Center for Sports and the Mind

Center for Sports and the Mind Mental strength training for athletes, coaches, parents and teams. Are you in the Optimal Performance Zone? (OPZ)

We see it every day. What does it feel like?

Performance in work life, sports and every day family life often varies. There are good days and bad. This is reasonable to expect and not uncommon. What goes into affecting this performance is unique to each person, situation and group or team. We can have all the physical tools and talents, but if we can’t find our optimal performance zone—mentally, those talents can often only take you so far. Why can one team play at a high level, and others never find their way of similar skills and talents? Factors could be constant negative feedback from a coach or client, pressure from parents to excel, and win-at-all-costs mentality all can overtake thoughts and impact performance. Add to that additional external factors, pressures and culture also play into this variability. The difference between competing at the highest level, when many factors are equal, often boils down to mental toughness. The learned mental behavior of how to succeed against great odds, overcoming interference and obstacles, self-imposed and external. How do you find the Optimal Performance Zone (OPZ)? What conditions need to be present to find it and maintain mastery? At the Center for Sports and the Mind, we provide athletes with a unique blend of brain science with proven tools and methods to impact and transform performance. Our program revolves around these building blocks of mental strength development. Our unique process of discovery through mastery is detailed and thorough to maximize the probability of mental strength improvement.

09/18/2026

100 Things That Get You to Green

09/16/2026

Athletes are always watching.

How a coach responds to a bad call.
How they handle a loss.
How they speak to officials.
How they react when things don't go their way.

Dana Thiede and Hans talk about how kids often reflect the behavior they see from the adults leading them.

Coaching isn't just teaching the game.

You're modeling how to handle it, too.

🎙️ Listen to the full episode:
Apple: https://rpb.li/hMH
Spotify: https://rpb.li/0PrMyn

Parenting an athlete today comes with a different set of challenges than it did 20 or 30 years ago.More pressure. More o...
09/15/2026

Parenting an athlete today comes with a different set of challenges than it did 20 or 30 years ago.

More pressure. More opportunities. More opinions. More ways to compare.

But supporting your athlete doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it comes back to the basics: communication, perspective, patience, and knowing when to push and when to simply be their parent.

We help parents build the tools to support the athlete and the person behind the performance

We believe the mental side of sports deserves real conversations.That means talking honestly with athletes, coaches, and...
09/14/2026

We believe the mental side of sports deserves real conversations.

That means talking honestly with athletes, coaches, and teams about pressure, confidence, mistakes, stress, and everything else that comes with competition.

By connecting mental health and performance, we help athletes build mental fitness they can use in their sport and long after the game is over.

09/11/2026

The Self-Doubt Awareness Ladder

Your heart and brain are always communicating. But how often do you actually train that connection?The Inner Balance Coh...
09/10/2026

Your heart and brain are always communicating. But how often do you actually train that connection?

The Inner Balance Coherence Plus gives you real-time feedback on your heart rate variability (HRV), helping you practice regulating stress, improving focus, and becoming more aware of how your body responds under pressure.

Interested in adding Inner Balance to your mental fitness training? Reach out to learn more.

09/09/2026

Imagine getting a Friday morning call during the third round of the NHL playoffs:

Eddie Belfour needs you in Denver. Today.

And don't forget the gray chiropractic table.

Dr. Mary Collins tells Hans the wild story of being flown out to treat Belfour's back, including a flight being held for her, sneaking into the team hotel, and a five-minute adjustment that had him ready to play the next day.

Sometimes the best sports stories happen far away from the ice.

🎙️ Listen to the full episode:
Apple: https://rpb.li/vGn
Spotify: https://rpb.li/kREg

🎙️ New Podcast Episode: NIL Is for the 40, Not the 4Before athletes build a brand, they need to know who they are.Hans s...
09/08/2026

🎙️ New Podcast Episode: NIL Is for the 40, Not the 4

Before athletes build a brand, they need to know who they are.

Hans sits down with Jessica Poole, founder of The Poole Collective and creator of Own Your NIL, for a conversation about the side of NIL that goes far beyond deals and dollars.

They talk about why identity needs to come first, what athletes and parents often misunderstand about NIL, and how athletes can prepare for opportunities both during their careers and long after their playing days are over.

If you’re an athlete, parent, or coach navigating the changing world of college sports, this is a conversation worth hearing.

🎙️ Listen here:

Apple: https://rpb.li/6mL
Spotify: https://rpb.li/lWvIg5

Happy Labor Day from Center for Sports and the Mind!
09/07/2026

Happy Labor Day from Center for Sports and the Mind!

09/04/2026

Think Here. Play There.

Address

4900 Highway 169, Ste 300
New Hope, MN
55428

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
6pm - 7pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
6pm - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
6pm - 7pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
6pm - 7pm

Telephone

+17635468175

Website

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