Meet Kelsey Burrows of Unchained Mental Performance Coaching

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Burrows

Hi Kelsey, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My Sport Psychology journey started back when I was a young competitive gymnast in Northglenn, CO. I grew and excelled into a Junior Olympic level where I could begin competing. I loved it so much I kept going until I began having mental blocks around level 7 (4 levels from elite). This is where I began working with a Sport Psychologist on overcoming my fears on beam. From that point forward, I knew Sport Psychology was a path designed for me and the experience I had with my Sport Psychologist (Gail Royce) was an amazing introduction to it. Flash forward to one of my biggest meets in level 8 (Regionals), it was the day before our meet and we were practicing on the equipment to get used to it. Unfortunately during my second event rotation, I did a landing on vault and something didn’t go right with my knee. That was one of the major catalysts that set my journey of ‘who really am I’, ablaze. After many years of striving through injury, surgeries, mental breakdowns, and lots of uncomfortable feelings, I realized gymnastics and sport may not be what God had intended for me. I started into my Master’s in Applied Sport and Performance Psychology in 2018 and by 2020 I graduated. However, Covid had other plans for me and I changed my course to jumping full time into wedding photography (my new found hobby from 2017). Photo took off for me and developed me in a way I couldn’t have imagined. Now as I write this, I have recently ended that career and have taken my Sport Psychology career more seriously including my certified to be a Certified Mental Performance Coach (CMPC) with the Applied Association of Sport Psychology (AASP). My biggest shift in focus was grounding myself in a strong identity in Jesus and that has been the the most foundational aspect to my approach as a CMPC. I am currently building my mental performance business one day at a time and plan to also jump into a role where I can boost experience alongside my private practice.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I would say when God gives you a true calling for the plans He has for you, it won’t always be smooth sailing. There have been parts that I’ve really been grateful to not be challenged with and others parts that have been very trying. That’s part of life though! Having a Sport Psychology lens, it’s important to ask these questions. “What’s the value inside and out of sport?” “What’s offered?” “How is mental performance different from athletic training or life coaching, etc.?” Additionally, I have had to trailblaze a bit of my path due to a wide array of positions requiring a PhD/PsyD and/or a clinical background. A specialization in Mental Performance is still growing and has been for quite some time, however there’s a lot that coaches, parents, athletic staff, business, etc., can benefit from. It could be the rhetoric around the title, the person’s previous experience with Sport Psychology Professionals, the differentiation of mental performance in mental health spaces, and so many other factors. Those have been the most challenging parts of my endeavor thus far.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Unchained Mental Performance Coaching?
Unchained Mental Performance Coaching is a small business that teaches, implements, and assesses mental skills programs for athletes, parents of athletes, coaches, teams, and support staff. Unchained MPC strives for a holistic, person-centered collaborative approach when interacting with clients. As a Certified Mental Performance Coach at UMPC, identity is a foundational aspect to how I tailor my programs for clients. “What grounded identity can I help my athlete or intended audience ground in?” “How do I create sustainability of this identity through a mental skills programs?” Those are few questions of what it looks like to step into my work. I cater to a wide variety of sport however, my person expertise is in gymnastics, swimming, diving, and some body building. I have experience coaching mental skills in those domains in addition to soccer, rowing, golf, and within’ a general middle school population teaching students about the mental toughness framework. Another audience I specialize in is injured athletes. I have plenty of personal experience with this and have worked with injured athletes in ways to help them recover mentally and physically in order to either return to sport stronger or transition out of sport. If there’s anything you take away from my work, it’s that any HUMAN BEING can benefit from mental performance. We all need help boosting confidence before an interview or learning how to cope with intensely stressful life seasons. Mental Performance Coaching are another wonderful way to prepare yourself in any given situation inside and out of the sport arena.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I am born and raised here in Colorado so I might be a little more biased than some haha. I would say the biggest things I LOVE (not like) about Denver (and the surrounding cities) are the views we get of the foothills EVERYDAY. Along with breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten tired of how beautiful God’s creation is here. I used to take it for granted when I was a lot younger and finally began seeing what I was missing out on later on in life. I also think we have some eclectic people and cultures integrated into the city of Denver. There can still be more diversity in Colorado however, we have come a long way in many aspects and have continued to grow. What I don’t love or least like about Denver and the surrounding cities are the traffic haha. You can tell I’m still not used to from how it used to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.unchainedmpc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unchainedmpc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558573314179
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-burrows-ma-cmpc-080b332ba

Image Credits
Photos of me by myself- Photographer: Shel Frances Creative + HMUA: Glam Gal + Location: Sixteenth St. Studio