American Rugby Pro Training Center Has Undefeated Season, Wins National Championship, with Help from Houston Leadership and Performance Specialist Mattison Grey

When the American Rugby Pro Training Center in Little Rock, Arkansas opened its doors in late 2014, founder and rugby 7’s coach Julie McCoy tapped Houston’s Mattison Grey—a former rugby player, and current executive coach and performance specialist—to serve as mental skills coach for her recently-assembled group of female rugby players. Grey began her work with the athletes in February 2015; after three in-person training sessions, plus weekly phone calls, the team—comprised of athletes that had never played together before February 2015—went on to an undefeated season and the club 7’s national championship on August 9, 2015. The overall mission of ARPTC is to prepare athletes to not only compete for a spot on the Olympic team, but have a chance to win an Olympic medal. By creating an environment that encourages hard work, enhances athleticism and rugby skills, and implementing Grey’s tools and techniques for achievement, athletes gain what they need to accomplish their goals.

Creating a Team from Scratch: Trust, Communication, Connection, Belief, and Confidence

Mattison Grey teaches teams, both corporate and athletic, that the inherent and invisible judgement in their language creates a barrier to high performance. The challenge with ARPTC was not simply teaching an existing team a new way to communicate—it was to create a team, from the ground up, utilizing effective team cohesion and communication techniques from the outset.

Using a communication tool from her book The Motivation Myth (co-authored with Jonathon Manske), Grey taught the rugby players that when judgement-laden language is removed and replaced with the language of results, they could take better control of and manage their attention. Using this language of Acknowledgment, athletes can get into “the elusive zone” of high performance.

Mattison’s Mental Game

Winning a national rugby championship isn’t just about language—it’s about learning. In addition to working on the language of Acknowledgment, Grey instructed the athletes on four high-performance mental skills they would need to thrive as both individuals and as a team. “Mattison has developed a unique approach to high performance for business that translates into team play,” said head coach & ARPTC founder Julie McCoy. “Its application this weekend proved invaluable to our process.” When players required one-on-one support they were able to work with Grey individually. She also worked with the coaching staff, installing the same set of skills to facilitate more effective training on a daily basis.

Grey’s Anatomy of Success

Mattison Grey gets it—she gets you. She understands what causes underperformance, and what to do about it. Whether you’re an elite athlete, a corporate leader, or an entrepreneur seeking new tools to create exceptional results for yourself and those around you, Mattison can help you determine what you really want and then she will give you the tools to achieve it.