If you play sports, you know that any game is 10% physical and 90% mental. You can be the best player in the world but not have the mental capacity your sport requires. We see underdogs win championships and favored teams lose games they should have won. Why? Because at that one moment, during that one game, or on that one specific play, one player was able to use their mental power to their advantage. Some may say, “Passion has a funny way of trumping logic.” Ultimately, champions know how to finish.

As athletes, we spend hours on end training our bodies and our sport-specific skills, and sometimes we forget about the part of our bodies that makes up the majority of our game - our brain. Lingering before competition, we fear letting down our teammates, our coaches, our fans, and finally, ourselves. But naturally, we humans are our own worst critics, and often our own worst enemies. We are the first to point out our own mistakes, to analyze them, and to make any flaws seem like bigger problems than they really are. We focus on our own negativity, but what comes from that exercise is only more negativity. It is often a downward spiral, never ending until we change our mindset. We have two different modes for our brain: the first is the training mode, where we can make improvements, analyze our skills, our fitness, and our game plan. The second is the trust mode. Our training mode is important to prepare us for competition, but in the moment of competition, it is our trust mode we must rely on; we must forget all the worries, all the fear, all the negativity, and have trust in our own abilities and in our teammates.

One important tool an athlete has in their trust mode is to say to yourself, “I’ve done this a thousand times, it’s muscle memory, I can do this.” It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, what the weather is, or if you’re home or away. You have the skills, you just need to perform them. You need to walk on the field confident (with a confidence level of 10), and KNOW, not believe, that you will win. This type of confidence breeds an energy, an energy that is no match for anything else you will face. It is a unanimous aura that you feel but cannot describe. The moment you put your turfs on, you’re a 10; when you step onto the field, you’re a 10; when the whistle blows, you’re a 10; you are embarking on a game you have played a thousand times.

Friday night, on the eve of my University of Rochester Field Hockey team’s NCAA Division III National Championship tournament Sweet 16 playoff game, our whole team had the opportunity to hear mental conditioning coach and motivational speaker Jen Croneberger of JLynne Consulting Group speak to us about the mental side of our game at our team hotel. The above description of the mental side of our game is just a glimpse of what we got to take away from her presentation and add to our mental “toolbox” for our game the next day. Coach Jen gave us a lot to think about, but she left us with a simple exercise, to remember five simple words (more on that later).

Jen is widely sought-after to speak to organizations, teams, universities, and businesses; in fact, she will speak to just about anyone who is looking to improve their mindset in life, or in our case, our athletic performance. I had the pleasure of meeting Jen six years ago when she was the mental game coach for The Philadelphia Force, the women’s professional softball team in my hometown of Allentown, PA. Sitting in the stands, you could not see what Jen did as a coach, but you could see the RESULTS of what she did. Players played with more confidence.

Jen has a Master’s degree in Sports and Human Performance Psychology from the University of the Rockies, and she uses that knowledge, combined with her experience in both playing and coaching sports, to instill confidence and bonding in any group, large or small. People of all ages benefit from her work, from youth to the elderly, and everyone in between; we all can improve the positive vibes we create for ourselves and spread to others.

I also had a chance to watch Jen coach the physical part of sports when she was the head softball coach at Ursinus College, where she was nominated as the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2012. While she was at Ursinus, Jen also was an adjunct professor, teaching undergraduate students about the philosophies and principles of coaching. Her experience as an athlete, a coach, and a psychology professional has rendered her one of the best motivational speakers I have ever heard. So I was excited when I found out that she would be speaking to my team.

Jen speaks, she writes, and she shares posts on various social media posts about anything that will help people to be their best selves in whatever they do. Sports require an awareness of ourselves and connections with those around us. This outlook on life was Jen’s inspiration for her published book, “These Five Words Are Mine.” Sometimes we have to look at life, and sports, with a different mindset, with different eyes, and with an open heart. Jen has a way with words, both written and spoken, that will leave you walking away a different person and a better version of yourself. For my team, she helped us to be the best version of ourselves not only as field hockey players, but also as teammates. Her website called thefivewords.com, documents not only her company but what she believes in as it relates to life.

During her time with our team, Jen told us to come up with five words to remember for our Sweet 16 game. Five simple words that would be our confidence reminder, our mantra, as you may call it. On Saturday afternoon, we won our Sweet 16 game 3-2 on a penalty corner goal scored by one of my teammates with only 7.8 seconds remaining in the game to clinch a spot in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship tournament. In that 7.8 seconds, in fact during our entire game, there was pain, and grit, and determination, and teamwork, and perseverance. But above all, there were these five words ….

“No way we lose this.”

Thanks, Jen. These Five Words WERE Yours. But now, These Five Words Are OURS.