MEET DR. EMILY WRIGHT

Hi everyone! My name is Emily and I am a Mental Performance Coach based out of Oxford, Ohio and the founder of The Wright Mindset LLC.

My Story:

I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania where I was a multi-sport athlete, participating in pretty much every sport you could imagine. For me, sports were everything! As an athlete, I wanted to be the best. By the time I entered my freshman year of high school, I knew I wanted to run track and field and cross country in college. So, I did everything you could do physically to excel including weekly practices, extra strength and conditioning sessions, private coaches, summer running camps - you name it! Despite all my physical training, I wasn’t seeing the results in my performances. And, ultimately, I didn’t get that college scholarship I was striving for. To be completely honest, I didn’t even come close!

It wasn’t until my junior year of college at Penn State (2013) when I took an introduction to sports psychology course that I realized my high school performance struggles had very little to do with my physical training and everything to do with my mental training. Looking back, I realized that I lacked confidence and had a really negative attitude about competing. For example, before races, I would psych myself out and tell myself that I couldn’t keep up with my competitors. When faced with adversity, I crumbled. The phrase “I can’t do this” lived rent free in my head. 

In hindsight, my greatest struggles in sport were mental and I feel like I would’ve benefitted greatly from having someone to talk to about things like my confidence and the way my thoughts were negatively impacting my performances. This is my WHY! The reason I pursued my Ph.D. in Sports Psychology and got into the field – to have the opportunity to give back to athletes who may be experiencing the same mental barriers I did growing up playing sports.