Frequently Asked Questions
About Áthlima Sport
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About Áthlima Sport
What is Áthlima Sport?
Áthlima Sport is a research-informed sport education and performance enhancement company committed to transforming sport. We connect research, education, and applied practice to help athletes and sport stakeholders create conditions where performance excellence and positive sport experiences can thrive together.
Our work spans three primary arenas: Sport Psychology & Mental Performance, FUN360° Academy, and Speaking & Events.
What is the mission of Áthlima Sport?
Our mission is to empower athletes and sport stakeholders to reach holistic performance excellence in sport.
What does Áthlima mean?
Áthlima (άθλημα) is a Greek word for sport or athletic endeavor. The name reflects our connection to the original spirit of sport and the pursuit of excellence through effort, health, growth, and fun. We bring that philosophy into contemporary sport through research-informed education and practice designed to help make sport fun and safe for everyone involved.
What does holistic performance excellence mean at Áthlima Sport?
Holistic performance excellence means pursuing performance while recognizing the whole person and the wider sport environments that make sustainable excellence possible.
Who does Áthlima Sport work with?
Áthlima Sport works with athletes and the people and organizations who shape sport experiences. This includes coaches, parents, officials, educators, healthcare and performance practitioners, administrators, leaders, teams, sport organizations, and national and international governing bodies.
What makes Áthlima Sport different?
Áthlima Sport brings together research, education, and applied sport experience to translate scientific knowledge into meaningful practice. Our team brings 100+ years of collective experience across roles as athletes, parents, coaches, officials, educators, researchers, practitioners, and sport leaders. Across our work, we share a commitment to making sport fun and safe while pursuing performance excellence.
Expertise & Research-Informed Practice
Who founded Áthlima Sport?
Áthlima Sport was founded by Dr. Amanda J. Visek, Dr. Monna Arvinen-Barrow, and Paul Shaw, internationally experienced sport professionals whose complementary expertise spans sport science, educational pedagogy, coaching, and sport leadership.
What expertise does the Áthlima Sport team bring?
The Áthlima Sport team brings complementary expertise in sport science, pedagogy, coaching, leadership, and applied practice.
Dr. Amanda J. Visek is an internationally recognized sport scientist whose research includes the development of Fun Integration Theory and the FUN MAPS, advancing scientific understanding of what makes sport fun.
Dr. Monna Arvinen-Barrow is an internationally recognized sport psychology scholar-practitioner with extensive expertise in sport injury psychology, educational pedagogy, and curriculum development.
Paul Shaw brings decades of experience in coaching, coach education, coach development, and sport leadership.
Together, this expertise connects science, pedagogy, and practice in ways that are both evidence-informed and relevant to real-world sport.
You can explore The Scholar's Shelf to discover selected research and scholarship produced by our team.
Is Áthlima Sport research-informed?
Yes. We use scientific evidence, professional expertise, and an understanding of sport environments to inform our services, education, and resources.
What does research-informed practice mean at Áthlima Sport?
Research-informed practice means translating scientific knowledge into practical strategies, education, and experiences that can be understood and applied in real-world sport.
How does Áthlima Sport translate sport science into practice?
Depending on the setting, we use research to inform mental skills training, a FUN360° Academy learning experience, a keynote or workshop, organizational education, or a resource shared through The Scholar's Shelf. Our goal is to maintain the integrity of the science while making knowledge understandable, relevant, and useful to the people who shape sport.
FUN360° Academy
What is FUN360° Academy?
FUN360° Academy is an online learning community powered by Áthlima Sport that translates the science of fun in sport into evidence-informed education. Through engaging, self-paced learning experiences, FUN360° connects research, education, and practice to help everyone involved in sport understand why fun matters.
How are Áthlima Sport and FUN360° Academy connected?
FUN360° Academy is Áthlima Sport’s flagship educational offering, created to translate the science of fun in sport into accessible, research-informed learning for everyone involved in sport.
Áthlima Sport is the company behind FUN360° Academy, bringing together the research, educational expertise, and applied sport experience that shape its content and learning approach. FUN360° Academy gives that expertise a dedicated home through interactive, self-paced online education focused on understanding and cultivating fun in sport.
For questions about FUN360° courses, learning, enrollment, certificates, payments, or technical support, visit the FUN360° Academy Frequently Asked Questions.
Why does Áthlima Sport focus on fun in sport?
Fun is central to quality sport experiences and plays an important role in engagement, motivation, development, continued participation, and retention in sport.
At Áthlima Sport, we do not see fun and performance excellence as competing priorities. Fun can be found in working hard, connecting with others, and overcoming challenges while pursuing meaningful goals. This is why fun is embedded in our broader commitment to creating sport experiences where performance, development, wellbeing, and fun can thrive together.
Sport Psychology & Mental Performance
Does Áthlima Sport provide sport psychology and mental performance services?
Áthlima Sport provides sport psychology and mental performance services for athletes, coaches, and sport organizations. We combine evidence-based strategies with a holistic, athlete-centered approach, delivered with creativity, compassion, and just the right dose of humor.
What mental skills can athletes develop with Áthlima Sport?
We help athletes develop skills to understand, train, and manage their brain to support performance in sport and beyond. These mental skills can include focus and concentration, confidence, motivation, goal setting, imagery, self-talk, managing emotions and pressure, relaxation and activation, and responding effectively to setbacks and challenges, including sport injury.
Who provides mental performance services at Áthlima Sport?
