Talented in practice.
Rattled when it counts?
Your athlete has the skill. What they may be missing is the mental game to use it under pressure. In 7 weeks we give athletes ages 12–18 the tools to play with confidence, bounce back from mistakes, and respond when pressure shows up. Pressure is not going away. Let's teach them what to do when it does.
You see the talent.
You also see the struggle.
Most sports parents don't need a lecture on effort. They need their athlete to stop getting in their own way. If any of these sound like your house, you're exactly who this is for.
"She's incredible in practice, then she disappears the second the game starts."
The practice-to-game gap"One mistake and he's done. He spirals and it wrecks the rest of his game."
Can't bounce back"He gets so frustrated and angry, or he just shuts down. I can't reach him."
Emotions take over"She's so hard on herself. Her whole mood rides on whether she played well."
Self-worth tied to the scoreboard"He has the talent. He just doesn't have the tools to handle the pressure yet."
Talent without the mental skills"Honestly, I never know what to say before a game, after a loss, or when his confidence is gone."
And you feel it tooNone of this means something is wrong with your athlete. It means the mental game hasn't been trained yet.
Mental training for athletes.
Not therapy. Not hype.
Built for Pressure Academy is a structured, 7-week mental performance experience for competitive athletes ages 12 to 18. Think of it the way you'd think about strength and conditioning for the mind: a real curriculum, live coaching, daily reps, and a way to measure progress. It builds the confidence, composure, and resilience your athlete needs to perform when it matters.
What it is NOT
- Therapy or clinical treatment
- A program only for "struggling" kids
- A one-time motivational speech
- Generic positive thinking or empty hype
- A school-style class with busywork
- Pre-recorded videos you watch alone
What it IS
- Real mental skills, taught and practiced
- A proactive investment in a talented athlete
- Live coaching with real interaction
- Confidence and pressure preparation
- Emotional and leadership skill development
- A premium experience for the whole family
What changes in 7 weeks
We can't promise a stat line. No honest coach can. What we train for is the part you can actually build: how your athlete thinks, responds, and recovers when the game gets hard.
Plays Free
Confidence under pressure, so the game finally looks like practice instead of a different sport.
Bounces Back
Recovers fast after a mistake instead of letting one error spiral into a lost game.
Responds, Not Reacts
Regulates frustration, nerves, and disappointment in real time with tools they can actually use.
Built on More
Real self-worth that isn't hostage to the scoreboard. They grow as a person and a leader.
You Get Tools Too
Language and a game plan to support the right way. A calmer car ride home and a better relationship around the sport.
The Big Idea
We care about who your athlete is becoming, not only how they're performing.
One session a week isn't enough.
So this is a complete system.
Lasting mental habits don't come from a single weekly meeting. Built for Pressure Academy surrounds the live teaching with daily practice, real application, and progress you can see. Every piece reinforces the others.
Live Weekly Coaching
Seven interactive sessions where athletes learn the skill and the language together.
Premium Mailed Workbook
A printed field manual for reflection, worksheets, and family conversation.
Daily Focus 5 App
Five minutes a day to turn what they learn into a real, repeatable habit.
Google Classroom + Challenges
Weekly assignments and application challenges keep athletes accountable between sessions.
Digital Assessments
Automated, easy check-ins that track patterns and show real growth over the academy.
A clear path, one skill at a time
Each week tackles one real question athletes face, with skills they practice immediately. Week 8 is reserved entirely for you.
Identity & Self-Awareness
"Who am I becoming?"
The Brain Under Pressure
"How does my brain affect my performance?"
Emotional Control
"How do I manage emotions instead of letting them manage me?"
Confidence
"How do I build real confidence?"
Focus & Stress Management
"How do I stay focused and calm under pressure?"
Resilience & Mental Toughness
"What do I do when it gets hard?"
Leadership, Purpose & Vision
"How do I lead myself and move forward with purpose?"
Handle Pressure Without Becoming the Pressure
Support confidence without false praise, respond when your athlete is emotional, support failure without rescuing, and keep the development going after the academy ends.
