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Anna Hennings, Portland, OR Mental Skills Training Coach

Anna Hennings

Mental Skills Training

SILVER

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MA Sport Psychology. Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC). I am passionate about helping athletes develop mental skills to optimize their performance and well-being. View all coaching experience

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Fast Response Rate:
The percentage of time Anna Hennings responded to client inquiries within 48 hours in the last 3 months.
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Training Locations
Training Locations
  1. Seattle, WA
  2. Salem, OR
  3. Portland, OR

Coach is willing to travel up to 10 miles

Packages

Lightning Session (ONLINE)
Online Training for a single athlete

Pick my brain (or ask a specific question) about a particular mental-game challenge you are facing during this 30-minute lightning session.

Session Length: 30 minutes

$130 1 session + applicable fees

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Individual ONLINE Session
Online Training for a single athlete

Single online training session with Anna.

Session Length: 55 minutes

$260 1 session + applicable fees

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Starter ONLINE Package
Online Training for a single athlete

5 online training sessions with Anna.

Session Length: 55 minutes

$1275 5 sessions ($255/ea) + applicable fees

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  • University of California--Davis (CA)

  • 5 years

  • Qualified Private Coach
    Passed Coach Course

  • Adults, Kids, Teenagers

  • Parent, Coach, Athlete

  • Visualization, Setbacks, Pressure Situations, Mental Toughness, Goal Setting, Confidence

Credentials

  • University of California--Davis (CA)

  • 5 years

  • Qualified Private Coach
    Passed Coach Course

Services

  • Adults, Kids, Teenagers

  • Parent, Coach, Athlete

  • Visualization, Setbacks, Pressure Situations, Mental Toughness, Goal Setting, Confidence

More About Coach Anna

I am a San Francisco Bay Area native who transplanted to Portland, OR, by way of Central Texas. I've previously worked with the US Army (in Fort Hood, TX) and multiple Division 1 athletics programs as a mental performance expert and resilience trainer. I have also worked with SandLegs Beach Volleyball Club (Bay Area, CA) as their on-staff mental performance coach. As a former competitive volleyball player, I specialize in private mental coaching lessons for indoor and beach volleyball players at all levels, but I love working with all dedicated athletes and performers.

Regardless of the sport or performance venue, through mental performance training, I assist athletes and performers in developing mental skills that will help them perform how they want when they want and boost their personal well-being. My performance training includes the development of skills such as:
-- Focusing and re-focusing techniques
-- Building and maintaining self-awareness
-- Building and maintaining confidence
-- Effective communication strategies
-- Goal setting
-- Developing a growth mindset
-- Energy and performance anxiety management
-- Pre-performance routines
-- Productive and rational self-talk
-- Mindfulness, reflection, and cultivating gratitude
-- Visualization / imagery

I teach athletes how to put these skills and concepts into action when, or if, they:
-- get stuck in their own heads at practice and at competitions
-- are unable to let go of a mistake
-- want to strengthen their mindset and seek new perspectives
-- are too self-critical and are getting in their own way
-- need to get out of thinking traps and/or a perfectionistic mindset
-- have to perform under pressure
-- find themselves choking when they compete
-- are not communicating well with coaches or teammates, or need to have a tough conversation
-- lose confidence in their ability to do something that used to come naturally
-- are having trouble managing the stress of being both a student and an athlete
...and more.

Since I started doing this work in 2017, I have discovered the joys of connecting with and impacting clients in diverse populations. These experiences have made me appreciate how globally applicable sport psychology skills can be, seek to apply them in creative ways, and tailor them to individuals, teams, and groups along the way.

I have very successfully worked with the following sports, organizations/schools, and populations and look forward to expanding the breadth of my work, hopefully with you!
-- Pepperdine University (under Kerri Walsh Jennings' former Olympic coaches, Marcio Sicoli and Jon Daze)
-- University of Portland
-- US Army (contractor) at Fort Hood, TX (including coaching warrior-athletes training for the Warrior Games)
-- beach volleyball
-- indoor volleyball
-- cross country
-- track and field (indoor and outdoor)
-- lacrosse
-- tennis
-- softball
-- cheerleading
-- active adults with type-1 diabetes*
-- incarcerated young men*

I've worked with athletes as young as 8 and as old as 76!

