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Parent Briefing · Vol. 01
09.10.26
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The lead
Beyond the Scoreboard.
Starting with Mental Performance: helping athletes build confidence, resilience, and leadership that lasts.
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01 / Introducing the Life Skills Program
A note to our families
Every athlete you support puts in the work: the reps, the film, the early mornings. Those hours build physical skill. What often gets less attention is everything else that shapes a great athlete and a great person: how they stay composed when the pressure spikes, how they respond after a mistake, how they lead themselves through a hard week, and how they show up for the people around them. That's why we're launching the Life Skills Program: a growing set of series designed to build the skills that make athletes hard to rattle and easy to root for. We're kicking things off with our first series, Mental Performance, which starts today. Future series will follow throughout the year. The goal isn't perfection. It isn't constant confidence, either. The goal is helping each athlete learn how to respond when the moment gets big: on the field, in the classroom, at home, and everywhere else life eventually asks something of them. |
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02 / Today · Life Skills Workshop 01
Find Your Fire.
Join former NFL linebacker Jelani Jenkins for our first Life Skills Workshop: Find Your Fire. Every athlete has a fire within them—an inner source of strength, focus, and purpose that keeps them moving forward when things get tough. In this 30-minute session, you will discover what fuels that fire and learn how to use it when it matters most. This interactive, action-packed workshop will give you tools to respond stronger, stay focused, and continue growing into the championship version of yourself. Every athlete has goals, but goals alone won’t carry you through every obstacle that’ll show up on your journey. You will need your strength. You will need your focus. You will need your fire. Find Your Fire takes place on today's daily call. Join us and come ready to find yours! |
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03 / What athletes will build
Three skills. One system.
01 | Confidence under pressure Practical tools to stay composed, focused, and decisive when the moment matters most. | 02 | Leadership of self and teammates Habits and language that help athletes lead their own effort and support, motivate, and positively influence the people around them. | 03 | A growth mindset A grounded way to respond to setbacks, treating mistakes as information rather than identity and focusing on the next play instead of the last one. |
Mental Performance Series
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04 / How it works
Three ways in.
01 | Theme-focused workshops Engaging, visual sessions built around a single mental-performance topic, like The Clutch Code or Find Your Fire. Our launch workshop is Find Your Fire, with Jelani Jenkins, on today's daily call. | 02 | Office hours Informal, low-pressure drop-in sessions where athletes can ask questions, reflect on a recent competition, or just listen. No structure required. | 03 | 1-on-1 support Personalized coaching for athletes who would benefit from extra accountability, deeper reflection, or an individualized plan. This is a development tool, offered proactively, not as a response to a problem. |
Mental Performance Series
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05 / What you may notice at home
Small shifts show up first.
You may hear more constructive language after a tough game. You may see your athlete more willing to ask for feedback, take on a challenge, or step back into something after they've struggled with it. You may notice more attention to the things they can actually control (effort, preparation, body language, focus, response) and less spent on the things they can't. None of these are magic. They come from consistent practice, and from athletes learning that mental skills are trainable the same way physical ones are. |
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06 / Your role, and what to expect from us
You are the reinforcement.
You are the most important reinforcement in your athlete's development. To make that easier, we'll be sending you a short update on a regular cadence, recapping the workshop topic that week or month and giving you concrete language and questions to reinforce it at home. Think of this first note as the "why" behind the program; the follow-ups will be the "how." |
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07 / Who's leading this
Meet your instructors.
Coach 01 · Mindset  | Jelani Jenkins Jelani is a former NFL linebacker, speaker, and mental-performance and wellness consultant who is passionate about helping young athletes grow with confidence—both in sport and in life. A University of Florida graduate with a degree in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology and a minor in Sport Psychology, he brings a practical, human approach to developing mindset, resilience, leadership, and identity. |
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Coach 02 · Leadership  | Stacey Lovelace Stacey is a former professional basketball player and coach with experience spanning every level of the game—from youth and collegiate basketball to the WNBA and NBA. Having played professionally around the world, she brings a unique perspective on perseverance, leadership, confidence, and navigating the athlete journey. A Purdue University graduate with a master’s degree from the University of Michigan, she also brings the perspective of a sports parent, having supported her daughter through her own journey as a Division I volleyball player. |
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Coach 03 · Resilience  | Gary Forbes Gary is a former NBA player, author, and founder of Sole Survivors who is passionate about helping young people grow with confidence—in sport, in health, and in life. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 19 and told his basketball career was over, he went on to become one of only three players in NBA history to compete at that level with T1D. A University of Massachusetts graduate and Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, he brings a lived, optimistic approach to mindset, resilience, identity, and showing kids that a diagnosis does not get the last word. |
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Coach 04 · Confidence  | Bella Black Bella is a mental performance coach and former Division I athlete at West Virginia University. She earned her master's degree in sport psychology and has worked individually with 250+ athletes across collegiate teams and youth sport academies. Bella takes a person-centered approach focused on helping athletes build confidence, embrace growth, and develop skills that support them both in and out of sport! |
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Coach 05 · Balance  | Alexandra Kugelmas Alexandra is a lifelong athlete, mentor, and current Texas Sports Academy Online guide who is passionate about helping young athletes grow with confidence in sport and in life. A University of Michigan graduate with a business degree and coursework in psychology and human performance, she brings an encouraging, athlete-centered approach to navigating pressure, building resilience, finding balance, and pursuing success without losing enjoyment. |
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Coach 06 · Mentorship  | Lindsay Tomaini Lindsay is a D1 Athlete Mentor at Texas Sports Academy and a former Division I athlete at Texas Christian University and the University of Florida. She is passionate about sharing the importance of excelling in athletics and academics and helping athletes grow inside and outside of their sport. She recently came from ESPN and brings a background mentoring aspiring college athletes. She is excited to bring an individualized approach to every Texas Sports Academy athlete. |
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Coach 07 · Wellbeing  | Lindsey Lawson Lindsey is a youth development professional who takes a human-centered, Positive Youth Development approach to helping young people thrive. A Harvard graduate in Psychology and Educational Studies and a Division I basketball player there, she has worked across education, corporate settings, and international youth development, including as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru. She believes young people are more than their grades, careers, or athletic performance—and that wellbeing, purpose, and strong relationships are essential in school, sports, and life. |
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Coach 08 · Support  | Tommy Peltier Tommy is a coach and mentor who cares deeply about helping young people feel supported, confident, and comfortable being themselves. Through his experiences as a Division I and professional baseball player, as well as a college coach, he has learned the value of having positive people in your corner who listen, encourage, and help you through life’s challenges. Tommy believes mentorship is about more than accomplishments—it’s about building a genuine relationship, creating a safe space to talk, and helping kids recognize their strengths and potential. He hopes to be someone they can trust, learn from, and turn to as they navigate both the good moments and the difficult ones. |
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08 / What we're asking of you
Three small things.
01 | Encourage consistent participation These skills compound; a few missed sessions aren't a problem, but consistency is where the growth lives. | 02 | Know where the first workshop happens Find Your Fire, with Jelani Jenkins, is today on the daily call. No separate link or sign-up is needed. | 03 | Reach out with questions If you'd like to talk through whether 1-on-1 support might be right for your athlete, we're glad to walk through it with you. |
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It's also just the start. Additional Life Skills series will roll out through the year. Thank you for partnering with us as your athlete builds all of it.
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“
Mental performance is not a talent. It's a practice, and one that carries far past sport.
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The Life Skills Program Team · Texas Sports Academy
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