Access to Peak Performance is proud to present this innovative and unique training to student-athletes. This training is endorsed by and affiliated to Rice University . There are various topics that can be addressed with a view to enriching the experience of the student who is involved in athletics. On an individual level, the student can be trained in many skills to achieve peak performance in the field of athletic competition. These include attentional focus (concentration); effective goal-setting techniques; communication skills; leadership skills and so on (refer to above links for more details)  
    
In addition, the management of a dual life as a student and athlete is addressed with emphasis on achieving excellence in both arenas. This module of mental skills training inevitably provides students with the skills to excel in life in general not just in the sporting arena. The tools are applicable in all areas and the student athletes that are trained effectively can see major breakthroughs in performance.  
    
Access to Peak Performance also offers team building sessions for middle and high school sports teams. Such sessions can be invaluable and can serve a multitude of purposes. They can create cohesion in a new team, as well as generate leaders very quickly. They can also create a real identity and mission for the team and teach the members what the ingredients are that make up a successful team unit. Again, these are priceless life skills that will benefit the student-athlete in every area of their lives.  
    
For the aspiring collegiate athlete, seminars are provided to train students to deal with the transition between high school and college. They generate an inquiry into the skills needed to excel at the next level and they give high school juniors and seniors the tools to handle the often-drastic change in environment. Countless research has been done on this difficult adjustment period for student-athletes and the same complaints recur. Coaches and college athletes alike talk about the feeling of being on a new team where everyone is talented:  
    
"I was no longer the star like I was in high school - this was a wake-up call."

"My coach had a different style in college - it was difficult to deal with."

"I lost a lot of confidence during my freshman season in college - I really got down on myself".  
    
This and many other comments are from real feedback given by college freshmen. So the question is: "How are you as an athlete going to deal with these issues? What plan of action do you have? What tools can you use?"  
    
These are the questions addressed in the mental skills training provided for the aspiring college athlete who wants to have a fulfilling and successful collegiate experience.  
    
Please visit www.theelitestudentathlete.com for details on upcoming seminars for aspiring collegiate athletes, or contact us at shaheen@rice.edu
    
The development of these mental muscles will not only improve performance, it will train individuals to redefine what they think is possible in life and what they think they are capable of. As people get older, they become more "realistic" about what they can do and achieve. This stems from all the evidence there is about why we CANNOT do certain things. To be quite frank, realism is for ordinary people. Overachievement is not born out of realism. No great leader or performer in history ever succumbed to realism. They strove to be unrealistic, unreasonable and often irrational. That is what breeds excellence. Children have that innate unrealistic belief when they are young. This needs to be sustained and fostered so that they can continue to overachieve and break down mental barriers and fear. The key is in having them see the barriers and overcome them with the power of their own mind - the most powerful weapon in their arsenal.