National Sponsor of the ARA
Mental Performance Sponsor of the ARA
Training, courses, and books built for racket-sports athletes, coaches, and high performers demanding a true breakthrough in mental performance — forged in the trenches of addiction recovery, refined in elite athletics.
The match is not won on the baseline. It is won between your ears.
#241
ITF Masters tour ranking
6 hrs
Tennis-specific course
NCAA
Head Coach experience
Top-25
NAIA team anchored
Matthew Simons — Mental Performance Coach & Author
Matt's Story
Mental toughness wasn't learned from a textbook — it was forged in survival
Matthew Simons didn't learn mental toughness from a textbook — he forged it in the absolute rock-bottom grip of a decade-long opioid addiction. Today, he is a mindset and mental performance coach who helps athletes, sales and business professionals, and individuals in recovery transform paralyzing chaos into life-shifting clarity.
Matthew has stood on the podium of elite athletic performance — NCAA Head Coach, a career-high world ranking of #241 on the ITF Masters tour, and the anchor of a Top-25 NAIA team to multiple conference championships and national tournament appearances. But his true expertise wasn't born on the tennis court. It was born in the trenches of his own survival.
Drawing from the life-saving lessons that pulled him from the brink, he created the B.A.L.A.N.C.E. Blueprint: a tactical, step-by-step framework where every letter represents a crucial move toward reprogramming your internal operating system and reclaiming your life.
Elite athletics
Career-high ITF Masters world ranking of #241; NCAA Head Coach; anchored a Top-25 NAIA team to multiple conference championships.
Real recovery
His framework was not born on the tennis court — it was forged in survival, in a decade-long opioid addiction he walked back from.
The B.A.L.A.N.C.E. Blueprint
A tactical, step-by-step system where every letter represents a crucial move toward reprogramming your internal operating system.
Who he coaches
Performers and pros, collegiate and high-performance athletes, USTA league players, business owners, and recovery groups.
Find the Program That's Right for You
Three ways to train the mental game
From a self-paced course to direct 1:1 coaching to a book on the nightstand — choose how you want to build your mental game.
Mental Toughness Course
6-hour, tennis-specific system
A 6-hour, tennis-specific mental toughness course developed from a proven framework originally forged in addiction recovery. Tactical, step-by-step, ready to apply on the court.
View Course1:1 & Team Coaching
Personal and team training
Direct coaching for athletes, teams, coaches, and high performers — personal and team mental toughness training shaped to your goals, your program, and your athletes.
Contact UsRead the Books
Two field-tested frameworks
The Field Guide for Balance in a World of Chaos and The Mentally Tough Tennis Player — two frameworks for navigating extreme pressure and becoming the architect of your own reality.
See Books BelowRead the Books
Two frameworks. One mission.
Pick up Matt's two books — one for the broader game of life, one written specifically for the tennis player who knows the match is won between the ears.
The Field Guide for Balance in a World of Chaos
The world might be in chaos — but you do not have to be.
If you have everything you want but still feel unhappy, the problem lies within your mindset. Your mindset is the steering wheel for your emotions, reactions, health, and success. This field guide was written for anyone capable of more than today is providing — a tactical guide to take back inner control and master your mental performance, no matter the chaos.
The Mentally Tough Tennis Player
Why do you play your best tennis in practice, but fall apart when the match counts?
The match is not won on the baseline — it is won between your ears. Written by an NCAA Head Coach, competitive ITF Masters Tour player, and elite mental performance expert, this book delivers a practical, court-tested system to regulate emotions, reset under pressure, and compete with absolute clarity when the stakes are highest. Not generic positivity — a system.
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: The American Racket Sports Association is an Amazon Associate and earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through the book links on this page, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting the ARA and our sponsors.
Why It Matters
The mental game decides who wins
Pressure is inevitable
Three-all, break point, 5-5 third set — pressure is not optional in racket sports. What you do with it is.
0% of athletes train the mind
Most players spend 100% of their time on their strokes and 0% on the mental system that decides whether those strokes show up under pressure.
It is won between the ears
On any given day at any level, the player who manages their mindset the best wins the most. That is trainable.
Exclusive Benefits
What ARA members get
As a National Sponsor of the ARA, Matt offers exclusive advantages to ARA members — coaches, players, programs, and the businesses that serve them.
Direct Access to Matt
A named point of contact — Matt himself — for ARA member coaching engagements, course questions, and team workshops.
Priority Coaching Slot
ARA members jump the queue on 1:1 and team coaching availability — so your off-season work starts when you need it to.
ARA Vendor Hub Directory
Mentally Tough Training is listed in the ARA Vendor Hub, so coaches, players, and programs can find trusted mental-performance support.
Member-Only Course Access
Coming soon — a preferred ARA member arrangement on the Mental Toughness Course and team coaching.
Get Started
Request coaching or a team workshop
Tell us about you, your players, or your program — and what mental-performance work you're ready to invest in. Matt will follow up personally.