Anytime a mental training consultant shows up, the connotation is that they`re supposed to fix something. This is rarely the case with elite athletes. You`re playing volleyball for Canada in part because your mental skills are already stronger than most of the general population. You don`t beat Cuba in Cuba without being strong upstairs. So, the purpose of this program is not to fix something that`s broken. The purpose is to fine tune an area of your game that`s probably in pretty good shape as it is. A reasonable question is whether mental training is worth getting better at. As athletes, we spend a lot of time preparing for competition. Practices and resistance training are all about technical, tactical and physical preparation for competition. As a result, we become highly skilled in these areas. However, the ability to unleash this potential in competition (especially important competition) depends largely on our mental skills. Unfortunately, the mental training side usually receives less attention. The importance of mental training increases at more elite levels. When we`re young and just learning the technical, tactical and physical skills of a game, our learning curve is steep. There`s a lot of room for improvement and we improve quickly. At elite levels, most players are approaching their performance ceiling and the learning curve slows down. Consequently, teams are often similar in terms of technical, tactical and physical ability at this level. Everybody is good. If we`re looking for an advantage over an opponent, mental training can be huge. The main reason? Not many opponents will work conscientiously on this part of their game. So, developing strong mental skills can provide a major advantage in terms of performance, especially when the stakes are high.