This week I attended a very useful and informative workshop at The Berkshire College of Agriculture (BCA) regarding Mindset Strategies for Competition Success. The workshop was taken by Helen Rennie, an Equestrian Performance Coach and author of the book Transform Pressure To Power.

Helen explained how to manage your Mindset and covered techniques that would:

• Overcome nerves and indecision – at intense moments
• Beat the freeze – powering through hesitation and overthinking
• Focus and concentrate – retaining control of your performance

The workshop was interactive and included several exercises to help understand where your specific nerves come from and what situations cause you problems. Understanding these issues makes dealing with them much easier and assists in building confidence and can revolutionise  performance.

Helen’s techniques are practical, real life tools that could easily be used in any environment – not just in the equestrian arena.

Learning about Helen’s mindset strategies for success has given me a lot to think about, especially regarding my coaching students. I am looking forward to school next week and seeing what results I can help my students achieve by utilising these strategies.

Have an outstanding week and if you know of a young person who is struggling with confidence, low self-esteem or panic and anxiety then please contact me.

I cannot believe that the half term holidays are coming to an end already. I have spent a fun packed week in my home town of Blackpool catching up with family and friends. My time has been filled with lots of happiness, laughter, reminiscing, fabulous food and the occasional glass of Prosecco.

Having time to relax and switch off from my coaching work is so important. It allows me to rest my brain and recharge my batteries so that I can return to work with renewed focus and energy.

The next few months will be very busy for me as they coincide with the run up to GCSE examinations. Many students start to panic with the stress, strain and pressure of their upcoming exams. I coach students on a one to one and a group basis to teach them coping strategies and techniques, create specific revision timetables, manage stress and how to maintain a balanced lifestyle.  Not surprisingly this takes a lot of my energy.

I hope you have had a great half term week and like me are ready to return to work excited and re-energised. If you know a student that is starting to struggle in the lead up to their exams then please contact me.

I find coaching young people on a daily basis so interesting, exciting and rewarding.  It inspires me.

It can also be challenging, frustrating and sad.

I have just had a week where the low points have outnumbered the highs. Rather than struggle or give in when this happens, I use Mindfulness to enable me to deal with my own feelings – and it keeps me going.

Mindfulness helps me move my attention away from what has happened and brings me into the present moment. I am then able to use reflection to focus on the skills I have and the positive way that I use them every day. This helps me to understand what I have control over and what I can do nothing about so that I am able to move forward.

My experience in coaching has helped me to understand that it is not always possible to prevent young people hurting or damaging themselves. Different circumstances can play a big factor on the action that they take. With some teenagers it is just part of the journey that they feel they need to travel in order to turn a corner and move forward. For some it can be a cry for help when they do not know how to express what they are feeling or cannot get someone to listen to them.

I have learnt to understand these situations. They still make me feel very sad and it breaks my heart to see young people struggle. I do not dwell on what has happened as the past cannot be changed.

Moving forward, my aim is to help them shift their focus to the progress they have made, to acknowledge the skills they have, and then identify what needs to happen next. When the strategy to move on comes from them and it is based around their own feelings then they are more likely to succeed.

If you know of a young person that would benefit from working with me then please contact me.