Fifteen years putting cutting-edge psychology into daily practice with athletes, coaches, and teams.
Chris DeSantis is a coach, athlete and host of the Swim Brief podcast. In 2009 he was the first athletic coach to get an advanced degree in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania's world renowned Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Program.
He has spent the subsequent fifteen years putting that knowledge into practice and innovating the psychological process that athletes, coaches and teams use to be their best.
Mental health has become a topic of discussion around sports now more than ever. At his core, Chris is a coach, and he likes to spend time coaching all stakeholders in sports to communicate in a positive, proactive manner about their thoughts and feelings. His secret sauce is making mental health an opportunity rather than a problem.
Chris believes swimming is the best sport in the world, because of the brilliant, determined and creative people that it attracts.
Master's in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania — the first athletic coach to earn the degree.
A decade and a half innovating the psychological process that athletes, coaches, and teams rely on to perform at their best.
Host of the podcast featuring conversations with coaches, athletes, and thinkers on the craft of coaching and talent development.
Fear can always get you to take the next step. Hope is what allows you to expand how far you can go.— Chris DeSantis
Positive Psychology is cognitive training. It focuses on how we structure our thinking, how we make sense of our experiences, and how we build habits that allow us to perform at our best — and the goal is always to apply these ideas consistently in training and competition.
Optimism is a skill, not a personality trait. It can be trained and strengthened like any other part of performance.
Analytical, busy minds aren't a liability. With the right framework, they become one of an athlete's greatest performance drivers.
Mental health in sport is an opportunity to grow, not a problem to manage. Shift the culture from risk-averse to challenge-seeking.
Lasting change happens when coaches, athletes, and parents share the same positive, proactive language and values.
Whether you're an athlete, a coach, or leading a team, Chris will help you build the mental skills to perform at your best.