I work with athletes at all stages of their season — including in the lead-up to major competitions
Who I Work With
Athletes Breaking Through to Irish Team Selection
Competing at high club or regional level and targeting Irish team selection. The crucial moment between "nearly there" and "selected" - when you need to perform at trials and prove you belong at the next level.
Athletes Competing at World Championships and Major International Competition
Already representing Ireland and competing on the world stage. When the pressure of performing for your country at the highest level requires a different level of mental preparation.
Teams
Working with county teams, club teams, and high-performance squads on collective performance under pressure. Team-wide mental performance training tailored to your competition schedule and team dynamics. Learn more about team performance programs →
Areas of Specialisation
Getting Out of Your Own Way Under Pressure
Understanding why your mind creates interference in high-pressure moments - the internal dialogue, the overthinking, the feeling of fighting yourself - and training different responses when the stakes are high.
Skill Execution Breakdown
When specific skills break down under pressure (free-taking, set pieces, closed skills), working in live performance environments to address the patterns affecting execution.
Training Your Mind to Stay in the Game
Shifting from being stuck internally (analyzing, controlling, battling yourself) to staying present with what's actually in front of you - so you can execute freely when it matters most.
Identity and Performance
When your sense of who you are feels wrapped up in results, your mind goes into protection mode. Understanding this pattern and developing a different relationship between your identity and performance.
The Training-to-Competition Gap
For athletes who perform well in training but can't access that same performance in competition - understanding why that gap exists and how to close it.
Athletes Who Performed When It Mattered
Athletes below achieved Irish team selection, competed at World Championships, and represented Ireland at the highest international level while working together. Their success came from understanding why their mind interfered under pressure, and training different responses for the moments that mattered most.
— Division 1 Collegiate & Irish National Tennis Team
"Rob has been a great help to me over the years, particularly with my throwing/closed skill work. I have improved in my ability to focus and move on quickly from mistakes with his help, which are both crucial in elite sports of any kind. I would highly recommend Rob to anyone looking to gain a mental edge in their sport."
Dave Heffernan, Connacht & Irish Rugby
About Rob Kelly
Since 2017, I've worked with Ireland's high-performance athletes on what separates consistent performers from those who struggle under pressure: training the mind to stay in the game when everything is on the line.
I work with athletes at different stages of their careers - from those competing at high club or regional level targeting Irish team selection, to those already representing Ireland at World Championships and major international competitions. The approach adapts to where you are and the level you're competing at.
I've worked with athletes competing at Olympic level, World Championships, and major international events across rugby, tennis, golf, badminton, rowing, athletics, and other sports - alongside those working toward Irish team selection for the first time.
I use comprehensive assessment tools like the Elite Performance Pressure Signature, which I created to understand how you respond under pressure across physical, mental, and emotional domains. This becomes the foundation for creating custom programs based on your specific patterns and timeline.
Whether you're months out from a major championship, preparing for selection trials, or in the middle of your competitive season - the approach adapts to your schedule and what you need most.
The Elite Performance Pressure Signature
Most performance work is built on guesswork. The Elite Performance Pressure Signature I designed is different - it's a comprehensive assessment that measures exactly how you respond to pressure across three domains. This becomes the foundation for everything we build together.
No generic routines. No one-size-fits-all strategies. Just precise work based on your patterns.
Three Domains of Pressure Response
Physical
How your body responds under pressure - tension patterns, breathing, muscle activation, physical readiness
Mental
Where your focus goes under stress, how thoughts shift, patterns of doubt, distraction, or analytical paralysis
Emotional
Your emotional state under pressure - confidence levels, anxiety patterns, emotional regulation capacity
What the Elite Performance Pressure Signature reveals: Most athletes discover that their thoughts and feelings under pressure are creating specific subconscious associations. These associations then trigger physical responses - tightness, rushed tempo, shallow breathing - that directly affect skill execution. Once you see the pattern, you can train it differently.
Training Your Mind Under Pressure
These videos show skill execution under pressure - the moments when you feel most visible. When the stakes are high, your mind often creates inner dialogue where your identity or sense of self feels threatened. This is a completely normal reaction under pressure.
My work involves helping you change your mind's relationship with pressure in these high-performing moments, so you have access to your trained ability when it matters most.
🎾 Tennis - Mental training during serve execution
🏉 Rugby - Maintaining natural performance under pressure
⛳ Golf - Pre-shot routine and mental process
What you see in these sessions: Performance psychology integrated with actual skill execution, real-time work on mental patterns during performance, and competition-specific preparation.
"From working with Rob over the last few years, I like to feel I've reached new levels of performance that I knew I had within, yet I did not know how to unlock. Through Rob's various approaches I gained a better self awareness of my thoughts, how I think and ultimately tools to enable me to control my emotions better. All of this enabled me to perform better when I needed to."
Jack Carty, Connacht & Irish Rugby
A Partnership Built on Understanding
The work begins with understanding exactly how you respond to pressure - physically, mentally, emotionally. I designed the Elite Performance Pressure Signature to reveal your specific patterns, and from there we build your complete performance system.
This includes intensive work on skill execution in your sport (remotely and in-person where possible), training your mental patterns under pressure, custom routines built for how you compete, and personalized subconscious training.
Most athletes work with me for 8-12 weeks initially. Many continue long-term as the partnership evolves.
The approach, timeline, and investment are tailored to your sport, your patterns, and where you are in your season. Details discussed in your discovery call and outlined in your personalized proposal.