"I'm really excited to have the opportunity to work again this season with the great coaches and athletes at N.J. Crush as the Mental Skills and Team Building Coach. There are four pillars to the game we love. As coaches and players we spent a lot of time training technical skills, tactical awareness, and improving our fitness. The fourth pillar is the psychological, the mental piece, or inner game. When I ask players and coaches how much time they spend a season on the mental training they tell me very little time or none at all."
"To top level coaches and athletes the mental piece is crucial and is like the “roof” over the other three pillars. Everything you do technically, tactically, and physically involves your brain. Often in the heat of competition is when we struggle to stay focused, composed, and play our best. This drop in form often has nothing to do with our technical skills or physical ability. It is the result of our inner game, our mental toughness. Mental toughness is not something all athletes are just you born with. We use the term mental skills because a skill is something that can be learned and when practiced will lead to improvement. "
"My coaching philosophy is very simple “To help athletes achieve peak performance in sports and in life.” I look forward to helping the young woman this program reach their full potential. Together with fun activities we’ll work to improve self-assessment, educate them on skills, and tailor strategies to help them improve their inner game. Most importantly, the lessons and the strategies learned can go way beyond the field. By the end of the season hopefully the players will see the bigger picture. These lessons and strategies when applied can help them be more successful in their life."
— Gary Pritchard