about Me
Empowering Athletes Through the Power of Mindset.

My name is Tim, and I bring over four decades of experience coaching mental training to elite athletes—a career shaped by a lifelong passion for athletics and a deep belief in the transformative power of mental preparation. My approach is unique, built on my early immersion in the Soviet system of mental training, which I have since adapted and refined into a modern, highly effective methodology tailored for today’s athletes.

From a young age, sport has been central to my life. As a competitive sprinter and shot putter in my college years, I experienced first hand the physical and mental demands of high-level performance. Rugby has also been a lifelong passion—I’ve played since childhood, and 60 years later, I still take to the field whenever I get the chance. As a teenager, I also played handball at club level and was once invited to train for a weekend with the Great Britain team, an opportunity that deepened my appreciation for the sport

At 18, my Russian language skills led me to professional assignments in the USSR, giving me an unparalleled opportunity to immerse myself in Soviet sports. In the mid-to-late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, I worked closely with Soviet national teams, learning directly from some of the greatest minds in sport, including Viktor Tikhonov, the legendary ice hockey coach. I also worked with the Soviet weightlifting team at the 1985 World Championships in Sweden, spending significant time studying mental training from elite lifters and former champions.

 

The Soviet mental training system was like no other—designed with near-military precision, it demanded absolute discipline, relentless focus, and an unbreakable will to win. Soviet athletes were conditioned to develop a warrior mindset, training their minds to endure extreme pressure, suppress doubt, and execute with ruthless efficiency. It was a system that produced champions through a combination of rigorous psychological drills, visualization, controlled stress exposure, and emotional regulation techniques that hardened them for competition at the highest level.

I was fortunate to learn these methods firsthand. However, I have never simply replicated them. While the Soviet approach was undeniably effective, it was also rigid, sometimes brutal, and lacked the flexibility needed for the modern athlete. Over the years, I have carefully adapted and refined these techniques, integrating them with contemporary sports psychology, neuroscience, and performance science to create a powerful, balanced, and athlete-centered mental training system. My philosophy is clear: mental resilience, focus, and strategic thinking are just as critical as physical preparation for achieving peak performance.

I have coached athletes across a wide range of sports, with a particular emphasis on track and field—my first love. My expertise also extends to disciplines such as boxing, weightlifting, rugby, and handball, where mental toughness is a game-changer. I have worked with Olympians, national champions, and professional athletes striving to break barriers and reach new heights. The results have been transformative.

What sets me apart is not just my 40 years of experience but the fact that I am one of the few in the West who was fully immersed in the Soviet mental training system during its golden era. Unlike many who study it from a distance, I lived it—and I have spent my career modernizing those principles, making them more adaptable, athlete-focused, and effective for today’s sporting demands.

My mission is clear: to share this invaluable knowledge with federations, coaches, and athletes who are committed to pushing the limits of what is possible in sport. I am confident that my expertise can bring significant value to your federation and your athletes, equipping them with the mental tools they need to perform at their highest potential on the world stage. I would be honored to collaborate with your team to develop a culture of mental strength and resilience that delivers results where it matters most—on the track, the field, and the podium.