You know what you're capable of. Why can't you access it?

It's not a talent problem. It's not a toughness problem.

You've put in the work. The fitness is there. Your coaches see the potential. Still, something keeps getting between your ability and your performance, and it isn't what most people think.

For some athletes it's the overthinking that won't shut off: racing thoughts, second-guessing, a voice that stays quiet all week and gets loud right when you need silence. For others it's the body taking over under pressure. Shaking legs, a tight chest, a heart rate that spikes before the start. Perfectionism can do it too, turning your sport into a pass/fail test where one mistake becomes a total unraveling.

Maybe you've lost the joy, and the sport you used to love now feels like something to survive. Or it's simpler than that: you're a different athlete in practice than in competition, and you don't fully understand why.

Whatever the pattern, it isn't random and it isn't a character flaw. Training harder or trying to be tougher won't fix it. Your nervous system is doing exactly what it learned to do under pressure, and it's far more common than anyone in your locker room is admitting.

Why nothing has worked

It's not that you didn't try hard enough.

Breathing exercises that work on the couch fall apart at the starting line. Visualization that felt powerful in your bedroom disappears under the lights. People tell you to "just be confident" and "stop overthinking," and now you're anxious about not being able to stop being anxious.

Maybe you white-knuckled it. Trained harder. Promised yourself next time would be different. Or you tried talk therapy that helped you feel better on Monday but never connected to what happens mid-game on Saturday.

None of that failed because you weren't committed. It failed because it was aimed at the wrong system. You can't think your way out of a nervous system response, yet most mental performance advice assumes that if you think differently, you'll perform differently. That's like telling someone with a broken thermostat to just want the room cooler.

What athletes need is work that reaches the body as well as the mind: sport-specific training aimed at the autonomic nervous system, the system running the show when pressure hits and the thinking part of your brain starts to go offline. That's a fundamentally different approach.

How it works: what sport psychology actually changes

Understand

We start by mapping what's actually driving your performance barriers. For some athletes it's a nervous system that fires too hot under pressure. For others it's avoidance, past experiences, perfectionism, or competing for reasons that generate pressure instead of fuel. Your intake identifies your specific pattern so we're never working on the wrong thing.

Build

You leave every session with skills to practice, not theory to think about. Drawing on HeartMath biofeedback, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), EMDR, and evidence-based sport psychology, we build a personalized system around how your autonomic nervous system responds to pressure.

Compete Free

The goal isn't a perfect mental state on race day. It's a set of tools practiced until they're automatic, so you can perform well in whatever state you're in. Nerves, doubt, and noise can all show up, and you compete anyway. That's trainable, and it's what we build toward.

Book your free 15-minute consult

Your Guides

I'm Dr. Trent Claypool, Sport Psychologist in Monument & Colorado Springs.

I'm a licensed sport psychologist with 15 years of experience helping athletes get out of their own heads and back into their sport: calm, confident, and competing free. From our office in Monument, just north of Colorado Springs, I see athletes in person across the Pikes Peak region and work virtually with athletes and teams nationwide.

I've worked with hundreds of athletes, from high school competitors to NCAA programs to professional performers. Together we turn overthinking, self-doubt, perfectionism, and pressure from things they fight into things they can work with.

I know this from the inside, too. I was a competitive swimmer before becoming an endurance athlete, and I've stood at starting lines with everything I'm describing running through my own head. So I don't treat what you're feeling as a weakness to eliminate. It's a signal to work with.

I'm trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), EMDR, and HeartMath biofeedback because they reach places generic mental skills training doesn't. For athletes dealing with perfectionism, trauma, or deeper performance barriers, that clinical depth matters.

Show Less

Learn more about my approach and background

Meet Dr. Kaela Parentis, our therapist for athletes

Kaela works with athletes and high achievers dealing with anxiety, perfectionism, performance pressure, low self-esteem, and stress that shows up in the body. She helps clients meet pressure with more flexibility and self-trust, without asking them to care less or want less. Her work draws on ACT, CBT, mindfulness, and somatic approaches.

She sees teens and adults in person in Monument and by telehealth anywhere in Colorado, and she's accepting new clients. Dr. Parentis holds a PsyD in Clinical Psychology and practices as a psychologist candidate under my supervision.

Show Less

Book a free 15-minute consult with Kaela

Here's What Actually Shifts

Calm under pressure Nerves still show up, but they stop running you

Physiological tools to regulate your nervous system in real time: breathwork, biofeedback-trained coherence states, and pre-competition protocols that hold when your heart rate is already climbing. Athletes often describe this as the biggest shift, the moment pressure stops running the show.

Focus that holds when it matters most.

Mental routines that carry over from practice to competition. When the distractions and "what-ifs" arrive, you have a system to come back to instead of fighting yourself for attention at the worst possible moment.

Confidence that doesn't depend on the scoreboard.

A shift from outcome-based confidence ("I'm good because I won") to process-based confidence ("I trust my tools and my training"). This is where perfectionism loosens its grip and competing starts to feel sustainable instead of exhausting.

