Mindset Gaia

Mindset Gaia is the state of our mindset, and mental performance, being one with our internal and external environments – in a happy, peaceful and balanced existence. Mindset Gaia is our occasional mental performance clip on the Deny Goalkeeping YouTube channel.

“Beginning my sophomore year of college, I started with high hopes and confidence, and quickly that confidence went downhill throughout my semester and fall ball season. At the end of my fall semester, I was all over the place with little hope in myself and didn’t even know if I wanted to continue my lacrosse career. I knew I had to do something about my confidence and my mental health before going into my spring season and semester. 

I agreed to participate in the Elite Mindset meetings with Coach Knowles and I can’t thank him enough for the time and effort he put into helping me better my mindset and find that confidence I had once before. With his help, I was able to set some goals for myself which helped me tremendously both on and off the field. It was amazing to actually see progress with my goals and look back on the journey I had to take to get where I am now. I will say the journey was not easy, some days were a lot more difficult than others but ultimately that is what helped me grow. 

I could not be more grateful for the opportunity that this journey has given me, starting from a place with little to no confidence in myself and not even sure if I wanted to continue with my lacrosse career, to having one of my best lacrosse seasons yet. Participating in the Elite Mindset program has allowed me to grow as a person, student, and athlete. This is an experience I do not regret taking and if I did not take the opportunity to participate I believe I would still be struggling with both my mindset and my confidence. 

Throughout this experience with Coach Knowles in the Elite Mindset group, I have learned that you always have room for improvement and even if you feel like you have reached your goal or goals, there is always more room to grow and more goals to reach for. Additionally, I was able to create a better relationship with myself and regain that confidence I once had, along with bettering my mindset to help me continue to reach my goals.” – Madelyn R., Lancaster NY (Collegiate athlete)

“John worked with my daughter on her perfectionism and the effect it was having on her practice and playing. He met her at her level, focused on what was going on with her specifically & taught her life skills she will use both in her athletic career and day to day life. I know John will be there to support her whenever she needs a ‘brush up’ on her skills. If your son or daughter is struggling with the mental game John is a phenomenal resource!” – Sara M., Gananda NY

“This program broke down emotional barriers, while helping to give a different perspective on stress, pressure, and how to manage emotion piece by piece.” – Wendy and Gene F. (Pittsford, NY)

“We highly recommend John and his organization Deny Goalkeeping for both physical and mindset training. John carries much wisdom and has the unique ability to make learning fun and interactive while creating an environment that welcomes questions and encourages thoughtful and resilient mindset for the game.” – Wendy and Gene F. (Pittsford, NY)

“John Knowles has been a great goalie coach. He helped me develop skill and talent for the game on the field and off. He worked on mindset and taught me in a way that nobody else could do better.” – Audrey F. (Pittsford, NY)

“John not only helped build up her physical game, but also helped her continue to focus on developing her mental game!” – Kelley M. (Geneva, NY)

“John has taught her so much from not only the technical aspects of the position but from the mental aspects, such as goal setting, self-confidence, as well as the ability to develop situational amnesia.” – Catherine G. (Syracuse, NY)

“I struggled with the mental part of playing goalie for the longest time. I took 10-15 Zoom classes with with one of my coaches who specializes in that field.” – Emma P. (Rochester, NY)

“This past winter season was extremely difficult for me mentally, and Coach Knowles saw that. I didn’t have to tell him, he saw and reached out offering a mindset training course.”– Megan S. (Webster, NY)

“I’m a better player, but more importantly I’m a better teammate because of this training. Over the years, I’ve learned while being a goalie is very physically demanding, it is more mentally demanding. Doing physical training is great, but no amount of physical training could’ve given me what this did.” – Megan S. (Webster, NY)

“Thank you for being there with us and seeing the girls through this chapter of working their mindfulness, it really made a huge difference-even in the way they handled the loss well.” ~ Susan N. (Rochester, NY)