Top Mental Game (2025)

25/11/2025

Have you ever felt judged? Try speaking before dozens of NJ’s top judges.

This time, thankfully, it wasn’t because I was in trouble or did something wrong.

I was invited to speak about leadership to two groups of my home state’s top judges at the annual NJ Judicial College.

My morning session included NJ supreme court justices and assignment judges in the audience, including several who I refer to as “repeat offenders” - those who I’ve been fortunate to work with in past workshops and keynotes.

Among those in attendance was Director Michael Blee, the Administrative Director of New Jersey’s Courts, a true servant leader in every sense of the word and someone who walks the walk with deeds, not just words.

My afternoon session was an equally impressive group of emerging leaders in the NJ judicial system, including several judges who were only months into their initial appointments.

Both groups were awesome leaders who were eager to become even better.

23/11/2025

Hands down, an epic day yesterday!

I got to watch one of my all-time favorite athletes – .oliphant – play in the Army vs. Air Force hockey game.

Holt’s one of my first TMG athletes – he’s now a firstie and team captain with

I first started working with him when he was a standout at Lawrence Academy in MA.

I then worked with Holt in junior hockey with the in the .

I’ve also worked with his younger brother Mack, who is now a senior defenseman at .

Holt’s girlfriend, a lax team captain at Arizona State, is another TMG alumna!

I can remember strategizing with him when Air Force’s coaches were coming to watch him in junior hockey.

We would regularly connect throughout his time at the Academy, including when Holt was a freshman and trying to make a name for himself on the team.

And what a name he’s made for himself.

After being named an assistant captain his junior year, Holt’s wearing the C his senior year.

He has 2 game-winners in his collegiate career.

The first was against #8 Michigan State.

The second against Army.

Holt is one of the grittiest, most intense players I’ve ever been blessed to coach. A true throwback.

Not just a team-first guy.

Holt’s a team-ALWAYS guy.

When Holt graduates this summer and goes to flight school, he hopes to fly the F-22, one of the world’s most advanced aircraft.

I asked his mom how she felt about that.

“There’s nobody I’d want defending our country than Holt, and he’ll attack it like he has everything else in his life.”

Boom.

I also got to spend time with , a TMG alum and plebe on the wrestling team, who walked up from the barracks after hearing we were there. Legend!

And my daughter got to meet Holt’s parents, including Amy who was HER mental performance coach! Shout out to !

While awaiting Holt, Richard Vince, one of my former West Point students came up to introduce me to his wife, Briana, who is teaching at !

On top of all that, I got to spend QT with my daughter, the one and only Schmoops!

Proud to introduce her to these legends, and proud that these legends met her!

21/11/2025

It was a privilege to talk and to students.

My former CTC colleague and friend is crushing it at BYU and was gracious enough to invite me to speak to his students.

In addition to sharing my experiences briefing the nation’s most senior leaders in the U.S government and military, I also talked about serving as an executive coach for general officers and Senior Service Executives in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.

As the CTC Director, I made every mistake in the book when it came to understanding the needs of senior leaders in the U.S. national security space and how they thought.

Just ask my teammates!

But in making those mistakes, I am well-positioned to impart some useful advice to those who might be interested in pursuing a professional career in the U.S. national security enterprise.

I talked about the importance of learning:

✅ The power and mobility of the security clearance (aka W***y Wonka’s golden ticket)

✅ How to listen (so much of our success depends on asking the right questions and really listening to the answers)

✅ Learning how to write well, and how to write in the style of your boss(es)

✅ Learning how to read the room (like reading the principal’s body language)

✅ Learning human behavior, org culture, and politics

✅ Learning when to take your shot (and maybe more important, when not to)

✅ Learning when to speak truth to power (like when their instructor told me my work wasn’t good enough to publish… and he was right)

And my most IMPORTANT advice?

Watching Ken Burns’ The American Revolution documentary on PBS.

Amazing to see so many of today’s national security challenges and dilemmas reflected in that period.

Thank you, Dan, for the opportunity to engage with your students!

20/11/2025

Congrats to for dominating the post-season 🏐 awards.

ASUN Player of the Year: Emilee Hill

Defensive Player of the Year: Cassidy Trahan

Freshmen of the Year: Addision Burke

Also shout out to AG Hynes and Carson Ledford who made the 2nd and 3rd Team All-ASUN as well!

I’ll be rooting for this squad in the ASUN tournament that starts today!

18/11/2025

“Who are you dedicating this playoff run to?”

That’s the question I asked the team in yesterday’s last mental performance session.

It just so happened to coincide on the day that Coach received a 3-year contract extension.

Fittingly, it was awesome to hear her team dedicate this ASUN post-season run to the seniors, the coaching staff, program supporters, and various parents and grandparents.

When post-season performance anxiety hits, one of the best ways to mitigate it is to put your focus on others rather than yourself.

I also gave them several tools to help overcome adversity when it inevitably will hit in the postseason - I gave them a specific reset ritual and a helpful resilience paradigm (E+R=O) to deal with the unexpected.

Wishing Coach Bazzani and the team the best of luck in the ASUN Conference Tournament.

One of the most engaged and connected teams I’ve worked with!

Go Colonels!

17/11/2025

Love working with amazing TEAMS.

Shout out to Coach Megan Shoniker and her team this past weekend!

Thank you to Coach , her amazing staff, and her Wildcat 🏀 team for their hospitality and engagement.

I got a chance to:
✅ sit in on a scout film session
✅ observe practice
✅ speak to the team about mental performance and body language
✅ do 1:1s with multiple players

Also got the opportunity to reconnect with former TMG alumna and current Assistant Coach .

Zero surprise to anyone who knows her, but Brodie is crushing it.

