Helping Athletes Think, Feel and Perform with Purpose

High performance is more than training volume and talent — it’s identity, mindset and how athletes handle pressure over time.

At Sports Management Collective, we support athletes to build the internal foundations that sustain performance and wellbeing. Led by Ben White - General Manager of Southern Peninsula Basketball Association, National Junior Team Manager and long-time State Team Manager and previous State Coach - our work is grounded in real experience supporting athletes in genuine high-pressure environments, from grassroots to gold-medal campaigns.

Goal & Values Setting

Athletes perform better when their goals are anchored in who they are and what they stand for.

We work with athletes to:

  • Clarify their personal values and performance identity

  • Build aligned, realistic but ambitious goals across season, campaign and long-term horizons

  • Create habit structures that link daily actions to future pathways

  • Make better decisions about commitments, opportunities and priorities

This isn’t generic goal setting; it’s a process shaped by years of supporting athletes through national championships, international tournaments and state pathways.

Stress & Load Management

Ben’s work across association management, national campaigns and umpire support in the AFL has reinforced a simple truth: performance suffers when load isn’t managed well.

We help athletes:

  • Map their full weekly load — training, competition, school/work, travel and life

  • Identify stress indicators early, before performance dips

  • Build personal recovery strategies that are realistic and repeatable

  • Develop boundaries and communication habits with coaches, parents and support staff

The aim is sustainable performance — being able to keep showing up at a high level, not just peak occasionally.

Mental Skills & Emotional Regulation

In national tournaments, finals campaigns and elite selection environments, athletes don’t just need skill — they need composure.

We support athletes to develop:

  • Focus and attentional control for key moments

  • Pre-performance routines that create consistency

  • Tools to regulate emotions under pressure (foul trouble, selection feedback, poor starts, big crowds)

  • Strategies to manage self-talk, doubt and fear of failure

  • Confidence built on preparation and clarity, not just outcomes

These are the same principles Ben has used supporting athletes representing Australia for the first time and guiding state athletes through multi-week national campaigns to turn a hobby into something more.