Mental performance services at Áthlima Sport are provided by professionals with internationally recognized mental performance qualifications and extensive research and applied experience.
Dr. Monna Arvinen-Barrow holds a PhD in Sport Psychology and is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC), a British Psychological Society Chartered Psychologist, and a Finnish Psychological Association certified sport psychology and mental coaching professional. She brings extensive experience in sport psychology research, education, and applied mental performance.
Dr. Amanda J. Visek holds a PhD in Sport Psychology and is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC) with extensive experience in sport psychology research, education, and applied mental performance.
Together, they bring doctoral-level sport psychology training, CMPC certification, research expertise, and applied experience to our evidence-based, athlete-centered mental performance services.
What is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC)?
A Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC) is a highly trained professional who specializes in the mental performance aspects of sport and performance. The CMPC credential is administered by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and requires professionals to meet rigorous standards for education and applied training, pass a certification examination, adhere to professional ethical standards, and engage in ongoing professional development.
Is mental performance training only for elite athletes?
No. Mental performance training can benefit athletes at every level and stage of their sport journey. Athletes encounter pressure, expectations, learning, setbacks, motivation, confidence, and performance challenges at many levels of sport. Mental skills training can be adapted to the individual athlete, their goals, and their sporting environment.
The value of mental skills also extends beyond sport. Many of the athletes we work with are youth athletes, for whom this can be an important time to develop awareness of how their brain works and learn skills for managing thoughts, emotions, attention, and responses.
Does Áthlima Sport offer online mental performance services?
Áthlima Sport provides online mental performance services worldwide in addition to in-person services in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Washington, DC metropolitan areas.
Speaking, Workshops & Professional Development
Does Áthlima Sport provide sport speakers, keynotes, and workshops?
Áthlima Sport delivers research-informed keynotes, workshops, seminars, professional development, panels, talks, and organizational retreats for sport audiences. Our presentations combine scientific evidence, practical sport experience, relatable examples, and storytelling to make complex concepts clear, actionable, and relevant. Sessions can be delivered in person or online and customized for the needs of an event or organization.
What topics can Áthlima Sport speak about?
Áthlima Sport provides speaking and professional education in areas including sport psychology and mental performance, fun in sport, sport injury psychology, coaching and coach development, and sport leadership. Topics and delivery formats can be customized for conferences, professional development programs, teams, sport organizations, and other audiences.
Who are Áthlima Sport’s speaking and professional development services for?
Fun is central to quality sport experiences and plays an important role in engagement, motivation, development, continued participation, and retention in sport.
At Áthlima Sport, we do not see fun and performance excellence as competing priorities. Fun can be found in working hard, connecting with others, and overcoming challenges while pursuing meaningful goals. This is why fun is embedded in our broader commitment to creating sport experiences where performance, development, wellbeing, and fun can thrive together.
Can keynote, workshop, or educational experiences be customized?
Yes. Áthlima Sport offers customized speaking engagements, workshops, and professional development designed around the audience, context, and goals of an organization or event.
Formats can range from keynote addresses and conference sessions to interactive workshops, seminars, fireside chats, and organizational retreats.
Organizations & Partnerships
Does Áthlima Sport work with sport organizations and governing bodies?
Áthlima Sport works with sport organizations, governing bodies, teams, educational institutions, and other groups seeking research-informed approaches to performance, development, education, and positive sport experiences.
Depending on organizational needs, our work can include mental performance services, FUN360° Academy learning, professional development, speaking and workshops, and customized educational initiatives.
Can learning or professional development customized for an organization?
Yes. Áthlima Sport can develop customized educational and professional development experiences based on an organization's goals, audience, and sport context.
Our multidisciplinary expertise in sport science, pedagogy, mental performance, coaching, coach education, and leadership allows us to connect evidence with practical learning that is relevant to the people and environments involved.
Does Áthlima Sport collaborate with other organizations?
Áthlima Sport welcomes opportunities to collaborate with organizations and professionals who share our commitment to creating fun, safe, and high-quality sport experiences.
Sport Science & The Scholar's Shelf
Where can I find research by the Áthlima Sport team?
Selected research and scholarly work by our team can be explored through The Scholar's Shelf, our home for sharing sport science, scholarship, and research-informed resources. You can also explore the research profiles of Dr. Amanda J. Visek and Dr. Monna Arvinen-Barrow on Google Scholar.
What is The Scholar's Shelf?
The Scholar's Shelf is our home for sport science, scholarship, and research-informed resources produced by our team. It reflects an important principle behind Áthlima Sport: scientific knowledge has greater practical impact when it is accessible to the people who can use it.
What areas of sport science does the Áthlima Sport team specialize in?
Áthlima Sport's scientific and scholarly expertise spans sport psychology and mental performance, sport injury psychology, fun and athlete experiences in sport, coaching and sport education, and pedagogy.
Our team's research, educational, coaching, and applied expertise allows us to examine sport from multiple perspectives while connecting scientific knowledge with practical application.
Contact Us
How can I contact Áthlima Sport?
Use the inquiry form for the service that best matches your needs:
Sport Psychology & Mental Performance for mental skills training and performance support.
FUN360° Academy for organizational learning and education about fun in sport.
Speaking & Events for keynotes, workshops, professional development, and event inquiries.
For FUN360° course, enrollment, payment, and technical-support questions, visit the FUN360° Academy website and its dedicated FAQ.
For anything else, you can email us at info@athlimasport.org.