All right. Hello, parents and athletes who might be joining us today. It's great to have you joining the Elite Competitor podcast. I'm Coach Saylor, if we have not met before. I'm our head athlete coach inside of the Elite Competitor, and I'm really excited for today's episode. Um, today is another special episode, and we are going to be highlighting one of our amazing athletes inside of our program, The Elite Mental Game, and we have Elise joining us today. Elise, welcome to the podcast. Thank you. You're welcome. Um, so Elise is part of our mental training program. It's called The Elite Mental Game, and she is going through it with her mom as well. Um, so we welcome our girl athletes who are wanting to strengthen their mindset, and we'll talk more about why Elise joined the program and what she has seen, um, and how she's improved in, in her mental game. And she's also part of our Level Up Club too, so I always look forward to seeing Elise, um, on our two-time-a-month calls, and she brings the energy, she brings the positivity, and always has great questions on those calls as well. Um, yeah, Elise, you are someone... First of all, I want to congratulate you on being our March Athlete of the Month. We're super proud of far, how far you've come and how hard you've been working, and I see you as someone who is very consistent, um, and just intentional and really thorough and thoughtful, and just someone who, like, shows up and you really care about what you're doing. So, thanks for all the hard work that you put in. Thanks. It's really nice being in this program. It's just so exciting, and I love working on my mental game. That's so great to hear. Thanks. And we're gonna get, we're gonna get all into that. Um, so I would love for you to introduce yourself. Um, so we know that you're Elise. Um, tell us what sport you play, maybe any activities you're involved in, and your age as well. Okay. Um, my, I'm in... Oh my gosh. I'm in fifth grade, and I'm 11 years old. Soccer is just, like, a big part of, like, what I love to do. I just love being around soccer. I love watching soccer, I love playing soccer. Just everything about soccer. Yeah. That's amazing. Um, and I know you said you're a competitive soccer player. So are you playing for a club team? Yes, I play for Florida Premier in Florida. Okay. Awesome. Lee County. Sweet. Um, I love that you have, love soccer. Like, that's a huge part of staying in sports too, is, like, having that passion and keeping that spark and that love of the game alive. Um, how long have you been playing soccer? When did you first start playing, and what keeps you, like, coming back to this sport? Okay. Um, I've been playing soccer since I was, like, maybe eight, so maybe, like, four or five years. What keeps me coming back to the sport is just playing with my friends, and even when we lose after a game, just coming back knowing that we can do better, and once we win those championship games, it just feels so good. Yeah. Yeah, totally. Like, working hard with your team, being able to bounce back from losses, which we're gonna get into one specific comeback story that you've shared with us as well. Um, let's kind of set the scene as well. What, why did you join the Elite Mental Game in the first place? Like, what brought you to the program? And potentially you're like,"My mom signed me up for the program." Um, but what helped you just want to work on your mental game? What challenges were you noticing? Um, so first what helped, what made me want to join the mental program is I was struggling in games, and I would just get stuck on all my mistakes, and I just couldn't- Mm move forward from that. I just kept getting, like, I don't know, trapped in a box almost, that I just couldn't move beyond. Yeah. I totally hear you on that. I think that's really common for athletes. I call it the spiral. Like, athletes go- Yeah down the spiral, right? And every athlete knows what I'm talking about when I say that. Of like, yep, you go down the spiral, you make one mistake, that leads to another mistake or a negative thought, and then, yeah, you kind of are doubting your abilities. Um, and something that you shared when you, uh, posted your champion board submission, you said that,"I'm a champion because I can pick myself back up in the middle of a game." And it sounds like you've really started to overcome that challenge. So I'd love for you to tell me, like, what's been really helpful for bouncing back from mistakes, and being able to pick yourself up after those, like, tough moments and those tough games. What's been really helpful is my snapback routine, obviously,'cause it's just like, one, two, three, go. Yeah. And it's just also, like, telling myself that this is what I trained for and I can trust my skills, and I, I trained for this and I just know how to do it Yeah, let's go. That gets me hyped, you, you saying that out loud. That's awesome. Sure. Um, yeah, so your snapback routine, right, that's one of the first things that you learn in the program, and it's, like, one of the quickest tools to implement of taking- Mm-hmm an intentional deep breath, your hot cocoa breath, saying your word to yourself, which if I remember correctly, your word is trust, right? Yes. Okay. For trust your skills. Yes. Awesome. So that ties into the last part you were saying. And then doing a quick signal. Um, what's your signal