Welcome
Keeley Byrnes- Sports Performance Coach
Coaching for youth sports coaches.
Transform your coaching and your life!
Transform Your Coaching Today
Welcome! Thanks for being here. If you're checking out my page, I am assuming you are either a youth sports coach or an athlete looking for help. I am a life coach with years of experience in coaching youth sports.
Youth sports are a beautiful thing. They teach discipline, resilience, hard work, and many other life lessons. Like all youth coaches, we do this because we love the game and we love our athletes.
I have been playing sports since I was 5 years old. My entire life has revolved around being an athlete. After 2 years of college softball, I hurt my shoulder and stopped playing. I started head coaching youth softball at 20 years old. (spoiler alert: I was not always at my best- especially being emotionally stable, present, handling conflict, and juggling all of my responsibilities). Losing my identity as an athlete led me down a dark road of depression, anxiety, and addiction.
Through over a decade in sobriety, years of therapy, attending/running personal growth workshops (for adults and youth), and being trained as a life coach, I have learned and developed some techniques that are indispensable when coaching youth or college sports.
Times are different now. No longer do the “old school” techniques of running for punishment, screaming at athletes, or threats/intimidation work. (I would argue they never really “worked”, but I digress.) And while many people are discussing mental health in youth sports, there are limited resources and tools as to how to do this. If only the “stop beating up on yourself”, “think positive”, and “just let it go” talks worked. If only the team would get along and not have any “drama”. If only your athletes reading books about confidence and positive thoughts worked.
The truth is, there are other factors at play that most people don’t know about.
There are “protector” parts in all of us. These protector parts are useful but sometimes misguided. For example, if I deep down feel inadequate, not only will I equate my performance on the field/court with who I am, but if I am coaching, I may be frustrated with my athletes when they don’t perform. When you are a coach, you are on a stage just as much as the players. Handling that pressure is difficult- especially while emotionally triggered and trying to make sense of what is happening.
We see the world through what Alfred Adler calls “subjective perception”. We don’t see the world as it is. We see the world as we are. Understanding these factors helped me get to know myself and heal. (I’m still a work in progress- just like all of us.)
Let me show you what I've learned to help you transform your personal struggles with coaching as well as how to help your athletes improve their mental game.
While I can’t take credit for the invention of IFS, Imago, and other techniques I’ve learned in therapy, I can show you some of the mental exercises I have created. My goal is to integrate therapeutic and personal growth tactics into sports.
Do you ever wonder why your players trigger you so much? Do you have a hard time when a player leaves your team? Is feedback from parents difficult to hear? Are you struggling with motivating your athletes, pushing them but also being a positive and trauma informed coach? Is your self care and mental health falling to the wayside?
Let me give you the tools to heal, to improve the mental performance of yourself and your athletes, and help you to fall back in love with the reason you decided to start coaching in the first place.
Who I work with:
- Youth or college sports coaches needing tools for their athletes and a safe place to discuss the stresses of coaching
- Those needing to work through the trauma of their own past with sports including: body image issues, the loss of function of their body, shame and regret, and grief over missing out in other areas of your life due to prioritizing sports or coaching.
- Recent college athletes transitioning into “life after college athletics”
Coaches on the verge of quitting their profession due to burnout, emotional fatigue, and feeling either unworthy or unappreciated. - Athletes aged 12+ needing additional skills to improve their performance
If you are ready to get the support you need and to change your life, schedule a free 15 minute call with me.
Some notes:
I am a life coach- not a therapist. My goal is to help you achieve your goals and live your best life. I will not be diagnosing any medical conditions. I will not be giving any legal, medical, or financial advice. I will refer you to someone who can help if these issues come up.
When working with athletes under 18, all sessions will be recorded, all material will be presented in a youth appropriate way.