Thank you to Coach Shoniker and her team for making my first trip to extremely rewarding … and what a beautiful campus!

But it’s never about the beauty of the campus or the prestige of the university, it’s always about the people.

Great coaching staff. Great players.

Great TEAM.

Really looking forward to working with this group.

Go ‘Cats!

11/11/2025

Life is unfair.

You can complain about the fact that your circumstances may be less ideal than others.

Or you can get on with it and play the hand your dealt.

If you succumb to the chaos around you, you know how that story ends.

If you believe that inside you’re built different, you’ll overcome whatever situation you’re in.

I recently heard someone on social media say that you’ve already survived every tough day in your life - you’ll get through today.

Stop playing the victim. Start playing the hero.

Today.

10/11/2025

Don’t look now but is leading the ASUN!

After our 3️⃣rd mental performance session - this one on Accountability, Discipline, and Ownership - Coach Bazzani and her staff have the Colonels riding a 6-match win streak heading into the final week of conference play with .

We had a team dicsussion about:
✅ What’s gone RIGHT in the streak that we want to continue
✅ Chinese bamboo (huh?!?!)
✅ Controlling the controllables
✅ The important differences between accountability & ownership
✅ On great teams, teammates (not coaches) take ownership
✅ Each teammate & coach said the 1️⃣ thing they want to be held accountable for

Can’t wait for our 4️⃣th and final session just before the ASUN Conference Tournament!

That one’s on overcoming adversity - perfect timing before the playoffs!

Good luck to Coach Bazzani and her team - finish strong!

If you are a coach or AD looking to give YOUR team a competitive edge in the mental game, hit me up!

06/11/2025

Thank you for 1,500 followers!

05/11/2025

One of the joys of coaching athletes at TMG is seeing them grow.

Here’s a quick 📸 of some TMG greats (clockwise from top left)

Jordyn Sullivan, a ⚽️ star for & , was recently named the Player of the Year in the Shore Conference.

The Duke commit has 2️⃣7️⃣ goals & 5️⃣ assists for an astonishing 59 points … almost half of her team’s offensive output.

Izzy Kaczor, a freshmen 🏑 player at Columbia, is 2️⃣nd on her team in goals & 3️⃣rd in total points.

Congrats Izzy on your first season with !

Mack Oliphant, a 🏒 defenseman from Northbrook, IL, was just named Defensemen of the Week for .

Last year, was 2️⃣nd on the team in assists, named to the All-Atlantic Hockey 2nd Team, & is an assistant captain.

Molly Martin, a 🎾 junior from Fair Haven, NJ, ran through the Shore Conference this year, finishing a perfect 1️⃣2️⃣-0️⃣.

How about this for dominance as 1S – in her 12 matches, .mar14 lost 1️⃣8️⃣ games in 24 sets, including 1️⃣4️⃣ 6-0 sets. Crazy!

Ryan Remaly, a 🥍 middie from Mullica Hill, NJ, is in her junior season for .

Ryan started all 17 games last year & scored 1️⃣8️⃣ goals & 7️⃣ assists, including a last-second GW vs. Rutgers.

Beat Navy, !

Paige Wood, a grad student 🏌🏼‍♀️for is also making waves as a reporter for .

A 2️⃣-time NAIA All-American at , is crushing it on the green, on the sideline, & in life!

Holt Oliphant, aka “The Captain,” is entering his last 🏒 season at .
holiphant enters with 103 games under his skates, & I can’t wait to follow his final campaign before becoming a 2LT in the Air Force.

Jamie Welsh, a 🏌🏼‍♀️from Coppell, TX, may no longer be playing competitive golf, but she’s going pro in a more important field – medicine.

The All-Conference & 2️⃣-time NAIA Scholar Athlete at is now a first year in the Baylor School of Medicine. Way to go !

Finally, , a 🏀senior from Gig Harbor, WA, just announced his commitment to play at .

Go crush your senior season, Michael!

04/11/2025

Imagine possessing a skill that your entire life and then suddenly, one day, it’s gone.

That’s what happened to Jack Tiernan, a former All-Shore ⚾️ player at from Brick, NJ.

is now a sophomore pitcher at . He came to me over the summer because he was in his head - even having a simple catch was an anxiety-producing event.

After months of hard work and sticking to the process, he successfully battled his demons.

One of the most enjoyable coaching experiences I’ve had with an athlete. What a phenomenal kid.

I could care less about how he pitches - I care that he has a healthier perspective on his sport and tools to overcome adversity when (not if) it strikes in the future.

Here is a portion of Jack’s testimonial:

“I came to Bryan looking for answers about the sport I’ve loved since I was a kid yet at that point, even going outside to have a simple catch with my dad gave me anxiety.

I had completely lost confidence in myself, despite playing the game my entire life.

I chose to work with Bryan because of his baseball background. I felt like he truly understood what I was going through from personal experience. He shared things he struggled with during his own career, and that helped me feel connected and understood.

Over the past few months, my mindset toward baseball and life has completely transformed. I went from dreading the game to truly enjoying it again.

Through our weekly conversations and techniques we practiced, I began to understand myself on a deeper level.

To go from not being able to throw a ball to my throwing partner, to giving up just three hits across 10 innings this fall is something I’m incredibly proud of and grateful for.

I would absolutely recommend this program to other baseball players. Working with Bryan has changed not just how I play, but how I think and I am truly grateful for that opportunity.”

🔝🧠⚾️

Top Mental Game

25/11/2025

23/11/2025

21/11/2025

20/11/2025

18/11/2025

17/11/2025

11/11/2025

10/11/2025

06/11/2025

05/11/2025

04/11/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share