Time Required: 20 minutes

Format: Interactive reflection with guided exercises

Materials Needed: Notebook or phone for planning

Target Ages: 8-18 years

How did visualization work for you this week?

Did anyone notice improved confidence or preparation after using mental rehearsal?

Which type of visualization felt most natural (skill practice, competition prep, or confidence building)?

Any challenges with creating vivid mental images?

Celebrate efforts to practice visualization and mental rehearsal.

Building on all previous mindfulness skills, this session helps young athletes develop personal responsibility and ownership for their athletic development.

Athletes will learn to apply mindfulness to identify what they can control, take ownership of their choices, and implement consistent actions that support their goals.

By the end of this module, athletes will be able to:

• Distinguish between factors within and outside their control
• Apply mindfulness to recognize reactive patterns and choice points
• Practice taking ownership of performance outcomes
• Develop strategies for maintaining accountability to personal standards
• Implement a systematic approach to personal responsibility in athletics

Connect to college preparation and adult responsibilities

Address complex decision-making and long-term consequences

Include leadership responsibilities and mentoring opportunities

Discuss personal responsibility as life skill for career success

Allow for sophisticated discussions about agency and accountability

Use advanced psychological concepts about locus of control

Include research on personal responsibility and success

Connect to adult decision-making and career preparation

Address personal responsibility in relationships and leadership

Include professional athlete examples of ownership and accountability

Complex scenario analysis with multiple variables and long-term consequences

Leadership opportunities in helping others develop responsibility

Connection to life skills and career preparation beyond sports

Advanced goal-setting and accountability systems

Future-oriented responsibility planning and habit development

Create opportunities for athletes to take ownership of their development

Use responsibility language during feedback and instruction

Model personal responsibility in your own coaching decisions

Celebrate athletes who demonstrate ownership and accountability

Create team culture around personal responsibility and growth

"What's one thing you can control in this situation?"

"I can see you're taking ownership of that - great job"

"How can you respond to this challenge?"

"What's your role in making this team better?"

"You have more control over your performance than you think"

Include responsibility discussions in team meetings

Help athletes set personal goals and accountability measures

Use mistakes as opportunities to practice ownership rather than blame

Create individual development plans that athletes own and drive

Support athlete leadership and peer accountability

Oguntuase, O., Afolabi, A., & Adebayo, S. (2022). Effects of mindfulness training on resilience, self-confidence and emotion regulation of elite football players: The mediating role of locus of control. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2(2), 89-98.

Li, X., Chan, R. H. Y., Sit, C. H. P., & Sum, R. K. W. (2024). Mindfulness and acceptance-based training for elite adolescent athletes: A mixed-method exploratory study. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1401763.