again? I know you've messaged it. Yes. My signal is, I just kinda, like, mess with my sock and just- Okay like, I don't know, just, like, pull it and let go, and then it's just like, okay, let's do this. Yeah, totally. It's like snapping your sock, adjusting your sock. Yeah. And that's, like, a two, right, like you said, a one, two, three reset. We're back. We're back in the game. Um- Mm-hmm okay. I want you to share a little bit more about the one specific game that happened recently. So it was a championship game. We'll kind of set the scene. It was a championship game. Your coach had asked you to play defense, and that's not a position that you are usually playing, and you had to go against the team's best attackers, right? Yes. Um, tell me about kind of those struggle moments that you had and what it was like,'cause you, you picked yourself back up in the second half of the game and you were able to be aggressive and win those 50/50 balls, and, like, be a great teammate. So tell me about that struggle and when you noticed it setting in, and then how you were able to bounce back in that second half, and what the difference was in that second half. Yeah. Um, that's a good question. At the beginning I was just feeling overwhelmed, just'cause, uh, that defender just kept beating, or attacker just kept beating me. Mm-hmm. And it was just, like, messing with my head, like, what are you doing? Why can't you get this ball? Why, like, why is this happening? And I was going down the what if spiral. Yeah. And I kept getting taken out of the game'cause that player kept getting passed to me. And then once I got out of the game at halftime, my dad, since he's an assistant coach, he told me, like,"Lilly, trust your skills. Use your snapback." And I used my snapback, I trust my skills, and I picked myself back up, and I was like,"You got this." And then towards the end of the, or t- right after the half, I came back into the game and I was playing midfield, my normal position, and I was getting to 50/50 balls, getting shots, and then we ended up going to PKs and we won the game. That's amazing. Oh my gosh. Way to, like, pull yourself back up. And I'm really glad that you mentioned that your dad, like, reminded you to trust your skills, too. Um, are, are your mom and dad both going through the parent side of The Elite Mental Game? I believe so. Okay. Awesome. What kind of a difference have you noticed in them being able to, like, support you in those low moments when you're struggling? So before, basically, it was more just the physical part of soccer. Mm-hmm. And it was just like, they're like,"Are you okay? Are you in your head?" And it was just more, like-'Cause they didn't know how to ex- my gosh.'Cause they didn't know how to explain it, and after they started doing the program and I started doing the mental program, it all just got a lot times better, a lot, 100 times better.'Cause we were all just kind of ta- we weren't just talking about the physical part of soccer, we were talking about the mental part, too, and it almost just felt like we were on the same page. Yeah. I love that. That's what I was gonna say, like, you are all on the same page as a family. And a lot of parents and a lot of coaches even, right, like your dad is in the parent role and the coach role. Coaches and parents don't know how to teach the mental game, right? And they want to help, they want to support, but they don't always know how. And so being on the same page, going through the program together, is helpful in making that difference of, oh, now they know how to support my, the mental side of the game, and now they know what to do when I am struggling in those moments, or potentially when to give you space after games, too, um, and how to continue to challenge you and push you. So I love hearing that difference of, like, what it was like before and what it was like after. Um, and a lot of athletes, too, only train the physical side of the game, right? And if I were to ask you, Elise, what percent of soccer, of playing soccer, do you think is mental? Like, what percent of the sport is mental? Soccer is, like, from 50% to 75%. Okay. Main- mainly on the higher number, though, because so- it's just so important for your mental game,'cause one bad mistake leads to another and then it starts affecting your physical. Yeah, 100%. And so if the, if the mental game is 75%, right, and the physical game is, like, 25%, it's super important to train the mental game, and that's why I'm so excited that you've been consistent and, like, seeing these wins in your season as well. Like, especially in those high stake, in those high stake situations where it's a championship game and you have to be able to pick yourself back up. Like, you're, you're able to do it and you're able to walk the walk right now. Yes. Um, okay. It sounds like your snapback routine is probably your favorite tool, but do you have any tools that are maybe, like, your favorite? Any, like, tools, trainings, videos that are your favorite? Um, I really like the group calls that we do every month, especially the ones with special guests. Yeah. I really like the one that just came up with that, uh, I forget her name, but the goalkeeper. It just- Yeah'cause she also played soccer, when I was able to get answers and feedback. It just felt like, like, I don't know, we just kinda got each other'cause we both