Petr Jan Rehak
ABOUT
sport
SPORT - the head is part of the performance
In sports, we often talk about talent, technique, tactics and physical fitness. An athlete can have all these areas at a high level, and yet not perform to the level of his true potential at the crucial moment. The difference often does not lie in what he can do, but in what happens to him when the pressure comes. That is why, for me, mental work is not a supplement to sports training. It is its foundation. Just as an athlete systematically trains his body, technique or tactics, he needs to train his ability to work with his head, emotions, concentration and reactions in situations that determine his performance.
I have been dedicated to mental work for more than 15 years and during my professional journey I have worked with young talents, top athletes, Olympians, coaches and professional teams. From individual training to the highest professional competitions and Olympic environments.
I work with self-confidence, concentration, emotional stability, performance under pressure, internal dialogue, managing expectations and the ability to bounce back quickly from a mistake, a lost point or a poor performance. Consistency is also important to me - so that the athlete is not dependent on whether they feel good at the moment, but has their own system to which they can return.
But every sport requires a different mindset. A tennis player has to repeatedly manage a mistake and prepare for the next point within seconds. A golfer needs to maintain concentration and emotions for several hours and not let one bad shot affect the next. A volleyball, basketball or football player works within a team, reacting to teammates, coaches, substitutions and the development of the match. An athlete can prepare for months for a performance that will be decided in seconds. A biathlete needs to calm his body and mind in a short time after maximum physical exertion for accurate shooting.
That's why I don't use one universal mental program for everyone. I need to understand the sport, the athlete's personality and the specific moments in which their performance increases or decreases. I then transfer the mental work directly into the sports environment. I use individual consultations, visualization, work with self-talk, emotions and breath, pre-performance routines and short audio activations before training or competition. I don't want the athlete to just know what to do. They need to have tools that they can actually use when they get under pressure.
I work with individual athletes, but also with coaches, professional teams, clubs, sports federations and national teams. For teams and organizations, mental preparation can gradually emerge as a system that is a natural part of the sports environment, not as an intervention only when something goes wrong.
The goal is not to eliminate pressure, emotions, or mistakes. The goal is to teach athletes to work with them so that they can reach their true potential when it matters most.
Certifications
• Charles University in Prague – Faculty of Law
• Johann Zeilhofer Institute
• NLP Master Practitioner
Qualifications
• 15+ years of mental, coaching and therapeutic work
• Top athletes, coaches and professional teams
• Olympic environment and the highest Masters sports competitions
• Individual work, teams, companies and institutions
• Author of the book The Mind of a Champion