You’re doing everything you can
You’re doing everything you can
but can’t figure out why your child isn’t performing well on the field.
but can’t figure out why your child isn’t performing well on the field.
Performs well during practice but freezes up during game time
Struggles when their teammates won’t pass them the ball
Questions their identity outside of being an athlete
Sound familiar?
Perhaps your child…
Debates whether or not to pursue sports in college
Doesn’t have a positive mindset to help them overcome mistakes
Beats themselves up when they don’t meet their expectations
Your child’s self-worth shouldn’t be tied to their performance
However, instilling a strong sense of self can positively influence their performance on and off the field.
What if your child had the skills to handle pressure, recover from setbacks, and maintain balance?
What’s Possible
We can help.
We are Optimal Athletic Zone
As our name implies, we are committed to helping your child reach their fullest potential in sports and life. By integrating sports performance coaching with mental wellness, we take a holistic approach when addressing the challenges your child faces.
Our parents are deeply invested in who their kids are—both on and off the field. In fostering emotional growth, adaptability, and discipline, your child will develop leadership skills, confidence, and resiliency for life.
The OAZ Assessment
Our interconnected sports performance assessment and mental wellness assessment help us identify what challenges your child is experiencing on and off the field. Guided by these insights, we can make tailored recommendations that support their growth and performance.
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1. Initial Family Meeting
We begin by providing a safe space for you and your child to share openly. The first meeting often comes with initial nerves, but rest assured we will walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have. All we want is to get to know you and for you to know us, all while exploring your goals.
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2. Parent Consultation
We will meet separately with you to gather detailed information about your child’s developmental history and the family’s history. This can also include helpful mental health information and insights into unique family dynamics. We will simplify this process so we can get to the heart of what truly matters: helping your child achieve their goals both on and off the court.
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3. Athlete Consultation
Then, we will meet one-on-one with your child to explore what challenges they may be facing and how they feel about their current performance. We will encourage them, assure them of their self-worth and identity outside of being an athlete, and thank them for their vulnerability during our session.
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4. Preliminary Action Plan
Once the evaluations are complete, we’ll meet with your family to review our findings and discuss the most important concerns. We'll decide on the next steps as a team, keeping your child’s best interest at the center. From there, we’ll create a personalized plan that supports your child’s growth and builds the skills they need to overcome obstacles and thrive.
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5. Action Plan
We’ll walk you through recommendations that are designed to optimize your child’s performance. Next, we’ll put our plan into action, and check in with you regularly to track you child’s progress. As your child’s mindset grows and results improve, we’ll celebrate success and adjust as needed to keep moving forward.
We see the bigger picture
Most sports coaching helps kids play better.
But what about when stress, confidence, or focus get in the way?
That’s where our clinical background makes a difference. We can tell if a setback is about skills on the field, or something deeper, like anxiety or mood. That way, your child gets the right support at the right time – so they can grow not just as an athlete, but as a person.
What Youth Athletes Say
After working with Optimal Athletic Zone
“I can handle this.”
“I’m resilient and can overcome this.”
“I'm doing the best I can.”
“I can ask for help.”
“I can maintain focus in the chaos of the game.”
“I want to keep improving on my performance.”
After working with Optimal Athletic Zone
“I can handle this.”
“I’m resilient and can overcome this.”
“I'm doing the best I can.”
“I can ask for help.”
“I can maintain focus in the chaos of the game.”
“I want to keep improving on my performance.”
What Youth Athletes Say
Consider us your newest dynamic duo
We are attuned to the mental component of improving performance. We start by assessing the unique challenges your child is facing. Once the issues are identified, we create a personalized plan that puts everything we’ve learned into action.
We’re passionate about creating a safe space for parents and kids to reflect, explore, grow, and thrive. We’re looking forward to working with you!
FAQs
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We specialize in working with children and adolescents ages 10-18. Whether your child is just starting out in their sport or competing at a high level, we tailor our approach to meet their developmental needs and goals.
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We conduct a comprehensive evaluation that helps us determine whether your child’s challenges are rooted in a mental wellness concern (like anxiety or depression) or performance-related concern (like focus, confidence or motivation). From there, we create a personalized action plan that targets the true source of the problem - not just the symptom.
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Our process includes 5 key steps:
Parent Intake – We other detailed information about your child’s development, family history, and any concerns you’ve noticed
Athlete Consultation – We meet one on one with your child to understand how they’re feeling and performing.
Preliminary Family Feedback – we review what we’ve learned and discuss early impressions.
Findings & Recommendations – We create a tailored plan based on what we’ve discovered.
Ongoing Check-Ins – As your child begins working with us, we monitor progress progress, adjust strategies and support both the athlete and family.
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We assess and support common mental health challenges in young athletes such as:
Anxiety
Depression
Stress management
ADHD and focus difficulties
Team dynamics/Getting along with teammates and coaches
Off the field stress that show up in play -
Confidence and self-doubt
Negative and Positive Self-Talk
Focusing
Setting and achieving realistic short-term and long-term goals
Resilience and coming back from setbacks
Mental Imagery -
We do not accept insurance, but we provide a superbill with all the necessary information for you to submit to your insurance company.
Please note: Insurance companies typically only reimburse for mental wellness therapy - not performance coaching.
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140 West 86th Street, Suite 1B
NYC, NY 10023