The Amazing Story of Annie M.

Want to know just how powerful mental preparation can be? Check out this amazing example.

Last week I saw the owner of Mulhern Irish Dance Studio here in Illinois. Her and her students participated in our Constructing the Mind of a Champion class from September of 2017-March of 2018. I asked her how the kids were doing and how one of the students in particular, Annie, did in the World Competition. She said the kids were great and Annie did unbelievably well.

To give you a bit of background, Annie is an excellent Irish dancer. In July of 2017 she qualified for the World Competition in the girls ages 13-14 division that was going to be held in March of 2018 in Glasgow, Scotland. She was so excited!

Then, in August of 2017 she suffered a terrible injury to her back. Her doctor told her that she might be able to recover by March to attend the World’s. In order to do this though, she would have to go through physical therapy and not dance until the back was completely healed or she would risk injuring it even more.

In September Annie began the Constructing the Mind of a Champion class with her fellow Mulhern dancers and was a star pupil. She was engaged, always raising her hand and her team scored a perfect score during the Jeopardy review game we played the final class session.

Throughout the 7-months of the program Annie was consistent in implementing the mental training techniques she was learning. Each day she would write down her goal. Each morning when she woke up and right before she went to bed she closed her eyes and visualized herself dancing confidently using the techniques from the class. With her injury to her back, this was the only “dancing” she could do.

Months went by and still no green light from the doctor to put on the hard shoes and begin to physically practice. Yet Annie kept her faith, continued her physical therapy and her mental training regime.

Finally, two weeks before the World Competition the doctors gave Annie the ok to put on the shoes and start to practice.

At the World’s in Glasgow, Annie competed against the best dancers on the planet. Dancers who had been physically practicing for months, attending competitions in their home countries, etc., while Annie simply strengthened her back and mentally prepared.

How did Annie end up doing? She became a World Medalist and placed as the 18th best dancer for her age in the World! An amazing and incredible accomplishment!

I hope this reinforces to you the benefits and power of the mental training techniques I share with you each week. If a young teenage girl can have results like this, surely you will benefit as well.

Finally, if you are a coach for any youth sports team or know of someone who is, please contact me about bringing the Constructing the Mind of a Champion Program to your athletes (tomklisiewicz@smarthwp.com). We have a variety of options to help the kids learn these critical skills that will allow them in be more successful in sports, school and life.