WIAA launching 'Mind Gym' seminar series for coaches, athletes

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association will be launching a free weekly seminar series on Oct. 7 that will focus on training for mental toughness and mindfulness for athletes and coaches.

Mind Gym Wednesdays will start next Wednesday and feature a new training session each following Wednesday through Nov. 11. The mental training series will be hosted by former student-athletes Collin Henderson and Ngozi Musa. Sessions will alternate between featuring coaches and athletes one week and just student-athletes the next.

The three main topics of focus for the mindset training will be: resilience training, race and equity in sports, and motivated mindset. Each topic will be covered over two weeks.

Resilience training will focus on using real-life examples and trainings to help develop mental toughness to respond to adversity and change in sports, school and life. Examples of lessons include how to handle setbacks, managing fear and failure, and cultivating optimism and courage in the face of these challenges.

With race and equity in sports, athletes and coaches will hopefully hold a better understanding on issues regarding diversity, equity and inclusion through the lens of athletics, and how to use these venues to begin actions and conversations on these topics.

Understanding these topics individually, and learning how to lead the conversation for change and action, are a few examples of topics that will be included in the third and fourth week of the series.

In the final section, the motivated mindset, coaches and student-athletes will learn to understand the science and application of motivation. Generating drive, crafting a plan for success, and better understanding habits and time management will be a few of the topics discussed during the final two weeks.

The weekly program is free to register for both coaches and student-athletes. Registration information can be found on the WIAA website.