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Mental Enhancement Program

Program Objectives:

1. To develop insight and awareness for our athletes (essential ingredients for change).
2. To help our athletes develop specific mental skills necessary for optimal performance
3. To provide emotional support and stability for our athletes as they face the challenge of managing their on and off court lives.

 Program Components:

1. Afternoon Workshops:  The objective of these workshops is to provide a forum for our athletes to learn and discuss the mental aspects of their high performance training and competition.  Academy students are also provided with the basic foundations for the development of specific mental skills, such as; goal setting, self talk, relaxation, thought control, visualization, match evaluation, etc.
2. On-Court Evaluation/ Match Analysis:  The skills and assignments established in our workshops are then applied and observed during on-court practice sessions.  Our Sport Psychology Counselor observes and provides feedback to our students during their practice and tournament matches.  This observation is essential for providing follow-up to our athletes, while also identifying the specific strengths and weaknesses of our athlete’s competitive mentality.
3. One on One Meetings:  Periodically throughout the school year our athletes meet with our counselor for half hour psychology sessions.  The purpose of these meetings is to help our athletes with more specific and individual developmental needs and address specific athlete concerns that are beyond the scope of our workshops.  These meetings are an essential part of our overall enhancement program and adhere to the personalized nature of our training philosophy at ITA.
4. Private Counseling Sessions:  Mental competitive needs that are beyond the scope of our basic psychology package are addressed in additional meeting times with our Sport Psychology Counselor that can be purchased for the price of a private lesson.

Our Mental Enhancement Program is run by Jed Wisniewski, M. Ed, our Sport Psychology Counselor; any specific questions about mental training can be directed to Jed in our Ask the Experts section of the Sport Science Department.