Support that goes to the actual roots.

For athletes dealing with deeper patterns: perfectionism, past failures that left a mark, trauma, or a sport environment that's doing lasting damage. Therapy with Dr. Claypool or Dr. Parentis (available in CO only) goes further than surface-level mental skills work, and both coaching and therapy are available here.

Who This Is For

Athletes

You're capable. The question is whether your mental performance shows it consistently, under pressure, when it counts. Whether you're dealing with perfectionism, burnout, fear of failure, overthinking, or competition anxiety, there's a path that doesn't require you to just push through.

Mental performance coaching is available worldwide via virtual sessions.

See how we work with athletes

Therapy

When anxiety, perfectionism, low mood, trauma, or eating concerns run deeper than performance, therapy can help. Our therapy practice, Tri-Lakes Counseling, serves Colorado residents in person in Monument and by telehealth statewide. Sessions with Dr. Parentis are $135, with a sliding scale available.

See Therapy for Athletes

Teams & Coaches

Culture drives performance more than most coaches have tools to address. Team consulting builds the psychological safety, trust, and collective resilience that show up as late-game composure, quick recovery after mistakes, and an environment where athletes give their best. Available in Colorado Springs and nationwide.

See Team Programs

Parents

Parents shape athlete confidence more than almost anyone, with almost no guidance on how to do it well. Parent coaching helps families support without pressuring and keep joy at the center of sport, even when the stakes are high.

Resources for Parents

Every season you fight yourself is one you don't get back

Your nervous system is practicing either way.

The patterns holding you back don't stay the same when you leave them alone. The overthinking, the tightness, the spiraling, and the lost joy train themselves deeper into how you compete. Your nervous system learns to fire that way. Avoidance becomes more automatic. And the gap between who you are in practice and who you are under pressure becomes the story you tell yourself about who you are as an athlete.

You don't have to stay in that cycle. The skills that let athletes compete free, from the nervous system up, are trainable and measurable, and unlike physical fitness, they don't take years to build. Many athletes notice meaningful shifts within the first few weeks of the right work: less hijacking, faster recovery from mistakes, a calmer body under pressure. And the return of something most of them forgot they were missing. The joy.

This could be that season.

Book Your Free 15-minute consultation

Common questions about sport psychology.

Please reach us at trentclaypool@proton.me if you cannot find an answer to your question.

Can sport psychology help with perfectionism and burnout?

Yes. Perfectionism and burnout are two of the most common reasons athletes come to Summit. Both are patterns your nervous system has learned over time, and both respond well to targeted work. Perfectionism often looks like not being able to let go of mistakes, feeling like nothing is ever good enough, or treating every competition as a test of your worth. Burnout looks like joy slowly disappearing until the sport you loved feels like an obligation. We work with both from the body up, using approaches like ACT, CBT, biofeedback, and EMDR. Many athletes see meaningful shifts within the first month.

What if my issue isn't anxiety? I just can't perform the way I do in practice.

The practice-to-competition gap is one of the most common patterns we see, and it's almost never a skill issue. It's a state issue. Your nervous system responds differently under competitive pressure than it does in training, and that difference affects everything from motor control to decision speed to confidence. The good news is that this is highly trainable. We use biofeedback, nervous system regulation training, and sport-specific mental routines to teach your body that competition is a challenge, not a threat. When that shift happens, the real you starts showing up on game day.

I've tried mental skills training before and it didn't help. How is this different?

Most mental skills approaches rely on techniques that work in calm settings, like visualization, positive self-talk, and breathing exercises, then fall apart under real competitive pressure. Those tools aren't useless. They're aimed at the thinking brain, and under pressure the thinking brain goes offline while your autonomic nervous system takes over. We start there, with the nervous system to create change at the level that runs the show during competition. That's why athletes who've tried everything else often tell us this is the first thing that carried over to game day.

What does a sport psychologist do for athletes with competition anxiety?

A sport psychologist helps athletes understand what's driving their anxiety, whether that's nervous system dysregulation, avoidance, perfectionism, or something deeper, and builds a personalized set of tools to address it. Unlike generic mental wellness advice, sport psychology is designed for the conditions of competition: physiological activation, high stakes, and performance on demand. Sessions combine mental skills training, nervous system regulation, and in therapy can include clinical approaches like ACT or EMDR when they're needed.

How long does sport psychology take to work?

Most athletes notice meaningful shifts in nervous system regulation, such as less physiological hijacking and faster recovery from mistakes, within the first three to five sessions. Building a system that holds up consistently under pressure typically takes three to six months of regular work. The timeline depends on what we're addressing and how consistently you practice between sessions.

Can a sport psychologist help with youth sports anxiety?

Yes. Youth athletes often change fastest because their patterns aren't as deeply set yet. Dr. Claypool works with athletes as young as 10, and Dr. Parentis sees teens and adults. We encourage parent involvement for athletes under 18, and parent coaching is available separately for families who want to support the work at home.

Who will I work with?

