News Release: April 19, 2026 - Silicon Valley, California
The International Mental Game Coaching Association Announces The Publication Of The Book, Sixteen Principles for Maximal Performance: Coaching and Connection for Teens and Parents, by Ashley B. Benjamin, MD, MA and Jennifer Jenks, LCSW, MSW, ICDVP
Bill Cole, MS, MA, Founder and President of IMGCA, is proud and excited to announce the publication of a wonderful book written by two IMGCA graduates. Sixteen Principles for Maximal Performance: Coaching and Connecting Teens and Parents was published March 19, 2026. The authors are Ashley B. Benjamin, MD, MA and Jennifer Jenks, LCSW, MSW, ICDVP.
Both Ashley and Jennifer are Level I IMGCA Certified Mental Game Instructors.
The book can be purchased at a number of outlets:
https://coacheschoice.com/sixteen-principles-for-maximal-performance-coaching-and-connecting-teens-and-parents/
https://www.amazon.com/Sixteen-Principles-Maximal-Performance-Connecting/dp/1606796631/ref=sr_1_2?
Sixteen Principles for Maximal Performance: Coaching and Connection for Teens and Parents is a groundbreaking, innovative, practical, insightful and potent book that every parent, coach, teacher, administrator, mental health professional and anyone else connected with kids should own.
This book is a comprehensive approach to raising the awareness about the parent-child connection in sport and other disciplines. It contains a huge array of strategies, techniques and tools to actually help people make changes in their thinking, emotions and behavior.
I am the Founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching Association (IMGCA). IMGCA’s mission is to advance the research, development, professionalism, and growth of the discipline of mental game coaching worldwide. I have been the mental game coach or sports psychology consultant with athletes or coaches of 25 world and national teams, 11 international and Olympic teams, 32 professional sports teams, associations or leagues, and of athletes who have won 40 world and national championships. I have been the mental game trainer for thousands of athletes, coaches and parents in over 100 sports, at all ages and skill levels, including recreational, junior high, high school, college, professional, world champion and world record-holding athletes. It has been my privilege to have been the mental coach or consultant to Olympic athletes who have won bronze, silver and gold medals.
I am a parent and kids are truly my favorite population to coach. I find them endlessly interesting, full of energy, inquisitive and passionate about what they do.
IMGCA has a special interest in helping to guide the lives of young people so they not only can fulfill their potential in sport, but so they can also mature and grow into responsible, healthy adults who can contribute to the betterment of the world.
That also, in a nutshell, is the essence of this book, Sixteen Principles for Maximal Performance.
Writing this foreward was not only a privilege, but an extra treat for me. I regularly review new research studies, books and article content in the sport psychology world. Part of IMGCA’s charter is to train and certify mental game coaches worldwide. Both Ashley Benjamin and Jennifer Jenks are graduates of the IMGCA Mental Game Certification Program. Ashley visited our offices in Northern California to undergo his certification in 2012, and Jennifer visited us to complete her certification in 2014. They both earned the title of Certified Mental Game Coach, (CMGC). Since then, we have stayed in touch, and it has been a true pleasure watching them grow their practices in sport psychology.
Little did I know that 10 years after I first met Ashley and Jennifer that they would be writing a book that I believe is destined to become a classic in the sport field.
It’s impossible to do justice to their high-achieving backgrounds in this short space, but here are a few highlights about each of them.
Ashley Benjamin, MD is a 20-year board-certified psychiatrist and a member of the American Psychiatric Association and The International Society of Sport Psychiatry. He also holds a master’s degree in exercise science from the Ohio State University, one of the top sport science programs in the country. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserves. Ashley has won awards in teaching, leadership and medicine.
Jennifer Jenks, MSW is a licensed clinical social worker. Jennifer studied world politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She holds a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and is an Illinois Certified Domestic Violence Professional and a Trust Based Relational Practitioner (TBRI). Jennifer is the recipient of the Jane Addams Scholars Award for outstanding academic achievement and commitment to working with disadvantaged urban populations.
