Mental Training Lab

Master your mental game with the Mental Training Lab, hosted by Pete Kadushin. With 15 years of coaching experience and a PhD in performance psychology, Pete digs deep each episode to provide practical tools and expert insights so you can perform your best when it matters most. Enhance your focus, harness stress, and overcome challenges whether you’re an athlete, leader, or high-performer. Subscribe to learn how to elevate your game in work, play, and life.

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Learn more about The Mental Training LabConnect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | WebsiteSubscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

Today’s guest is Ashwin Patel. Ashwin is a Professor and Program Coordinator for the Sport Management and Recreation and Leisure Services programs at Humber College. He is also the co-founder of Sport and Wellness Consulting with Dr. Noah Gentner. Ashwin received his Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Tennessee and upon graduating, Ashwin spent seven and a half years as an Associate Professor at Western Colorado University.

Since 2003, Ashwin has provided Mental Performance Consulting - both in corporate and sport settings. His primary passion is working with hockey players. In this capacity, he’s worked with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, the student-athletes at Victus Academy – a private hockey school in Kitchener. And with the Vancouver Canucks – focusing on the AHL team in Utica, NY. In 2020 he was a mental performance consultant with Hockey Canada's U17 team and in April 2021 worked as the mental performance consultant for Hockey Canada’s Gold Medal winning U18 team at the IIHF World Championships.

We cover so much ground in this episode that I needed to split it into two parts! In this first part, Ashwin and I dig into relationship building and how to introduce mental training in elite settings.

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Learn more about The Mental Training LabConnect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | WebsiteSubscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

Leveraging your mistakes to maximize your growth is one of the core skills that elite performers have to master. In this solo episode, I dive into a transformative concept that has reshaped my approach to mistakes in sports and life. By embracing our errors loudly and clearly, we shift our perspective and begin to view these moments as invaluable data points that guide our path to improvement.
I'll break down the four pillars of this mindset: awareness, practice, reflection, and, crucially, safety. Along the way, you'll hear about a long jumper struggling to translate practice success into meet performance and why lessons from my pep band days have resonated with me for decades. This episode is an invitation to step through fear and embrace the messiness of growth with courage and curiosity.

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Learn more about The Mental Training LabConnect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | WebsiteSubscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

Today’s guest is Dr. Aimee Kimball (@AimeeKimball). Aimee has worked in a variety of peak performance settings, starting with the UPMC center for sports medicine, and her own private practice in Pittsburgh. In a decade as the mental training consultant for the Pittsburgh Penguins, she was a part of two Stanley Cup winning teams, and is currently the Director of Player and Team Development for the New Jersey Devils.

Following the hockey theme, Aimee has also been tapped as the mental performance coach for the USA Women’s Hockey team as they prepare for the 2022 Olympics. As if her dance card wasn’t already full enough, she also works in the business world, facilitating an extreme growth mindset and creating a mentality that helps leaders succeed at work and in life.

In this episode we discuss the tools that make Aimee successful in her work with elite performers, we deconstruct high performing cultures, and we look at the one key skill that allows those at their best to continue to grow and excel. There are so many actionable tools tucked in here that you’re going to want to listen and then listen again.
For show notes and access to the Mental Training Lab newsletter (with a new worksheet delivered to your inbox each week) visit mtl.academy!

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Learn more about The Mental Training LabConnect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | WebsiteSubscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

Today I had the opportunity to sit down with my friend and colleague Jeffrey Siegel (@jeffsiegelwellness). Jeff's holistic background in Mind and Brain Education from Harvard University and Buddhist Studies from The University of Hong Kong provides a way towards lasting wellbeing that feels as good as it looks. Jeff coaches clients to help integrate the deep inner work of personal transformation while developing a bold vision, clear goals, and healthy routines. In addition to wellness coaching, Jeff teaches mindfulness and mediation at Harvard and Tufts, and leads corporate wellness workshops and classes for innovative companies that care about making the office a place that supports people's health and happiness.

In this episode we cover a ton of ground. As you can tell from the bio, Jeff’s expertise is wide ranging, and we zoom in on how to create lasting behavior change, how values and vision unite to draw us closer to our best self, and then we unpack a few practices you can use to build the connection with your body. This one is a long one, and it’s well worth the time. I hope you enjoy!

For show notes, transcripts, and to sign up for the MTL newsletter (hint: access to a new mental training worksheet for each episode), visit mtl.academy!

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Learn more about The Mental Training LabConnect with Pete on Instagram | LinkedIn | WebsiteSubscribe to the podcast on Apple | Spotify

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.