LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Faith Lutheran is using a "brain over brawn" approach to help provide their athletes and students the tools to succeed.
The Las Vegas middle school and high school has had a mental performance program since 2014, teaching teams techniques in sports psychology. It's been available to performers and Honor students since 2022.
Mark Cheney, who's been teaching and coaching for 27 years, directs the program that instructs the "Crusader Mindset." He visited with Channel 13's Nick Walters to offer insight into the only class of its kind in the Valley.
“My job is to help equip kids with the skills and techniques to be successful in any kind of performance," Cheney said. "It’s really about helping you thrive in the moments that matter.“
On top of teaching chemistry and coaching golf, Cheney works with Faith Lutheran athletes and coaches one-on-one or as whole teams to prepare them for mentally rigorous moments. There's a wide range of topics that the certified mental performance consultant tries to hit.
"That could be team cohesion, it could be resilience," Cheney said. "It could be our focus, our confidence, how do we talk to each other, how do we talk to ourselves. Even how we manage that physical reaction feeling the nerves and butterflies when everything’s on the line.”
While many people think of mental health when it comes to the mind, Cheney draws the line between it and mental performance.
“Mental health is how you can function as a normal human being through the regular challenges of every-day life and that’s hugely important," Cheney said. "Mental performance is how can we optimize that. Think of it like strength and conditioning. You can be healthy, but how fit are you? So I’d like to think of myself as a strength and conditioning coach of the mind.”
Hear Cheney explain his message to athletes on controlling their physiology, why he decided to explore sports physiology in 2009, and how it's helped local athletes play their best in the biggest moments.
Cheney suggests that Las Vegas athletes and students who do not have access to Faith Lutheran's program check out the Association for Applied Sports Psychology, which provides consultants in the Valley and across the country.