It's notable that both Ashley and Jennifer have extremely strong backgrounds in journalism. Ashley graduated as a valedictorian related to his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Kansas. Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism, with distinction, also from the University of Kansas. She was a professional newspaper reporter and copy editor for 12 years before moving into social work. Jennifer won a national Gannett foundation Journalism Scholarship. One of Ashley’s and Jennifer’s special skills as writers is to take the complex and to turn it into easily accessible and practical skills people can immediately begin using. They do this throughout the entire book. A unique and important feature of this book is that it is interactive. It’s a workbook. There are numerous places for the reader to be self-reflective.
Their journalistic background allows this book to be extremely well thought out, and extraordinarily well written. It flows beautifully.
Jennifer has an exceptionally strong athletic background as a competitor and participant. She has participated in dance, track, pilates, ice-skating, and hatha yoga, and she used mental training techniques to help her compete in 5K races and to complete the Chicago Marathon at age 48, finishing in 6:09:10. In 1991, she trekked in Nepal to 10,500 feet.
Ashley competed in basketball in high school, and also coached it, and has an extensive background competing in track and cross country in high school and college. He competed in junior Olympics in track multiple years. He also has deep experience as a track coach. He was the Assistant Track Coach at the University of Kansas under Coach Bob Timmons, who is the coach of famed world record holder distance runner Jim Ryun. Ashley was also the Assistant Track Coach at the Ohio State University, and has also been an Assistant Cross Country Coach and Sprint Track Coach. He was also the Vice President of the Lawrence Track Club, in Kansas.Ashley also has extensive competitive experiences in oratory, debate and chess.
One of the most compelling reasons for readers to select a book is based on the author’s qualifications and credentials. Without a doubt, the book you are about to read is coming from two absolute experts in multiple arenas. Both Ashley and Jennifer have deep psychological and psychiatric clinical training and expertise. Both have extensive training in journalism. Both are parents. Both have athletic backgrounds as participants and coaches. And perhaps most important of all, both Ashley and Jennifer are people of the highest character and integrity.
All of these qualities give them the utmost credibility for writing such an important book as this.
Sixteen Principles for Maximal Performance focuses on a wide range of important topics in the life of a kid in sport and other arenas, and one of the most important areas is character building, sportsmanship, being a good citizen, and giving back to the community and to the world.
There are not too many books written for parents and kids on how they can access more of their best selves, and become mature people of character, however, Sixteen Principles for Maximal Performance is that book. It covers the whole person, not just the athlete. This is one of the main strengths of this book, and also one of the reasons I believe it will make a huge impact.
Let me now give you a fast-moving tour of the parts of the book that resonated with me the strongest. The authors give advice and strategies for:
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Helping a child feel accepted and appreciated by their parents, and for living a balanced childhood. One of the major problems with sport parents is that they often live vicariously through their kids.
- Building character, and how kids can become their own best selves.
- Avoiding the pitfalls of social media and of how to avoid falling victim to approval addiction.
- Describing the many at-risk dangers that lurk in the life of kids and teens, such as alcohol and drug use, reckless driving, guns, and hanging out with the wrong people.
- Avoiding overidentification with being an athlete. The book elegantly describes how critically important it is for sport kids to separate themselves as an athlete from who they are as a person.
- Avoiding narcissistic, selfish behavior. One of the most important chapters in the book talks about making a difference. For sports kids who are naturally talented, or who are able to reach the heights, this fame can be intoxicating, but also full of pitfalls. There are far too many athletes who tend toward egoism, narcissism, and in having a sense of entitlement and arrogance. The star system in sport unfortunately promotes a superiority complex in some kids. Instead, the book asks parents and kids how they can perform as a leader, role model, volunteer, teacher and be of service to others. It’s incredibly important to have the attitude of gratitude.
- Drawing a line in the sand about not tolerating abuse in sport. They very pointedly describe the various ways that abuse can happen in sport, how to avoid these situations, and how to respond if they do happen.
Finally, the book concludes with a wonderful focus on enjoying the process. Sixteen Principles for Maximal Performance is a book whose time has come. You will quickly feel as though Ashley and Jennifer are speaking directly to you, as friends, and as coaches. They really are, you know. They care about all kids and parents in sport. They want the very best for them. And that comes through loud and clear in every page in this wonderful book.
