting tips, cue variations, and guiding questions you can use before, during, and after training or competition.
Note: This cheat sheet is just a starting point. Coaching is never one-size-fits-all. Every athlete is different, and over time you’ll refine your own cues and methods. Let this plant some seeds — then grow your own version as you gain experience.