I am a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). I have my M.A. in Sport Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. I have my B.S. from UC Davis (2003-2007). After a successful decade as a professional copywriter and editor, I went back to school in 2016 to answer the call of a more holistic career in mental performance coaching.

*Due to confidentiality agreements, I am unable to disclose specific teams or locations.

Personal timeline of my athletic pursuits!

Recreational downhill skiing (1988 - present)

Competitive gymnastics (1991-1996, with Sunnyvale Gymnastics Club)
-- Competing at Level 7 when I left the sport

Middle school track + field (1997-1999)
-- 2x league and county high jump champion

Indoor youth club volleyball (1996-2000)
-- Height: 6’1”
-- Position: Middle blocker

UC Davis intramural volleyball: co-ed indoor + 4v4 grass (2003-2007)
-- Indoor champion, 2003

Competitive indoor volleyball league: women’s + reverse co-ed (2010-2012)

Misc. grass + beach volleyball tournaments: 2v2 + 4v4 (2010-2012)

Recreational indoor + outdoor rock climber (2011-2017)

Like training physically, training mentally takes time, dedication, hard work, and patience. This is why clients work with me on a package basis. Unfortunately, there is no magic wand I can wave that suddenly makes your mental game as strong as it can be!

INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS are 50-minutes long, and either in-person or over video chat. In general, how does each session break down?
-- 5-10 min: Intro, recap, and changes since last visit. Discuss what is new and what has and has not been working.
-- 20-25 min: Activity, education around a mental skill or sport psychology concept, assessment tool or survey, and/or further discussion of goals. (This is the heart of the session and will heavily depend on the client’s individual performance plan and what they bring with them to our session that day.)
-- 10-20 min: Brainstorm how the skill/concept/activity can be applied in the athlete’s specific performance setting. Check for understanding of what we’ve discussed and make sure there’s a clear action plan going forward.
-- 5 min: Summarize session and/or reflection. What stuck with the athlete? Confirm plan for the week/next meeting.

Our individual work together starts with me gaining an understanding of your story and your athletic history. I ask a lot of open-ended questions to learn information about you as a person in addition to you as an athlete. For this work to be effective, I firmly believe it needs to happen on a foundation of mutual respect and rapport. From there, I begin to determine what you need and how I can best help. Sessions are a mix of me listening to the athlete, teaching concepts and skills, guiding the athlete to better understand themselves and how their thoughts and feelings may be impacting how they play, helping the athlete determine when and how to use the mental skills we've discussed (read: action plan!), hearing how previously taught skills have or haven't been working, making adjustments, etc. No one session is the same.

GROUP OR TEAM SESSIONS can take many forms: lecture-style workshops, facilitated discussions, active learning through team-building games, observation and in-the-moment coaching at practices, or a combination thereof. Reach out, and let’s talk about what you’re looking for and how I can help.

WHAT IS WORKING WITH ME LIKE?
My positive energy is contagious. I listen intently, ask meaningful questions, am personable and relatable, guide self-discovery, and provide valuable mental strategies as well as overall support. I will always tailor my approach specifically to the individual athletes, teams, and organizations with whom I work. Generally speaking, though, I work with players 1-on-1 and on a group/team basis. I can also work with coaches and parents.

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Client Reviews

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Anna is super understanding, personable, kind, and super easy to talk to.
Anna is such a good listener! And very supportive.
Anna taught me how to speak up and be confident in the feedback I offer.
Group sessions with Anna helped us come to group goals, understandings, and facilitated important communication within the team.
Anna did a really good job of helping us reach a new level of mental skills but also teaching us how to take care of ourselves. She’s amazing!
From working with Anna, I learned to balance my mental skills in [my sport] but also how they applied to more activities in my life such as school work and responsibilities.
It helped a lot to talk to Anna about how to approach different communications and conversations I needed to have. She helped me figure out my point, good key phrases, and helped me sort out my feelings about it prior to so I was more emotionally stable during.
Anna helped me get in touch with what I was feeling when I played so I could effectively maintain my energy and focus.
Anna is super fun, kind and engaging. She’s especially great at connecting with players, volleyball-wise and genuinely.
Anna is really good at working with players. She gives them good tools to use on the court and thus develop mental toughness.
I have learned to breathe and accept that my mistakes are okay. I also have learned how to keep my mind in the present.
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