As a practicing sport and performance psychologist, Nanaki has worked with athletes, teams, coaches, parents and sports clubs to foster growth in performance. Here is what her clients have to say about their experience:
“I have known Nanaki for the past five years. In that time I have seen the strength of her work at close quarters. She has the ability to form strong professional relationships with athletes and coaches and deliver high quality psychological interventions for increased well-being and performance”
“We consulted Nanaki with respect to my 12 year old daughter. We met on a number of occasions in the late summer of 2017. The issue requiring input was one of debilitating nervousness prior to competitive swimming events. Nanaki had a gentle approach in engaging with this young teenager, which allowed her to relax during the discussions. She helped my daughter understand the mechanism behind her anxiety, and also offered an approachfor her to employ with a view to overcoming the physical effects of the nervousness. This proved helpful in subsequent competitions, and my daughter was able to swim with only a little trepidation. She managed to attain a number of personal best times in the galas which followed.”
“I am a professional golfer playing on the Indian and Asian tour and I understand the importance of training the mind in addition to the body to achieve optimal performance. Working with Nanaki on the mental aspect of my game deemed beneficial and has helped me overcome some of my sporting challenges. Since undertaking sport psychology sessions with Nanaki, I feel calmer on the golf course during competitions. Nanaki has helped me build my self-confidence and now I am more definitive in my approach and can commit 100% to every shot with limited negative chatter. Overall, the sessions were invaluable and have helped me become more self-aware as an athlete. Most importantly, I am thinking better on and off the golf course now and it has also helped me in my personal life and resulted inpeace of mind.”
“As a manager of the Stafford Town Ladies FC during the 2016-17 season I was trying to think outside the box in order to improve our results. The players were not playing as a team but as a set of individuals. Our match record up until 4 December 2016 (the date of the session) had been 10 defeats from 1o games scoring only 15 goals and conceding 67. I decided to contact Nanaki and have her talk to the players and give them an introductory session focussing on positive mental attitude when on the pitch.
We then played a further ten games (after the session) up until the end of the season achievening 5 wins, scoring 20 goals and only conceding 25. The players really bought into the attitude and values that Nanaki expressed during the session as these complimented my attitude and values, providing a consistent approach. This is the key factor, your session aligned with my messages to the players before, during and after the season.
Many thanks for your help and I hope to work with you again in the future !”
“Athletes no matter how strong physically or technically sound cannot let their nerves overtake them and hamper their performance under the pressure of competition. To be mentally strong an athlete needs to work on their mental side of the game, which I did with Nanaki. For me, working with Nanaki helped me deal with my thoughts on and off the golf course. Also, I feel the quality of the relationship with the psychologist is extremely important for the effectiveness of the sessions. I felt comfortable talking to Nanaki as she is a good listener and found her empathetic towards me. The suggestions provided by her were easy to follow and helped me in the overall development of my game. Nanaki also invests her time and resources for each player individually, as she understands that every athlete is unique and different and she works with them accordingly. Plus the “Smarter thinking” model that she introduced to me was beneficial, simple to understand and it was very easy for me to apply it on the field while playing. Sessions with Nanaki have really helped me in taking my game to the next level. The sessions have helped me reduce self-doubt and now I am more confident while playing tournaments as well as during practice. I highly recommend Nanaki for those who are wanting to work on the mental side of their game.”
“Being an athlete, it’s extremely important to cope with what goes inside one’s head both on and off the field. After Nanaki introduced me to the ABCDE model, I actually felt more calm and content on the course. I could exercise full control over my thoughts and how I felt before, during, and after the round. I feel the model was simple to understand and apply and didn’t demand much. The best part was there was no particular routine required on a daily basis, rather it was fighting my own thoughts in the best and relevant way that was suitable to me. For the longest time I had self doubts and anxiety on the course but after the sessions with Nanaki and questioning my thought process, and converting my irrational thoughts to rational thoughts using the model, I could clearly feel and see the difference both on and off the course. It helped me improve not only my mental state on the field, but had a great impact on my game too. I personally felt that this was one of the easiest methods for me to understand and perform. The best part was that I could actually frame positive affirmation statements on the spot to deal with my anxiety and comfort myself. Personally, this has really made a huge difference to my game and has also helped create a balance in the way in which my mind works on the course.”
“Nanaki Chadha kindly introduced the group to sport psychology by delivering seminars explaining how it [psychology] can be used to develop the team’s psychological approach to their rugby. The delivery was both informative and interactive with a good number of opportunities for the group to ask questions and discuss the strategies that could be introduced to the team.
Various techniques were implemented throughout the season with some key away wins noted. These wins were achieved in the second half of the season with a full squad to select from. Two closely fought away losses may be attributed to inability to select from a full squad; however, compared to last season these losses would have been extremely heavy. Therefore, the new resilience and discipline displayed by the team was certainly an improvement from the previous season.
The fixture between Staffs and Keele, historically, has been a difficult environment for the team to compete as Keele have always been a lot more physical, experienced and mentally superior. Past scores have been heavy defeats with our players feeling extremely dejected. This year was a different encounter with the team in a much better frame of mind and displayed a determination to improve and face up to the physical challenges that were presented. Some key moments that highlighted this improved psychology:
“Your sessions have given my son a more positive attitude towards his sport.He is more aware of his mental attitude and understands why things happenand how he should improve by starting from the beginning and working his way up. I am pleased with the outcome.”