Bill Cole, MS, MA
Founder and President
International Mental Game Coaching Association
http://www.MentalGameCoaching.com
The authors can be contacted directly at these emails:
jjenks1061@sbcglobal.net
armand323@hotmail.com
News Release: February 10, 2026 - Silicon Valley, California
The International Mental Game Coaching Association Announces Sarah Greene-Falk Is A New Level I Certified Coach.
 Sarah Greene-Falk, based in Naperville, Illinois, has earned the Level I Certification from the International Mental Game Coaching Association training program. Sarah was awarded the title of Certified Mental Game Instructor, (CMGI).
Bill Cole, MS, MA, Founder and President of IMGCA stated,
As soon as I read Sarah’s application to join the IMGCA certification training program, I was extremely excited. I was reading about someone who was already highly accomplished, with lots of experience, and I knew she would add considerable experience to our program as well.
And I was right.
Sarah has a fantastic background. She’s been in the teaching, coaching, mentoring, consulting, and counseling worlds. She has helped people in multiple sports at multiple levels. She’s been involved in physical therapy, athletic training, employee assistance programs, organizational psychology, executive coaching, and many more pursuits. She’s been a top performer herself in multiple sports and in music.
She’s done all of this at a very high level of excellence and dedication.
One of my guiding visions for starting IMGCA back in 2006 was to help more people like Sarah get into mental game coaching and to improve the field. Sarah was already in the field and doing fantastically, and her reasons for joining the certification program were to continue to be a lifelong learner, discover the pragmatic techniques and strategies that IMGCA teaches, and to benefit from the IMGCA community of practitioners.
Sarah is really multi-talented. She is not only an excellent counselor and coach and teacher, but she’s talented at public speaking. She has special expertise in writing. She’s already written a number of articles and training programs in sports psychology. She will continue to do this, and I know over time she will continue to make very substantive contributions to the field.
Sarah is really a wonderful person. You can tell that as soon as you meet her. She’s friendly and open and shows interest in everybody. She’s an excellent listener, and is able to do so at deep levels. She cares very much about her clients and she wants them to bring the best version of themselves, and to continue growing throughout their lifetime. She really is the ideal, counselor, coach, and mentor that people are looking for.
Sarah is a big thinker. You can see this when you are on her website. She thinks strategically and big picture, and has big dreams for taking her business to the next level. It was really a privilege sharing business growth strategies that I’ve developed over the years for my businesses and also sharing strategic and tactical approaches that our IMGCA students have used.
The mental game coaching field needs more people like Sarah. She’s a person of integrity, and dedicated to her clients and the field.
Sarah will continue to do great things in this field, that’s for sure. I’m looking forward to staying up with her as she progresses.
Sarah's Motivations For Undertaking IMGCA Certification
Sarah has always gravitated toward getting better in all performance arenas. She originally started her education geared towards sports medicine, specifically physical therapy, and she realized she enjoyed the psychological more than the physical. It was very clear to her that athletes and performers could have a knowledgeable coach, a good relationship with their coach, work hard, and yet still not perform well, due to their lack of mental preparation. She saw this as a gap that she could fill.
Sarah chose IMGCA for her certification program for very specific reasons.
Even though Sarah is an extraordinarily qualified, talented and experienced sports psychology professional, she wanted additional knowledge and skills, as well as community networking. She wanted to expand her web of networking and be a part of a professional, resourceful, and respected community. The recognition would be welcomed after being in practice for over 15 years, to continue expanding her practice, and to give her clients the very best.
Sarah’s Sport And Performance Background
Sarah grew up playing softball, swimming, and running track and cross country. She played piano, sang in choir, had some solos and lead roles in musicals, and in girls competing show choir. In high school she participated in softball, swimming, and show choir. In swimming, she competed in sectionals and state competitions. Her show choir competed nationally. In softball, she primarily pitched. Currently, she swims for her local Masters Swim Team.
Sarah’s Professional Background In Psychology
In undergrad, Sarah was an assistant coach for a private girls' swim team, supporting them getting to states for the first time. She also developed her own questionnaire for coaches and presented her findings at an annual conference. In graduate school (MS Kinesiology-specializing in Sports & Performance Psychology), she was a graduate assistant teaching Physical Education classes and Anatomy. In between master’s degrees, she earned a certificate in personal training and massage therapy, using both to work her way through college. She massaged at a privately owned gym and for a sports massage team that catered to weekend warriors (run, bike, swim, etc.)
