“I’ve pursued this path for two main reasons. The first reason is that I personally struggled with mental performance, even when I was considered an ‘elite’ athlete. I incorrectly assumed my mental struggles were part of who I was, and that there was nothing I could do about it. The second reason is that I came to realize every athlete I’ve ever worked with had mental performance challenges they were facing on some level.
My goals when working with an athlete are to really get to know and understand them, to help them learn how to use mental skills to become the best they can be, and to help them stay in touch with the greater question of why they participate in sports and how it enriches their life.”
Ben Bartell, M.S., CMPC
Ben Bartell is the founder of Championship Mind and specializes in using Sport Psychology techniques to help individuals dominate the mental side of performance. He has used his experience and track record of success in sport, both as an athlete and coach, to develop tools and techniques to bring success to players at all levels. Ben has experience working with a variety of sports, including swimming, diving, track, cross country, triathlon, tennis, basketball, baseball, hockey, and mixed martial arts.
Ben is known for his passion and ability to communicate; to take complex ideas and communicate them in an accessible, easy to understand way. He has helped numerous athletes, coaches, and teams build a high performance culture and create systems that deliver repeatable results.
Experience, Education, and Training
Ben has many years of experience working with athletes and performers on mental skills training. He received his undergraduate education at the University of Minnesota, and obtained a Sport Psychology certificate and Masters Degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Psychology from California Southern University. Ben is also a certified administrator of the Attentional and Interpersonal Style Inventory (TAIS), as well as the 9 Mental Skills of Successful Athletes Assessment (9MSSA). Beyond working with individual clients, Ben has consulted with teams across a variety of sports at the club and NCAA levels, as well as with multiple businesses.
Ben is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) and a member of of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and division 47 of the American Psychological Association (Society for Sport, Exercise & Performance Psychology). As part of the certification process, Ben has received mentorship from Dr. Jack J. Lesyk. Dr. Lesyk is the director of the Ohio Center for Sport Psychology, former president of AASP, and Sport Psychologist for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Coaching Experience
Prior to his work in mental performance, Ben had a distinguished coaching career spanning more than 15 years. Athletes under Ben’s direction have achieved success at the State, Regional, National, and International levels. From 2010-2014, Ben was named a “Coach of Excellence” by the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA), as well as being named a USA Swimming National Team coach. Ben also has experience coaching at the international level, having served as an assistant coach for the United States National Team at the 2013 Duel in the Pool in Glasgow, Scotland.
After the 2016 Olympic games in Rio, Ben was awarded the Order of Ikkos, a medal symbolizing excellence in coaching. The United States Olympic Committee’s Order of Ikkos medal allows for each U.S. Olympic or Paralympic medalist to acknowledge one coach for their leadership in achieving world-class success. Each medal is uniquely handcrafted to reflect the Olympic and Paralympic Games for that year.
Athletic Experience
As a youth, Ben was involved in multiple sports including baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, and golf, and swimming. A walk-on swimmer at the University of Minnesota, Ben was a 4 year varsity letter winner, a Big Ten Champion, a multiple NCAA Division 1 All-American, and a United States Olympic Trials Qualifier in both 2000 and 2004.
