Val Whiting brings elite-sport experience, mental performance training, and a deeply personal story to audiences who need more than inspiration. Her talks give people practical ways to respond to pressure, self-doubt, mistakes, and the moments that test who they believe they are.
Each presentation is adapted to the audience, but the goal stays the same: practical insight people can apply when pressure gets real.
Move beyond “believe in yourself” and learn how confidence can be trained, practiced, and strengthened.
Why high-performing athletes can look completely different in competition than they do in practice, and what to train when more reps are not the answer.
A conversation about confidence, achievement, identity, and learning to separate your worth from your performance.
I won national championships. I became an All-American. I played professional basketball. During my playing career, I also struggled with my mental game in ways I did not know how to manage.
Years after I retired, my mental health struggles became much more serious and included periods that resulted in psychiatric hospitalization. Those were not mental performance problems, and that distinction matters.
Today, my work sits at the intersection of what I lived as an elite athlete, what I experienced after the game ended, and what I later studied professionally.
Pressure, mistakes, confidence, focus, identity, and competing with freedom.
How environments, language, feedback, and expectations affect athlete confidence and performance.
Self-trust, achievement, identity, resilience, courage, leadership, and performing under pressure.
Val knows what elite performance looks like, and she knows what it feels like when the mental side becomes the hardest part.
The strongest fit is an audience that is ready for honesty, practical tools, and a message that goes deeper than “believe in yourself.”
Talks can be adapted for athletes, teams, coaches, parents, schools, women’s groups, leadership programs, and organizations.
Tell me about your event, audience, and what you want people to walk away with.
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