Your Mind is your Greatest Ally
Why and how can mental performance training help you?
Think of your mind as a muscle – train it properly and you perform your best more consistently. Whether in sport, work, school, or in life situations, the mind + emotions often impede rather than help us during critical moments? In our collaboration, you will learn specific tools and gain more perspectives, unlocking the best version of yourself.
“The Gravel Ride” podcast with Ted Huang – Mental Performance Expert. Why do we ride?” March 2021 – insights into my philosophy of practice
Clear & Present, aka Flow
As an eleven year old windsurfer, the raw power and beauty of nature profoundly struck me. I found that simply being in “sync” with the elements allowed me to forget all the pressures of the world and just “be” – in flow. Fast forward to 2010, and I decided to harness my decades of elite level sports, music, and corporate life experiences to help clients become more comfortable in their own skins, be more in-the-moment, and succeed at whatever they put their mind towards.
Intentional Focus
Leveraging a combination of cognitive behavioral skills integrated with acceptance commitment therapy, non-judging awareness, and the power of choice, clients learn to stay focused and in the moment on demand, on a more consistent basis.
about Ted
Ted got hooked on competing after winning the U.S. Junior Windsurfing Championships at 14. With amazing support from his parents, Ted set off on a roller coaster ride of international travel, trainin/racing abroad, culminating in competing at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.
B.A., Organizational Behavior, Stanford University
M.A., Sport Psychology, John F. Kennedy University
how I work
An underpinning of my philosophy of practice is ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy). By ensuring one’s goals align with core values, it yields higher commitment and motivation, as well as increased resilience. I have found that it also significantly increases the success of cognitive behavioral tools. To be frank, when clients become more comfortable in their own skins, allowing their self-belief and confidence to shine, the sky becomes the limit.
coaching services
My mission is to help you to accomplish your goals and aspirations and be comfortable in your own skin. Ready to take charge of your mental game?
individual
Individual coaching sessions are designed for a deep dive into sources of issues, self-reflection, learning new skills, & real-time feedback on new behaviors & practices. This allows for tangible gains in self-belief, confidence, reduced, self-doubt, and increased performance.
8 sessions
An ideal first plunge into mental performance training. Clients learn valuable self-awareness practices such as getting and staying focused and centered. Byproduct: effective mindset practices applicable throughout one’s life.
Half year
Clients Choose this package if they are committed to more in depth work in between and through competitive delving deeper into sources of issues, developing /practicing/feedback on personal mental tools + practice for sustained results.
teams / groups
These can be standalone or multi-session workshops. I customize topics and interactive activities designed to engage and inspire. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves.
presentations
From an overview of mental skills topics to drilling down into a specific skill through group activities, I tailor to your needs. Please contact me for more details. tedperformance(at)gmail.com
Nolan & Galen, Class of 2025, Stanford University
“Ted’s work with our sons totally complimented their school coach’s workouts and team’s plans. Ted’s conversations allowed them to reflect on the race that just happened, how their strategy played out, how they adapted to flow and the competition, and how they perceived their effort in that moment. They discussed upcoming events and explored opportunities to be attentive to the race’s unfolding dynamics, take risks at key openings, and sustain a focused mind. As an athlete, Ted’s knowledge ranges widely, including the benefits of sleep, breathing techniques, mindfulness preparation, the value of pre-race routines and warm-up, and the benefits of strong connections to teammates. I saw a renewed joy of running in our sons. I believe that with Ted’s guidance, they were able to bring all the elements together: pride in consistent training, peak experiences with friends, personal records, team responsibilities and a positive, self-directed outlook.”