During her MA in Counseling Psychology, she volunteered in various roles, including manager, assistant coach, massage therapist, and sports psychology consultant for a D-1 women's swimming and diving team. Her counseling internships were with the college counseling center, doing drug and alcohol education for those mandated by the state, co-leading men and women's domestic violence groups, giving substance abuse assessments & UA's, and co-leading substance abuse maintenance groups. She gives workshops to teams and consultations for coaches. Annually, she gives a presentation to North Central College's Athletic Training Masters Students to help them identify mental health concerns, how to talk to those patients, and how to refer to a sports psychologist and work with sports psychologists, forming a team approach for the athlete. In 2025 she was also asked to give the same presentation to the Illinois Student Athletic Training Association. In 2026 she was asked to be a speaker at the inaugural 'Empower Her' Conference at Deerfield, Illinois HS.
When she worked in Employee Assistance, she counseled during layoffs, gave presentations to small to mid-size companies, was called into crisis management situations, and helped resolve conflicts with C-level executives. She also organized a Wellness Challenge with weekly tips and challenges, while keeping track, and awarding prizes. Currently, she also writes monthly blogs and puts out quarterly newsletters to her subscribers.
Sarah’s Other Business Background
Sarah has been formally trained in massage therapy and uses her degrees and experience to help clients understand the mind-body-energy connection. She believes that Mindfulness-Awareness-Breathing is the basis of mental training. She has taken trainings on relaxation, as well as given these trainings. She has taken trainings on hypnosis and wrote her MS thesis on Visualization. Currently, she leads clients through visualizations so they can then practice on their own.
During undergrad Sarah worked at a hospital as a physical therapy tech running outpatient patients through exercises and those inpatient within 24 hours of surgery. She also assisted with wound care and debrievement. She holds a BA in Psychology with a minor in Biomedical Sciences. She was also took Philosophy and Philosophy of religion classes. Her MS is in Kinesiology and Health Sciences specializing in Sports and Performance Psychology. She took applied physiology, ergogenic aids, health psychology, psychology of exercise, sociology of sport, etc. In her MA in Counseling Psychology, she took classes in substance abuse, human sexuality, etc. She earned a license as a Certified Massage Therapist (no longer licensed), Certified Personal Trainer (no longer licensed) Licensed Professional Counselor in TN (current) Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in IL (current) and a Certificate in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
She started her business, PsychEdge in 2020. She subcontracts counseling services working remotely with a small local therapy group as a licensed counselor with clients in Illinois and Tennessee. She also remotely coaches and consults with all levels of athletes, performers, and professionals, individually, in groups and teams, with coaches, etc. worldwide. She has worked with athletes ranked nationally, going to World's in ice skating, Masters level Olympians, etc. She created five Online Courses. All five modules together create the copyrighted “Peak Performance Course”, which helps people obtain the flow state more frequently. She is starting to make it into a book.
To contact Sarah:
Sarah Greene-Falk MS, MA, LCPC
Licensed Counselor Specialized in Sports and Performance Psychology
Work Cell: 630-219-0339 (text or call)
Website: www.psych-edge.com
Email: sarah@psych-edge.com
https://www.instagram.com/psychedgeclub/profilecard/
Overview of IMGCA Certification Programs
Level I IMGCA certification requires two hours of live private telephonic or web-based video 1-1 coaching with Bill Cole, MS, MA, IMGCA President. Level I students are required to view 13 videos, listen to over six hours of audios, understand two assessments and read 20 articles. Level III and IV IMGCA certification students have access to over 120 hours of IMGCA pre-recorded audio classes, over 500 mental training videotapes, over 50 content articles and 12 assessments. Across all certifications, IMGCA has over 140 specialized sport psychology content articles. New content is being added continuously.
Each student completes reading assignments, written homework, practical application of the class content and coaching practicum with groups, teams and individuals as applicable, and coaching feedback evaluations. Each student passes the IMGCA Level I certification written examination.
