Leadership, confidence, and teamwork can be taught.

I provide an airtight methodology for players and coaches to develop those dynamics on and off the field.

Teaching and instilling championship character and chemistry can be a challenge for coaches with today’s “modern” kids. Just as athletes need to work on their physical skills, they also need to work on their emotional and mental skills. With a combination of group and individual meetings, bonding exercises, music, difficult discussions and inspiring conversation, I bring participants to a spot where they know each other much more deeply, are committed to their goals as individuals and as a team, and players have the self-knowledge to remove mental and emotional obstacles standing in the way of peak performance.

After two hours with Jeff, not a single boy in the room had checked the time. It was a transformative experience for us. Jeff has a gift in reading people and fundamentally wants to improve our outlook on our seasons, our relationships and our lives. Between the group and individual connections, all our emotions were in play, and he created a powerfully trusting and positive environment. He is a healer, a motivator, an entertainer and always an ally.

Chip Davis, Deerfield Academy Athletic Director and boys’ lacrosse head coach.

The curriculum includes hard skills such as:

• Mental steadiness
• Ability to use adversity to fuel success instead of failure
• Focus
• Ability to strategize
• Confidence
• Drive
• Trust

which I then teach players to apply to specific aspects of their game: mental steadiness and focus allow you to see the ball or puck more clearly, the ability to use adversity to fuel success allows you to not lose your composure when you miss a shot, and so on.

How am I different from a sports psychologist? Sport psychologists have many techniques to help players perform better despite their issues. I delve deeper and focus on why a player has issues in the first place and work with them, using the forward-thinking methodology of life-coaching, to get past their issues and thus reduce their impact on the player.

Part of my service delivery is to customize every workshop to the circumstances of the situation: Any workshop or longer program can be modified to meet specific needs. Please contact me to discuss your team’s particular requirements and how can they can best be met in a workshop or consultation setting. Pricing is tailored to the requirements of each program, so please give me a call, and I will be glad to discuss your goals and how we can achieve them.

I also offer both short- and long-term individual life coaching.

I am a senior on the softball team. I just wanted to take the time to email you and let you know that I really enjoyed the leadership workshop with Jeff Levin last night. Going into the meeting I figured it was going to be someone just talking at us giving us pointers on how to grow as a leader on an athletic team. However, Jeff made it so much more than that. The workshop was interactive and everyone participated. I feel like after only an hour-long meeting with him I have learned more about myself and how to grow into a better leader than I have in any other way. After talking to a few athletes who were also at one of the workshops last night, I have heard nothing but positive feedback.

I just wanted to take the time to personally let you know how much we enjoyed the workshop and how much we learned from it. – Emily M.

Programs

My most popular programs are below, but I customize each program based on the team’s needs, so if you have something else in mind, please contact me so we can discuss what will work best for your team.

Core Program

One-day Workshops

Keynote Addresses

Programs for Coaches

Core Program

A minimum of four days/three visits, plus unlimited sessions with players and coaches via phone and Skype.

Real and lasting change can’t happen with one visit. My Core program provides structure to put you in a position to succeed, support to help you succeed, and accountability to make sure you do succeed.

In essence, I put participants through a process of getting to know one another on a very deep, yet enjoyable level: kids are always saying, “Mr. Levin, it was awesome to get to know my teammates like that.”  Secondly, I tailor individual approaches for each player for the individual sessions, so each participant learns how

• To play with lasting, intentional confidence,
• To manage the “gremlins” in their heads, so positivity prevails
• Manage stress, both individually and as a group.
• Manage the heart rate (and anxiety),
• To set goals: participants learn to devise a plan, implement that plan, achieve benchmarks and reach goals.
• Find a sense of purpose – what does it look like if they’re successful? What is it going to look like if they don’t achieve their goals?
• Be a better teammate and more coachable player.

The work is intense, but fun. I’m a blues/rock/soul guitarist and singer, and I use music to guarantee lively, engaging and compelling presentations. I teach athletes about the work they need to do as a team and as individuals to reach their goals and achieve their individual and collective visions and discuss the methodology for doing so. The confidence kids learn, combined with an increasing sense of family, is an unbeatable combination.

What the process looks like:

• I meet with you and staff to set goals, learn about kids and monitor process and progress. I work hand-in-hand with the coaching staff at all times.
• The three-day initial starts and ends with two-hour team meetings with individual meetings with players done in between. During individual meetings, workouts and practice can continue with minimal disruption.
• I meet with each player individually, and we come up with a personalized performance plan that empowers each student to succeed.
• Individual goals are shared; group accountability is key.
• I stay in touch by Skype with staff and captains regularly to ensure that commitments on both sides are happening and people are holding one another accountable.  I am also available for quick consults with any player or coach at any time. If an individual needs more support, I am available to work with individuals for an hourly fee, payable by the team or family.
• I return to campus for a minimum of two more visits at key points in the season. During these visits, the individual and team plans are reviewed and tweaked to ensure progress.

One-Day Program

If your goal is to give your team an inspiring experience and food for thought, then one-day programs are designed to introduce the motivational concepts from my Core program:

• To play with lasting, intentional confidence,
• To manage the “gremlins” in their heads, so positivity prevails
• Manage stress, both individually and as a group.
• Manage the heart rate (and anxiety),
• To set individual and team goals.
• Find a sense of purpose.
• Be a better teammate and more coachable player.

One-day programs range from two to eight hours, depending on your goals and budget.

Keynote Addresses 

Many of the concepts I cover in my smaller programs can be adapted for larger groups, and I have given many keynote addresses to athletes. I customize every keynote based on the needs of my audience, but here is a sampling of programs I have given:

Wellness 101: Creating Balance, Confidence and Contentment

From Fear to Courage: Use Adversity to Fuel Success

The Antidote to Stress: Go from Isolation to Community

Academics, Sports & Life: Finding Balance in a Complicated World

Developing True Focus

Nurturing Your Leadership Abilities

Please feel free to be in touch to customize a workshop for your group that makes the most sense for your student‐athletes, teams and/or coaching staff.

Working with Coaches

The key to great coaching lies in a coach’s ability to connect with, motivate and teach young athletes. I offer the following seminars with those goals in mind:

Connecting with Every Athlete: Customizing Relationships While Maintaining Personal Style & Tradition

Supporting Both Athletic and Personal Growth

Working with the “Modern” Athlete (and Parent)

Helping Kids, Helping Ourselves – A Primer in Knowing Oneself and Connecting Deeply with Student‐Athletes

Coaches will:

• Learn to connect more deeply with their own principles and be able to manifest those ideals on the field with athletes.
• Develop deeper, more effective relationships with players and assistants.
• More fully realize the goal of developing highly successful, productive, caring people and leaders, not just winning athletes.
• Work to develop comprehensive programs that emphasize leadership.

Any workshop or longer program can be modified to meet specific needs. Please contact me to discuss your team’s or coaching staff’s particular requirements and how can they can best be met in a workshop or consultation setting. Pricing is tailored to the requirements of each program, so please give me a call, and I will be glad to discuss your goals and how we can achieve them.