A field manual, not a textbook
Every enrolled family receives a premium printed companion workbook shipped to their door. It's designed to keep the work going between live sessions and to give parents a way in. Around 70–80 pages of guided, athlete-and-parent content.
- Athlete worksheets for every chapter
- Parent companion pages in every chapter
- Weekly application challenges
- Tools to use before and after competition
- Reflection pages and a final 30-day growth plan
- Built to integrate with Focus 5 and Google Classroom
The two pieces that make it stick
Focus 5: 5 Minutes a Day
Mental skills work like physical ones. They have to be practiced, not just understood. Focus 5 gives athletes daily mental training in five minutes or less, so the tools from each session become automatic when the pressure is real.
One session a week builds awareness. Daily reps build the habit.
Assessments That Show Growth
Quick, automated check-ins that athletes can complete before, during, and after the academy. They're a growth and awareness tool, never a pass-or-fail test, so you can actually see how your athlete is developing over the seven weeks.
Progress you can see, not just hope for.
Real coaches. Real reps with athletes.
This isn't a faceless online course. The academy is led live by coaches who have spent their careers in the trenches with athletes and families.
Jessica Marano
Jessica leads the academy experience week to week. She's an educator, coach, and former semi-professional soccer player with more than a decade of coaching and eight years as a mental performance coach. She's completing a Master of Education in School Counseling and has deep training in resiliency. She focuses on confidence, composure, emotional growth, and the practical day-to-day development of young athletes.
Trevor Conner
Trevor has spent his career at the highest levels of mental performance, including stints at IMG Academy and the SPIRE Institute. He has worked with more than 50 Olympians, dozens of professionals across sports, thousands of high school and collegiate athletes, and U.S. Navy special operations groups. His focus is practical: identity, resilience, confidence, leadership, and purpose.
This work is our whole job
Hearts & Minds is a mental performance and human development company built on a simple belief: your attitude and mindset matter, and they can be trained. We bring real science and applied training to athletes who want an edge, the same approach we've used with the highest performers in the world.
Don't take our word for it
These athletes and parents worked with our coaches across one-on-one training and team sessions. Built for Pressure Academy brings that same coaching into a structured 7-week experience.
Coach Jess has been transformative for my daughter in her goals to compete at the highest level, and for us as parents, making sure we support in the best way possible. I've referred many families, and they text me thanks and praise for how Jess supports these athletes. I cannot recommend her enough.
"I no longer buckle under pressure, I thrive in it. I view challenges with a growth mindset and genuinely love my sport again. They taught me the ACE method: the things you can control 100% of the time, Attitude, Concentration, and Effort."
"I've been with Hearts & Minds about two years, and Trevor has helped my mental game develop so much. I play better and more relaxed on court and have a better mindset in practice. I just committed to play college tennis at Embry-Riddle."
"Since joining Hearts & Minds, my coach Jessica Marano has completely changed the way I train and perform. I'm more confident, more energetic, and seeing real results. She's helped me reach levels I didn't think I could."
"I was struggling with focus and frustration on the court. After just a few sessions with Hearts & Minds, I changed my entire mentality about tennis, and about life. The improvement in my game was real."
"Hearts & Minds came and spoke to our high school tennis team about focusing on the controllables. The takeaway stuck: success is a mindset, and it leaves clues."
"They equip athletes with mental tools and show them how to actually apply them. I overcame so many mental hurdles and feel like a confident, well-rounded athlete now."
The things parents ask first
Is this therapy?
Is this only for athletes who are struggling?
My athlete is quiet or nervous in groups. Will they be okay?
What if we miss a live session?
How much time does this take?
How will we know it's working?
Why is Focus 5 required?
What happens after the seven weeks?
Give your athlete the mental edge
before the season gets hard.
The first cohort is intentionally small so every athlete gets real attention. Apply to hold a spot, and apply early to be considered for one of ten $500 scholarships.
The Show-Up Guarantee
Join the first live session. If you don't feel Built for Pressure Academy is the right fit for your athlete, email us within 7 days for a full refund. Try it without the risk.
Apply before June 14, 2026 to be considered for a $500 scholarship • Limited to 20 athletes