This sport psychology certification training is provided by the International Mental Game Coaching Association, based in Palo Alto, California. The IMGCA was the first international mental game coaching membership organization, created January 1, 2006. It remains the only international mental game coaching membership organization in the world today. The mission of the International Mental Game Coaching Association is to advance the research, development, professionalism, and growth of the discipline of mental game coaching worldwide. The IMGCA is comprised of individuals and institutions interested in sports, movement, health, fitness, business, the arts, achievement, work-life balance, stress control, and peak performance. IMGCA members come from all walks of life, and have varied backgrounds in sports performance, coaching, teaching, writing, business and consulting. They are professionals, students, parents, and interested observers of the mental game.
Topics Of Study In The IMGCA Certification Programs
With IMGCA you can learn over 700 topics, issues, techniques and methods of the mental game:
https://www.mentalgamecoaching.com/IMGCACertification.html#TopicsOfStudy
Just a few of the areas of study:
- Attention and Concentration Control
- Assessments, both written and oral
- Coaching communication
- Enlisting parents and coaches as allies
- Motivation and goal setting
- Individual differences and customization of coaching plans
- How to read people and understand them better
- How to create rapport
- Using metaphors and analogies in coaching
- Creating a coaching dialogue
- Coaching vs. consulting vs. training vs. teaching
- Conducting the first coaching session
- How to get clients and have a busy practice
- How life stress events intrude on sport performance
- Common mental obstacles to peak performance
- Coaching parents of athletes
- The inner game and Zen sports
- Top ten mistakes coaches make in building their business
- Running your business day to day
- Business policies and procedures
- Understanding why and how mental game coaching works
- Personal qualities of a great mental game coach
- Your personal values and how they impact your coaching philosophy
News Release: January 30, 2026 - Silicon Valley, California
The International Mental Game Coaching Association Announces Steffran Neff Is A New IMGCA Certified Tennis Psychology Coach.
 Steffran Neff, based in Seattle, Washington has earned the IMGCA Certified Tennis Psychology Coach title from the International Mental Game Coaching Association training program. Steffran was awarded the title of IMGCA Certified Tennis Psychology Coach, (CTPC).
Bill Cole, MS, MA, Founder and President of IMGCA stated,
It was a real treat having Steffran join the tennis psychology certification program. It’s always invigorating being around someone who is extremely passionate and excited about a topic area. And Steffran is that person. She loves tennis. She has always loved tennis. And now she is putting together a vision for starting a brand new business helping tennis players improve their mental games and also helping them improve as people. There’s nothing better than helping people reach more of their potential and I can’t think of a better person than Steffran to help them do that.
Some people come into our certification programs with relatively limited business experience and relatively minimal life experience because they are still fairly young. And that’s OK. We take people from where they are and help them grow. In Steffran’s case, she has an abundance of business knowledge and experience, and also lots of life experience. She will be putting both of those together to create a brand new mental game coaching company. I know she will get rapid traction and be a big success. She was a top performer in her business career and in her ultimate playing and coaching career, and it’s simply natural that she would continue that in her new business. She’s committed to excellence in everything she does.
Steffran brings an engineer’s perspective and ability to analyze to the mental game coaching world. She has a real talent for understanding things rapidly and getting to the heart of matters with extreme clarity. She and I had extremely interesting in-depth conversations in all the classes. I learned a great deal from her.
Steffran brings many skills from her long business career in consulting. She also happens to be an extremely talented writer. I can see her producing a large number of high-quality articles for her website. I can even see her writing another book, this time in tennis psychology. She’s highly communicative. She’s an excellent speaker and presenter and I can see her putting together multiple programs for tennis players, and who knows, even other sports.
Steffran is definitely going to make a mark in the tennis psychology world. She has the vision, the desire, the passion and enthusiasm and the brain power to put together a very unique business with a number of potent and practical offerings.
I look forward to following Steffran’s career and watching her grow as a mental game practitioner.
Steffran’s Motivations For Undertaking IMGCA Certification
Steffran wants to take all the experience she has gained from her business career and from her ultimate career as a player and a coach and apply that to helping tennis players. She is now officially retired from the engineering world and is pursuing a second career. She is seeking a career that is meaningful and which will enable her to help other people in significant ways. She wants to help people bring forth their best selves.