– Kim, mother of Nolan, Class of 2025, running for Stanford University
a Division I Varsity swimmer
Ted definitely changed the trajectory of my athletic career. Being completely honest, the first time I ever met Ted, I broke down crying about 3 minutes into the conversation. He remained professional and supportive, and I felt like I was in a very safe space. This remained true through all of our meetings. He was good at listening and helping me work through my struggles. I came to Ted because I’d struggled with a plateau in my times, in my training, and in my goals. I wasn’t enjoying my sport anymore, and suffered from some pre-race anxiety. I’d been neglecting the mental aspect of swimming (arguably equally as important). My coach hadn’t been supportive in the ways I needed, but Ted helped fill the gap. He was flexible and helpful. He was open to multiple approaches, and gave me a lot of options. I really felt like I was in control of the process, but he was there to help me out, make suggestions, and guide me along. He would follow up our meetings with additional readings or videos to help me out. I began practicing mindfulness in more of my daily life, and he gave me specific tips and tricks to deal with racing and anxiety. I gained some lifelong skills for dealing with and working through negative thoughts and anxiety.
Thank you Ted for all your help. I’m absolutely loving my sport and racing again.
– Yale University Division 1 Varsity Swimmer
We were fortunate to find Ted. Once a player reaches the advanced skill level needed to play varsity golf, the game becomes 95% mental. Ted began working with the team once a week during the season. He helped the players focus, visualize, and control their emotions. They became better at recognizing their thoughts and feelings, and learned ways to better control and channel their emotions. We started to see that all the members began to contribute to each match and it became a team effort versus individual efforts. I strongly believe that we would not have advanced as far as we did without Ted.
– Tom Hitchcock, Head Coach, Golf Team at Menlo School; Team’s first appearance at State Championships
Ted’s experience and teaching encouraged me to reframe my mindset going into Ironman World Championships. Ted’s ability to work with athletes on overcoming mental obstacles and improve their mindset is amazing. Myself and my athletes have increased confidence after individual sessions with Ted prior to “A” races. Sport psychology is critical to an athlete’s success and through Ted’s extensive personal experience and education he is able to tap into the mindset an athlete needs to succeed.
– Liza Rachetto (2022 Ironman Kona World Champion 45-49, USAC Level 1 Coach,USAT Level 1 Coach, ACSM Certified, 17 years professional cyclist and 19 Full Ironmans (1998-2022)
Ted played an integral role in the success of these swimmers and the group as a whole. You could see the swimmers were better able to keep themselves in the present at swim meets and practice, managed success and failure better, brought strong mental toughness and self-confidence to races, practice and school. In addition, working with Ted influenced and enhanced my own coaching, as I learned better ways to bring mental skills into practice. This improved the quality of work at practice and strengthened the team’s cohesiveness.
If you have the chance to work with Ted. whether individually or as a team, DO IT!!! Why not develop the mental skills in yourself and in the athletes you coach. If you coach, working with Ted will enhance your own coaching.
– Bruce Smith (founder of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics, USA Swimming Gold Level club swim team)
What sets Ted apart from other performance(psychologists, coaches, etc.) I have worked with is that he recognizes that one size never fits all. As cliche as this may sound, many people do not adapt their methods to their clients, instead, they adapt the clients to the methods, regardless of the outcome. Ted is flexible and tries alternative methods if a particular technique does not work for an individual. It is this quality that sets him apart and brings results.
– Carola Berger (USAC Level 2 Coach, NCNCA mentor), cat.2 road cyclist
Ted helped me to learn mental performance techniques that enabled me to achieve all the goals I set for the races, so I stopped coming away disappointed in my performance – that helped me grow my racing confidence significantly. Simply put whether my goals were to win or simply to finish, the techniques worked! I no longer risk coming away disappointed in my performance. Many of these techniques are also applicable off the bike, so I’ve grown in confidence in general too, a real bonus!
– Lindsay Howard (president of Alto Velo Racing Club and competitive road cyclist)
the goal is flow
From an early age, the power and raw beauty of mother nature struck Ted profoundly. It was like simply being in “sync” with the elements allowed him to forget all the pressures of the world and just be. Ted came to realize that this was precisely like being in a kind of flow state where time slowed, and he could focus only on what was immediately relevant. He was intrigued by how some individuals could get there more easily than others, and it helped in outperforming more talented peers. Ted’s diverse life experiences as well as formal training have helped him to build effective tools that help individuals and groups to perform to the best of their abilities and beyond.
