Greetings Reader,

Welcome to what’s On the Horizon. If you have found your way here, chances are you are a friend or family member (thanks, gang!) or you are somehow interested in sport, performance, mental skills, umpiring, refereeing, or the science of the mind. From time to time, I will send you to work of wiser people than I either because I find it interesting or because I have no desire to reinvent the wheel. For the most part, I’ll be writing about sport and performance psychology (SPP) with the caveat that I am NOT a psychologist, this is NOT therapy and nothing I write here should be construed as mental health advice or clinical assessment. I am a student member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP).  This blog represents my current learning, projects, passions, and musings.

In the interest of not reinventing the wheel, I urge you to take a quick look at AASP’s website for a technical explanation of what SPP is and what it’s practitioners do.

I’ll wait…

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Welcome back! So what does all that mean? Speaking for myself, I am deeply passionate about helping give you the tools to take what you do and do it better. SPP practitioners are well-grounded in science and theory. Where we excel is in applying theory to real world situations. When our clients want to go from good to better and from better to excellent, that is where we can make a real difference.

It doesn’t matter if you are an elite level athlete trying to shave a few seconds off a time, a student trying to increase an SAT score, an actor with a challenging audition, a neurosurgeon trying to perfect a technique, or a CEO working to bring their team together, we have tools to help.

SPP is not magic or voodoo. I can’t wave a wand and make you all better. Just like any other type of skill, acquiring and improving new mental skills is training. Most people aren’t going to have success running a marathon if they’ve never run a mile and the same holds true for mental skills. SPP practitioners are not replacements for your coaches. In fact, the best teams are usually made when technical, tactical, and physical coaches work in tandem with mental skills coaches.

As a sport and performance consultant, I can help you set goals, create and nurture new mental routines, find and maintain focus, relax, energize, execute, and evaluate your performance. Whether you are an individual performer, coach, member of a team, or manager, I look forward to seeing what we can build together.

Whit Ryan

July 2017, Denver, CO