Chris DeSantis Coaching
Mental Performance Coaching

Build the skills for challenges not yet realized.

“Fear can always get you to take the next step. Hope is what allows you to expand how far you can go.”

UPenn MAPP — Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology
15+ years coaching athletes, coaches & teams
The Swim Brief — 1,000+ followers
About Chris

Mental Performance Coach for Athletes & Teams

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.

The goal is not just to understand these ideas, but to apply them consistently in training and competition. Chris helps people and teams who know what they want to do, but are stuck on actually implementing change.

Get to know Chris

How Chris Helps

Four ways to work together

15+ Years Putting Positive Psychology Into Practice
The Approach

Key areas of focus

The work is centered around developing mental skills that can be applied consistently in training and competition — turning mental health from a problem into an opportunity.

  • Learned Optimism

    Treat optimism as a skill and train it like any other.

  • Overthinking as a Strength

    Analytical frameworks that turn active minds into performance drivers.

  • Opportunity Capitalization

    Shift a culture from problem-focused and risk-averse to challenge-seeking.

  • Perfectionism

    Get past the bottleneck so many hard workers find themselves in.

Explore the Work

Find the right fit

Individual Approach

Rebuild your psychological process

Engage differently with practice and competition. This individualized coaching is designed to rebuild an athlete’s mindset from the ground up while focusing on improving the crucial relationship with their primary coach.

  • Custom-designed program after an initial evaluation
  • Weekly 1:1 sessions, one hour each
  • Minimum 3-month engagement (6 months ideal)
Get Started
For Teams & Organizations

Build a shared language across your program

Bring coaches, athletes, and team parents together. Through targeted workshops and presentations, Chris helps your entire organization build a positive, action-oriented environment with shared terminology and values.

  • Minimum 3 visits per year, 2-day each
  • Separate sessions for athletes, coaches, and parents
  • Ongoing support between visits
Get Started
For Coaching Staffs

A certificate in applied Positive Psychology

Teach your entire staff the core science of motivation and performance — and exactly how to apply it directly to your athletic programs. A comprehensive 20-hour certificate program covering motivation, emotional regulation, relationships, and peak performance.

  • 20 hours of instruction, delivered weekly
  • Certificate program for your whole coaching staff
  • Both remote and in-person formats
Get Started
For Coaches

1:1 Coaching for Coaches

A confidential sounding board focused on your development — from ambitious assistants to head coaches navigating the loneliness of leadership, decision-making, and career growth. Tailored to the specific challenges your coaching career presents.

  • Weekly 1:1 sessions, one hour each
  • Minimum 3-month engagement (6 months ideal)
  • Confidential and judgment-free
Get Started
Testimonials

What people are saying

Defying traditional coaching principles, Chris led me through a practice plan that prioritized my mental and physical health above all else. His acknowledgement of my entire identity was his most significant act as a coach.

EC
Eric Chiu 2013 NCAA Division 1 Championship Qualifier

Chris helped me develop culture and positively change my relationship to student athletes. His knowledge and communication are top notch, but his ambition to create positive change is what makes Chris my go-to.

ML
Matt Leach Head Coach, Washington State Women’s Swimming

Chris’s care for each swimmer made a big impression on me. He taught me to take individual responsibility for my own development. I developed a new maturity and learned to make my own judgements. As a result I grew as a person.

EF
Emilie Falbe-Hansen Danish Junior National Medalist
The Swim Brief

Listen to the podcast

Conversations with coaches, athletes, and thinkers about talent development, mental performance, and the craft of coaching.

Get Started

Ready to expand how far you can go?

Whether you’re an athlete, a coach, or leading a team, Chris will help you build the mental skills to perform at your best.