What the IAP Actually Is
The Intentional Athlete Program is a self-guided mental performance course built by Intentional Performance. It's structured, it's practical, and it's based on real research — not motivational posters.
You'll work through five modules at your own pace. Each one has reading, reflection exercises, and a specific practice to take into your training and competition. Running alongside the modules is a 28-day focus training protocol called MBAT — Mindfulness-Based Attention Training — that builds your ability to control where your mind goes, when it matters most.
Here's the key idea: most young athletes train their skills but never train who they are while performing those skills. You practice your shot, your route, your swing — but what about the thoughts running through your head during the game? What about the voice that shows up after a mistake? What about the routines you use (or don't) before you compete?
That's what this program addresses. Not your talent or your work ethic — your operating system. The identity, focus, and daily structure underneath everything else.
The exercises in this program ask you to write. Take that seriously. Write honestly, write slowly, and don't worry about impressing anyone — nobody sees your answers but you. The athletes who get the most out of this are the ones who are willing to be real with themselves.
Built on Real Work
The Intentional Athlete Program is developed by Intentional Performance, founded by John Baker — a former professional baseball player (seven years in the Major Leagues), a graduate-level researcher in performance psychology, and a mental performance coach who has worked at the highest levels of professional sports, including serving as Head Mental Performance Coach with the Chicago Cubs and VP of Performance with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Every exercise in this program comes from the same framework used with professional athletes and coaches. It's been adapted for young athletes — simplified where it needs to be, but never watered down. The science is the same. The tools are the same. The only difference is that the language meets you where you are.
This isn't about being old enough or experienced enough. The earlier you start building these skills, the stronger the foundation. The athletes who learn this at 14 have a decade head start on the ones who discover it at 24.
The Focus Training Protocol
Starting in Module 1, you'll begin a 28-day focus training practice called MBAT — Mindfulness-Based Attention Training. Fifteen minutes, five days a week. This runs alongside all four modules and is one of the most important parts of the entire program.
Here's why: most athletes try to "be more focused" without ever actually training focus. That's like saying "I need to be stronger" without ever going to the gym. Focus is a skill. It can be trained deliberately. MBAT is the gym for your attention.
Four weeks, four different focus modes — each one training a specific attentional skill you actually need in competition. By the end, you won't just understand focus better. You'll have built a daily 15-minute practice that's yours to keep — a habit you can fill with whatever mental training serves you most in each season of your athletic career.
Start the MBAT practice on the same day you begin Module 1. Don't wait. The focus training and the identity work are designed to run together — each one makes the other stronger.
Four Weeks. Four Focus Modes.
15 minutes · 5 days per week · Start Week 1 with Module 1
Five Modules — Go at Your Own Pace
Before You Begin
- Work through each module in order. They build on each other — don't skip ahead.
- Start the MBAT Week 1 focus practice on the same day you open Module 1. The focus training runs alongside everything else.
- Your answers auto-save in your browser. Nobody sees them but you. