Jan Mühlfeit on Building Mental Resilience and Concentration in Young Athletes

Mental coach Jan Mühlfeit explains how children can develop mental resilience by learning to persist after failures and by focusing on internal goals rather than external judgments. He describes concentration as the "new currency" of the 21st century and outlines how language can trigger stress‑hormone responses that affect performance.

Mühlfeit shares observations from his recent role at Wimbledon, where he coached two players in the top‑100: a French athlete who was injured and Hungarian player Anna Bondár. He also recounts the psychological dynamics of a match involving Czech player Linda Nosková, illustrating how athletes can reframe setbacks to maintain focus.

The coach highlights the importance of routines, breathing, posture, and self‑talk in shaping the brain’s response to challenges, drawing parallels between sports performance and everyday life.