Purpose

Journey Sports Consulting (JSC) was founded to mentor and assist individual performers, as well as coaches and organizations in the field of sport psychology to accelerate skill acquisition, competence, and expertise. Sport provides a setting for children, and adults, to practice principles that help them develop life skills, including building character and a good work ethic, in a fun and controlled environment. Our approach is grounded in the rapidly developing field of Positive Psychology which explores character strengths and virtues and what constitutes a “good” life, as well as the means of attaining and practicing contributing factors to that end.

Philosophy

Life is a journey. The process of what we do, how we do it, and most importantly, why we choose our pursuits, one over another, are topics that inform how we all travel along this path. While destinations are an important part of any journey, positive approaches to performance emphasize process and mindfulness. Our clients include individuals and teams, athletes, coaches, parents, and club leadership. We are coaches in all performance arenas, but particularly sport.

Methods

We are solution oriented. JSC seeks to develop knowledge, skills, behaviors, and methods in individuals, groups, and teams that enhances the enjoyment and rewards of success in performance settings and careers in sport. Our services are available in multiple areas that effect performance, including the mental aspects of the game, coach’s education, and club methodology. (See details in the “Services” tabs below)

We are, among other things, mental strength coaches, not psychologists. One of the major challenges in playing the mental game of performance in North America is how the field of psychology developed and what the word psychology means to most English language speakers. Psychology has been associated for most of the last century, and up to present day, with a medical model addressing mental illness and pathology. That is not us. Sport Psychology at JSC means an applied model grounded in kinesiology and focused on performance enhancement, as well as building on strength of character and promoting life skills through sport participation. We are more guides than teachers and believe that learning is most effective when there is a partnership of discovery.

Positive Psychology

Positive Psychology was founded as a discipline in 1998 by Martin Seligman PhD, who was the president of the American Psychological Association at the time. It was meant to make whole the field of psychology which had been dominated by a medical model that focused on mental illness and other psychological problems. Positive Psychology is the study of happiness, values, and what makes life worth living. Psychology traditionally focused on dysfunction. Positive Psychology, in contrast, is a relatively new field that examines how ordinary people can become happier, more resilient, and be more fulfilled.

Performance Psychology

Dr. Keller directed the sport psychology effort of The United States Ski and Snowboard teams for 17 years. The philosophy of those services was to focus on the performance aspect of sport with the athletes, coaches, and teams. The goal was to enhance the existing mental skills and behaviors in these already high functioning athletes. The focus became finding and growing mental strengths to increase levels of performance. This program preceded the positivity movement by several years. JSC’s approach in this area of service remains focused on enhancing the mental skills game, and behaviors that contribute to improving performance, as well as increased satisfaction from performance advancement.

Biographies

Dr. Lester Keller

Dr. Keller has been involved in competitive sports as an athlete, coach, club director, and National Governing Body (NGB) official and staff member for over four decades. He directed the sports psychology program for the United States Ski Team Sports Science and High Performance department for 17 years. He is the past president of the national ski coaches association and has conducted scores of coaches’ clinics for hundreds of coaches at the 100, 200, 300, and USSA National Academy level. He directed the highly successful Western Regional Alpine program, winning the Tom Garner Regions Cup for 14 consecutive years.
Prior to these positions he had an extensive coaching career that included positions as Head Alpine Coach for the NCAA winning University of Utah Ski Team, Head Coach for the Canterbury Regional Team in New Zealand, and Program Director & Head Coach at two major Colorado ski resorts, Winter Park Resort and Durango Ski Corporation.
He holds a B.A. with a double major in History & Political Science, as well as a secondary education certificate from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. He earned graduate degrees, a Master’s Degree in the Psychosocial Aspects of Sport, and a Ph.D. in Exercise and Sport Science, both from the University of Utah.

He is an International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine Technical Delegate and is certified as an International, Level 5 Master Alpine Ski Coach by the U.S. Ski Coaches Association.

He has published numerous articles related to competitive ski racing, including editing and as a contributing author of the first edition of the Alpine Athlete Competencies Guide published by the U.S. Ski Team. He has also edited and been a contributing author of the first sport psychology manual for the U.S. Ski Team, Take Your Brain to the Mountain and the USSA Coaches Education Department Elite Performance Series CD-ROM, Sports Psychology. He led the committee that developed the first strategic plan for USSA’s Alpine program, as well as the first USSA High Performance Plan developed for the USOC. Most recently he was a leader in the development of USSA’s BASE Test and Skills Quest programs, as well as a major contributor to the club assessment and certification program.

Lester is an adjunct professor at Westminster College in Salt Lake City teaching classes on positive psychology and performance psychology. He maintains a keen interest in the future direction of sport and is always researching topics of participation motivation, attrition, skill acquisition & development, and the development of expert performance.

Safia T. Keller

Ms. Keller is an expert in fundraising, corporate sponsorship, and event production. She has extensive experience in the non-profit sector including the creation and execution of events, major giving, sponsorships, and corporate giving. She has worked with such groups as the Jimmie Huega Center, the University of Utah Ski Archives, the National MS Society, Rotary Club of Salt Lake City, and the Utah Society of Fundraisers (USFR). She is currently the Director of Corporate Relations at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, UT and sits on four non-profit boards of directors.