The Skyward approach is predicated on Thinking into Athletic Performance. We believe effective athletic coaching is a holistic process that readies our cognitive capacity to learn and assimilate somatic skills while also developing our emotional regulation in and out of competition to actualize our highest potential.
In neuroscience, Executive Function (EF) refers to brain processes that enable top-down regulation of just about everything the brain does, including goal-directed attention, flexibility in thought and action, memory and recall, and emotional regulation. Backed by decades of research from the leading experts in Executive Function, Dr. Philip Zelazo and Dr. Stephanie Carlson (University of Minnesota), and their company Reflective Performance, we have adapted the following protocol to maximize Executive Function in the athletic realm.
Athletes who struggle in the classroom but read and comprehend their game with meticulous exactitude often assume they’re just not good at school. But elements of their brilliant capacity in sport are translatable to multiple contexts with the right stimulus. Similarly, students who excel academically but can’t seem to find their footing on the field, can learn to use those cognitive skills more effectively in sport. They have the raw elements to further develop their EF, which in turn can help foster the development of athletic and embodied skills.
Increased information processing speed
Reception to learning/ skill acquisition
Enhanced peripheral awareness
Mindfulness application as an athlete
Learning to embrace safe adaptive stress situations with composure (the more we do so the more we grow and enhance performance)
Activating growth mindsets
Seamless team interaction and reduced conflict
(1) To improve the fundamental skills (reflection and executive function) of athletic intelligence. This includes cultivating intuition and anticipatory action, pattern recognition, creative and flexible thinking, field (or competitive) literacy, proprioception, interoception, and high-speed decisions. By doing so, athletes can translate their somatic and cognitive awareness from practice to the pressures of in-competition performance.
(2) To leverage the latest developmental neuroscience to produce sustained and generalizable improvements in athletic talent.
(3) To maximize physiological, emotional, and cognitive potential through evidence-based strategies for promoting synaptogenesis (developing new neural connections). This expands our capacity to learn, adapt, and execute effective and efficient action for optimal performance in and out of sport.
“At the moment of commitment the entire universe conspires to assist you.”
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The very fact that you’ve looked us up is the first step toward commitment! Level up your game, your brain, and your life. We can help you!