Meet Kelsey Burrows | Certified Mental Performance Coach (CMPC)

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelsey Burrows and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelsey, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
There are many reasons that go into my “why” for starting Unchained Mental Performance Coaching. One of the main reasons I wanted to get into the field of Sport Psychology was primarily to help athletes become grounded in their identity, whether that was from their faith background or something other than sport. I, myself, was a Junior Olympic gymnast for a quarter of my life and had a career ending injury that shook the very foundation of my identity. Additionally, I’ve had my own experience with a Sport Psychologist (shout out to Gail, you’re the best!). My personal faith journey aided in finding my identity in Jesus too. I decided to build my own practice from there. I went to school for my Masters in Applied Sport and Performance Psychology and eventually got my certification as well to become a Certified Mental Performance Coach (CMPC). I had already built a previous small business however, I wanted this one to be more collaborative with my faith and my heart. The meaning of ‘Unchained’ is ‘to break free. What a better way to help athletes, coaches, parents, clients, and athletic teams but to ‘break free’ from mental barriers to help them optimize their true strengths, ground themselves in a solid identity, and perform at their best regardless of the arena they step into.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
This is the best time to talk about what it means to work as a Certified Mental Performance Coach (CMPC) in the world of athletics and beyond. What the heck is Mental Performance or Sport Psychology? A lot of you may have heard of the latter words more in any professional or Olympic sport setting lately, especially in the media. Mental Performance, Sport Psychology, Cognitive Performance, Mental Toughness Coach, etc., whatever wording you use, each with a few slight nuances, relate to the field of how athletes’ perform mentally in an athletic setting. This can be under various types of constraints such as pressure (i.e.., a quarterback is in the pocket attempting to throw the ball to an open player and the defense puts pressure on him to make a snap decision -literally- or he gets sacked, throws an incomplete, or executes a complete pass. The question there is when the quarterback is under pressure, can he make a quick informed decision from all of the information he is processing while looking at the field, weaknesses in defense, and so on. Having confidence to make those decisions is one aspect I coach on. Another example of a constraint that effects an athlete’s mental performance is fear. This can be fear of injury, re-injury, fear of how you look to others, fear of missing out, you name it. In Gymnastics, we call this a “mental block.” Gymnasts experiences these in a spectrum regardless of your level. Take Simone Biles for example (you know I had to bring in the GOAT). During the Tokyo Olympics, she experienced fear of injury due to loss of feeling in control of her body and her whereabouts (what she calls ‘the twisties’) in a dismount off bars and on vault. Simone was highly aware of what was going on and felt comfortable enough to know what her limit was and not to move forward for the sake of her own mental well-being and possible injury.

Those are a few examples of what I and so many other Sport Psychology/Mental Performance Professionals work with on a daily basis. How I got to where I am today is another fascinating question. If you originally read, it sounds as though I had a pretty straight road to pursuing Sport Psychology however, that is not how it panned out. In summary, I took a step towards creating my own photography business and the business itself took off quicker than I imagined. It wasn’t until about a year or two after graduation I decided to take my certification to become a CMPC more seriously and step into my calling as a Certified Mental Performance Coach. It’s been a challenge to navigate certification, studying, networking, and gaining clientele but we strive on. I have learned that my biggest strengths so far are some I’ve brought from building one business to now building another. To network like crazy, start posting consistently regardless of if you have ‘imposter syndrome’, and educate others. Psycho-education can be an underrated tool in a world full of ‘products’ that you can buy with instant results. The biggest thing I want others to know about myself and my brand is that I care about the human behind any performance arena. I care about how they show up in life mentally, physically and spiritually. I am one small piece of the puzzle yet, I am also one important piece, like so many other mental health professionals. In total mind-body wellness, you can’t leave one area of mental health out expecting the same results. Mental Performance connects to every facet of a person’s life just like strength training, nutrition, mental health, etc. Without one, you risk bringing together all tools to use when faced with adversity, a challenge in life or a grounded identity. I want my clients to feel ‘Unchained’ to pressures, fears, anxiety, injury, setbacks or whatever life throws at them.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a fun change up from the other questions. If my best friend was visiting the area and didn’t already know about the Denver-Metro area, I would say we should start out in Boulder. I am biased as I got my undergrad at CU Boulder (GO BUFFS!) haha. Boulder has some cute little cozy spots that I enjoy such as eating at “The Buff Restaurant”, seeing the Flatirons at Chautauqua, grabbing coffee at “Creature Comforts Boulder” over off Pearl” and enjoying the campus in any season. I love Boulder for more of the landscape and unique finds. It’s an eclectic city which may sound odd coming from someone who was born and raised in CO. Then, I would have to take my friend to the mountains for the other few days. One of my favorite towns to stay in is Steamboat. It’s beautiful, has lots of activities to do any time of the year and has some cute restaurants and shops in town. We could catch a gondola to the top of one of the ski resorts and hike some trails, ski or snowboard down or just take in the view at the top while eating some lunch. Another underrated area that I feel can still be a hidden gem is Echo Lake Park and Squaw Pass road. From Idaho Springs to Evergreen. That is one of my favorite drives. The road also has some pull-offs that look over the mountain passes and it takes my breath away any time I am up there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This is the perfect opportunity to thank Gail Royce for being the catalyst for my endeavors. Gail is also a Sport Psychology Coach who has her own practice called ‘Mental Edge Coaching.’ She’s been in this field for over 20 years and I had the fortunate opportunity to be a student and athlete-client of hers when I was a young competitive gymnast. Gail helped me with my fears on beam and nerves in competition. We learned how to set goals, visualize, use methods like breath work, a progressive relaxation script (tightening and relaxing of your muscles from head to toe to help your body relax), self-talk, cue words, and so much more. Gail truly inspired me through her own work with me. She has a collaborative attitude with a willingness to help the person behind the athlete. I took it one step further and realized how much injured athletes needed and still need that same support and that with the inspiration of Gail led me to where I am today.

Website: https://www.unchainedmpc.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unchainedmpc/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-burrows-ma-cmpc-080b332ba

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558573314179

Image Credits
Pictures of me by Shel Francis Creative, HMUA: Glam Gal , Location: Sixteenth St. Studio