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Elite Athletes succeed when their mind and body work together.

As an Olympic swimmer, I had to learn to train my mind as much as I trained my body. I learned that my self-talk had to be trained and observed as much as my fitness. My confidence had to be as strong as my core or my quads. Today, I coach elite athletes to train their minds to be prepared for elite competition the same way they prepare their bodies to be as fit as they can possibly be.

Agustina De Giovanni

Today I am a Mental Performance coach for elite and professional athletes all over the world. Mental Performance Training is all about action, not wishful thinking. After years of training for the Olympics, the SECs, NCAAs, and working with elite clients, one of my core beliefs is that the process you use to train matters more than the outcomes you achieve. Process Over Outcome. It’s a pillar within all my pillars. Mental Performance is taking the right action at the right time. It’s about embodying the athlete that you need to be in any particular moment. Being focused when your attention is needed. Turning off all stimuli when mental and physical recovery is needed. Pushing yourself beyond your physical limits when growth is needed Rehabbing effectively when rest is needed .My life’s experiences led me to where I am today and showed me the importance of mental performance skills. Today, these skills are the pillars of my work and the cornerstones of my coaching. Together, we will build all these skills, which will allow you to become the athlete you envision.
With a background in International Relations from the University of Alabama and an Executive MBA, I am a Certified Coach from the ICF - International Coaching Federation -, a Mental Performance Coach from the Mental Performance Mastery, a Coach on NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and a Specialist on Neuroscience in Sports.

The Foundation

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When I was 9 years old, I started swimming everyday at my local community center. At first it was something for me to do before and after school. Something to keep me active and safe. But then I fell in love with competing and so my journey to becoming a competitive athlete at the highest levels began. I learned the value of ROUTINE and the importance of PROCESS. It’s important to do the right thing at the right time. These are the foundations necessary that helped me build the right technical and strategic tools that I used all throughout my professional career. I relied on those solid pillars later on and when times were hard.

The Process

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Before I could represent my country in the 2004 Olympics, I had to prove I could consistently win through many steps. I started competing in “small” tournaments working my way to becoming National Champion and then SouthAmerican Champion and record holder. Then I was able to compete at the Pan-American Games which led me to qualify for the World Championships. Here I won the world cup which qualified me for the Olympics. This PROCESS showed me that consistency is important. CONSISTENCY in my routines, my mental training, and my performance.

The N.C.A.A. (Alabama)

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In 2004 I signed with the University of Alabama and found myself in a relentless schedule. TIME MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION were the keys to my success (and survival). Because when your days look like this, you need to be organized. 5:00 - 8:30 AM pool practice (which you had to be up by 4.30 AM sometimes). 9:00 - 1:00 PM classes, 2:00 - 6:00 PM more pool and gym training followed by dinner, more classes and then homework. Let’s not forget the 10:00 PM bedtime curfew. I had to learn how to put quality in the quantity of hours: what I have come to call INTENTIONAL TRAINING. It’s not only how many hours you put in, it’s what you put into those hours. ATTENTION TO DETAIL gave the quality to those hours. MEDITATION to help me with the pressure and high intensity type of life. But the SEC doesn’t win all its titles on the backs of just one person. To be able to perform at a high level, as a team, we all needed to commit to one another. We had to make it work as a team to get results at the NCAAs championships. COMMITMENT to yourself and your teammates is crucial. So, CULTURE becomes important. Alabama's Athletics is one of the best cultures you can find on this planet. The best team culture, academic culture, culture of value as a person. That’s why they win so much. Without elite culture there won’t be elite results. Everyone has to stick to ABOVE AND BELOW THE LINE BEHAVIORS. As a team we had to define what kind of behaviors were going to take us to the next level and which ones wouldn't. We had to make a plan and stick to that plan.

The Olympics

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Training for the Olympics, I had to stick to my PRINCIPLES over my preferences. I was exhausted from class, the gym, swimming, and daily life. More than once I preferred to stay in bed, or not go to class so I could take a nap. Then there was the time I had to choose whether or not I was going to go back to my “homeland” Argentina to spend Christmas with my family or remain in my strict training cycle and stay by myself in Alabama. I chose to train in Alabama over Christmas because I was FOCUSED on my Olympic goals. That focus requires you to make hard decisions. Knowing what your principles are and choosing those over what you prefer in the moment is what makes champions.