It depends on what you need. Dr. Claypool, a licensed psychologist, offers both therapy and mental performance coaching, including EMDR and biofeedback. Dr. Parentis offers therapy for anxiety, perfectionism, self-esteem, and stress, and practices as a psychologist candidate under Dr. Claypool's supervision. On your free consult, we'll help you choose.

Does insurance cover sport psychology in Colorado?

For therapy clients in Colorado, Dr. Claypool is in network with Aetna and Select Health Colorado and out-of-netowork preferred with Tricare (helping you access most of your in-network benefits). Dr. Parentis is out of network and provides superbills. Many clients use Thrizer to handle out-of-network reimbursement. Mental performance coaching, available nationally, isn't covered by insurance. We'll go over full fee details on your free consult.

What are the fees?

Fees depend on the clinician and the type of session. Dr. Claypool's fees are $275 for the intake session and $225 for each follow-up session. Sessions with Dr. Parentis are $135. We also hold a limited number of sliding-scale spots, based on income, because we want our services to stay accessible. If you think you might qualify, ask about availability.

Do you have to be an elite athlete to see a sport psychologist?

No. We work with athletes at every level, from recreational to professional. Competition anxiety and performance anxiety affect athletes at all levels, and the tools that help are the same whether you're running a local 5K or competing at an NCAA championship.

Is sport psychology only for athletes with mental health problems?

Not at all. Many athletes we work with have no clinical diagnosis. They're high-functioning competitors who simply haven't had access to sport-specific mental tools. Sport psychology spans clinical work (therapy for anxiety, trauma, and eating concerns) and performance work (mental skills, nervous system training, and pre-competition routines). You don't need to be struggling to benefit.

Can sport psychology help coaches and parents?

Yes. When an athlete's support system is on board and engaged, outcomes improve, especially for younger athletes. We love having parents and coaches involved and the value they bring to an athlete's life.

Can sport psychology help non-athletes?

Yes. We specialize in the clinical and performance needs of athletes, and we also have extensive experience treating stress, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders in high achievers outside of sport. One benefit of working with a clinical sport psychologist is help that goes past getting back to baseline, toward actually thriving. Book a free consult to see whether we're a good fit.

Can sport psychology help with team issues?

Yes. We love working with teams. We usually start by talking through goals with the coach, then build a program for the team from there, with both online and in-person options.

You've been managing this long enough.

Competing free isn't a personality trait. It's a skill.

The athletes who compete free aren't the ones without nerves, doubt, or pressure. They've built a different relationship with all of it: tools that work, a system they trust, and the practiced ability to act from their best self no matter what their nervous system is doing.

That's what sport psychology builds, and it's what we work toward with athletes in Monument, Colorado Springs, and across the country.

Book Your Free Discovery Call

Your body is ready. Your mind keeps getting in the way.

Your body is ready. Your mind keeps getting in the way.

You know what you're capable of. Why can't you access it?

It's not a talent problem. It's not a toughness problem.

Why nothing has worked

It's not that you didn't try hard enough.

How it works: what sport psychology actually changes

Understand

Build

Compete Free

What Athletes and Coaches Say

Your Guides

I'm Dr. Trent Claypool, Sport Psychologist in Monument & Colorado Springs.

Meet Dr. Kaela Parentis, our therapist for athletes

Here's What Actually Shifts

Calm under pressure Nerves still show up, but they stop running you

Focus that holds when it matters most.

Confidence that doesn't depend on the scoreboard.

Support that goes to the actual roots.

Who This Is For

Athletes

Therapy

Teams & Coaches

Parents

Not ready to book? Start here.

Discover your Mental Performance Pattern

Free, 2-minute Mental Performance Assessment

Every season you fight yourself is one you don't get back

Your nervous system is practicing either way.

Common questions about sport psychology.

You've been managing this long enough.

Competing free isn't a personality trait. It's a skill.

From The Blog

Your body is ready. Your mind keeps getting in the way.

Your body is ready. Your mind keeps getting in the way.

You know what you're capable of. Why can't you access it?

It's not a talent problem. It's not a toughness problem.

Why nothing has worked

It's not that you didn't try hard enough.

How it works: what sport psychology actually changes

Understand

Build

Compete Free

What Athletes and Coaches Say

Your Guides

I'm Dr. Trent Claypool, Sport Psychologist in Monument & Colorado Springs.

Meet Dr. Kaela Parentis, our therapist for athletes

Here's What Actually Shifts

Calm under pressure Nerves still show up, but they stop running you

Focus that holds when it matters most.

Confidence that doesn't depend on the scoreboard.

Support that goes to the actual roots.

Who This Is For

Athletes

Therapy

Teams & Coaches

Parents

Not ready to book? Start here.

Discover your Mental Performance Pattern

Free, 2-minute Mental Performance Assessment

Every season you fight yourself is one you don't get back

Your nervous system is practicing either way.

Common questions about sport psychology.

You've been managing this long enough.

Competing free isn't a personality trait. It's a skill.

From The Blog

Connect With Us

This website uses cookies.