Andy Riise is currently a Mental Skills Coach for the Cincinnati Reds. Originally from Oakdale, CA, Andy is an Eagle Scout, West Point graduate, and former Army Football player. Over his decorated 20 year military career as a Field Artillery Officer, Andy led Soldiers in a variety of overseas missions highlighted by multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and serving five years in two elite Special Forces units.
Andy is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. His research and coaching expertise is in the evidence-based best practices of Sport and Performance Psychology and various applied Behavioral Science Disciplines with an emphasis on mental toughness and stress inoculation. His teaching experience includes West Point’s Center for Enhanced Performance, the US Air Force Academy’s Department of Behavioral Science and Leadership, the US Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, and Texas A&M University. He is one the US Army’s first Master Resilience Trainers and Facilitators and helped launch the Comprehensive Fitness Program. As a consultant, his client list includes professional sports teams, corporate leaders, first responders, and healthcare practitioners. He has published several peer-reviewed articles, research papers, and the best-selling book Deliberate Discomfort: How US Special Operations Forces Overcome Fear and Dare to Win by Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable.
Mentioned in this Episode:
- Association of Applied Sports psychology
- The Last Dance Documentary
- Daniel Pink (author of “Drive”)
- Self Determination Theory
- Human-Centered Design & Design Thinking
- Stanford Process of Design Thinking
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
- Hemingway Miniseries on PBS
- The U Curve
- The 4 C model of Mental Toughness
- The Mental Toughness Questionnaire
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman
- Bullet Journal
- Eisenhower Box
- The Murph Challenge
- Negativity Bias
- A Liberated Mind by Steven Hayes
- Theodore Roosevelt’s The Man in the Arena
- Building a PACE Plan
- Andy on Instagram
- Andy on Twitter
- Andy on Medium
Timestamps:
(3:35) – How does one become a mental skills coach?
(5:54) – How much of being a top performer is inherited versus a learned skill?
(7:30) – Is “drive” innate or can you spark it in another?
(9:12) – What do you inspire “drive” in others?
(12:13) – Helping people think creatively.
(15:12) – Get big by going small.
(17:28) – How do you help a pitcher with a poor outing to prepare for their next time on the mound?
(21:58) – Working consistently brings about inspired performance.
(26:48) – Is it hard to coach someone into a trusting mindset?
(29:24) – Frameworks and finding the one that works (The 4 C Model).
(34:43) – What’s the application of the 4C Model?
(37:36) – The difference between a coach and a therapist.
(39:42) – Building Resilient Confidence.
(42:54) – Journaling, Meditation, and Mindfulness.
(45:55) – Getting comfortable being uncomfortable.
(53:32) – Advice for dealing with the fear of doing something hard.