played soccer. Totally. Yeah. I was on the lookout for a soccer guest, and I was so glad when I found Caitlin as our semi-pro, um, indoor soccer guest, and I'm glad that you related to her, too, of like,'Oh, yeah, someone gets it.' And those group calls are great because you realize, like, you're not alone in anything that you're going through, right? Like, y- there's so much support ar- around you, and there's, like, a great community that's there uplifting you, and people that you can learn from and rely on, too. Um, okay, we've talked a lot about soccer. I am curious,'cause I know that you are busy and you're very involved in other activities. You're a great student athlete. Has mindset training helped you or impacted any activities or anything you do outside of soccer? Yeah, it's helped a lot, especially just, like, even if I'm worried about a math test in school, it's just, like, just reset. You've, you're literally, you go to school for this. This is literally what school is about. You got this. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Um, so definitely using it in school, right, in those moments where you gotta give yourself the pep talk, where you have to trust your studying in a way, right? Like, that's a form of trusting your training in, in the school setting. Um, okay, that's awesome. How do you What are Actually, that's not what I was, that's not where I was gonna go. See, I, I have some, some things. My brain is going 100 miles an hour right now. What are some of your goals that you have coming up next for yourself?'Cause I know you have some big goals and some things that you're continuing to work on. So what are your goals right now? Goals right now, well, one of my big goals is to play in college. But right now, it's just to be the best teammate I can be and the best person I can be,'cause it's hard to be, like, a leader and have us all doing the correct thing. Also hard to just be a friend side and the leader side. Yeah, totally. Okay. So, like, really leaning into being the leader that your team needs, being that great teammate, which I love those'cause both of them are in your control, right? Like, that's how you're showing up, the support, the encouragement, being an active listener. Like, all of those things are gonna contribute to being a great teammate and a great team leader as well. Um, okay. If you were to give a piece of advice to, let's say that there's an athlete out there right now who's listening right now, and maybe they're struggling with their mental game, or they're spiraling after mistakes, getting nervous before games, kind of doubting their abilities. What piece of advice would you give to them? Um, I would just, don't let every little mistake control your whole game. You're in tol- you're in control of the game, not your mistakes, and just to believe in yourself. This is what you train for. This is what you can do Yeah, I love that. Like, your message of trust your training, that's, um, I don't know if you know this. My dad told me that before every single volleyball game that I had growing up, from middle school to college. So that's one of my favorite phrases, and that's so inspiring, Elise, of you giving that message to other people. Because you're so right. Like, w- a lot of athletes believe, and you were probably in this mindset before too, of one mistake defines you, right? Like, one mistake,"Oh, that means I'm a bad player." And you know now that's not a true thought, right? Like, your confidence comes from you, and you get to decide how you're gonna show up. All right. Well, Elise, is there anything else that you want to share with everybody? Any, any, anything that we're missing right now? I don't think so. Okay. Well, this has been great. Thank you for joining us today and sharing your story. Um, we are so excited to highlight you and highlight the wins that you've been having. Um, and any athletes who, or parents who might be listening right now, if you want to be a part of this community, to join The Elite Mental Game, to join our Level Up Club, we'd love to have you join. Me and Elise would love to hang out with you on our calls and, and inside of the program. So you can experience lots of these wins, just like Elise has. Um, and she's inspired us a lot today. Um, and just that message of you're not alone in any of your struggles. Like, there's other athletes who are struggling and overcoming these challenges, and there's tools that can help you. Um, we'd love for you to check out a quiz that we have. It's to find your competitor style, to see the strengths that you have as an athlete, um, some growth areas that you might have, and how mental training can work for you. So we'll be sure to link that in our description and the show notes, um, so that you can take that quiz. Um, which Elise, do you remember from your competitor style quiz, I'm putting you on the spot. Do you remember, were you a self-motivated grinder, I feel like that could a pressure player, or a comeback player? Do you remember which one of those you are? I think I was a pressure player. Okay. Awesome. And that makes a lot of sense with your story too, of like bouncing back in a championship game. That's what a pressure player would do. Amazing. All righty. Well, we will see you next time on the Raising Elite Competitors podcast. And again, big shout-out to Elise, our March athlete of the month.