Steffran has been a big tennis fan since the age of 10 and she has been involved in competitive sports since age 6 with competitive swimming. From an early age she saw the connection between the body and the mind. For example, she was aware of the difference between how Björn Borg showed up to a match versus John McEnroe. And it intrigued her. This interest evolved both in how she observed players in how they showed up and how she presented herself. In her early 20s she was very into positive mental attitude (PMA) and wanted to help everyone have a PMA. She carried this attitude forward in life as she became a mentor in her engineering career and a player/coach in ultimate frisbee.
In her youth Steffran was a competitive swimmer and as a teenager she was a cheerleader. The cheerleading helped her realized she really liked motivating teams and people. As an adult, she has played and coached ultimate (frisbee) for over 30 years, with a focus on motivating a competitive team that prioritized spirit of the game above winning. She has also practiced yoga on and off since 1998. In her 30s she competed in sprint distance triathlons and she is currently an avid walker, and also enjoys trekking. She completed the Portuguese camino in 2023. The Portuguese Camino is a pilgrimage route from Portugal to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, with two main variants: the Central and the Coastal. It is a historic and increasingly popular path that offers a mix of scenery, from forests and farmland to coastal landscapes, and passes through notable cities like Lisbon and Porto.
Steffran’s professional career was engineering consulting which involved writing, speaking, presenting, mentoring and organizing events and people. She was a certified project management professional, managed programs, led both operations and marketing groups and ended her career as a chief operating officer. She holds a BS degree in chemical engineering.
Simultaneously, Steffran had a robust career in ultimate. She kept a mixed ultimate team together for 30 years, which was one of the longest running teams in Seattle. In addition, she coached hat leagues, organized tournaments, and was on the board of directors for DiscNW for 5 years. She currently plays tennis regularly, which includes a skills class. She has attended all four tennis grand slams – the Australian, the French, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. She’s a keen analyst of everything having to do with tennis.
Steffran has practiced yoga since 1998, and has always had a deep interest in the body-mind connection since she can remember.
In 2007 she co-authored a highly technical book on project management for water conservation for engineers: Utilizing Asset Management (AM) Techniques and Tools in Developing and Tracking Decisions. The book led to a writing retreat in Guatemala where she had a transformative personal experience. She worked through some spiritual items from her past and explored a variety of activities including improv and acting. Her life coach suggested that she might want to be a life coach and she went to a Life Forward seminar where she realized she didn't want to be a generic life coach. Through some soul searching she realized she could bring her love of tennis together with her desire to help others and the idea of a mental health coach for tennis came into focus. She journals and practices daily gratitude. She is developing a personal philosophy about balancing the body, mind and spirit in order to lead with the heart.
To contact Steffran Neff:
steffneff@hotmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steffran-neff-31a9b68/
Overview of IMGCA Certification Programs
The IMGCA Tennis Psychology Certification Program requires two hours of live private telephonic or web-based video 1-1 coaching with Bill Cole, MS, MA, IMGCA President. IMGCA Tennis Psychology Certification students have access to a compilation of 25 specialized tennis psychology videos, over 30 hours of audios, two assessments, and 45 articles. Level III and IV IMGCA certification students have access to over 120 hours of IMGCA pre-recorded audio classes, over 500 mental training videotapes, over 50 additional content articles and 12 assessments. Across all certifications, IMGCA has over 140 specialized sport psychology content articles. New content is being added continuously.
Each student completes reading assignments, written homework, practical application of the class content and coaching practicum with groups, teams and individuals as applicable, and coaching feedback evaluations. Each student passes the IMGCA Tennis Psychology Certification written examination.
This sport psychology certification training is provided by the International Mental Game Coaching Association, based in Palo Alto, California. The IMGCA was the first international mental game coaching membership organization, created January 1, 2006. It remains the only international mental game coaching membership organization in the world today. The mission of the International Mental Game Coaching Association is to advance the research, development, professionalism, and growth of the discipline of mental game coaching worldwide. The IMGCA is comprised of individuals and institutions interested in sports, movement, health, fitness, business, the arts, achievement, work-life balance, stress control, and peak performance. IMGCA members come from all walks of life, and have varied backgrounds in sports performance, coaching, teaching, writing, business and consulting. They are professionals, students, parents, and interested observers of the mental game.
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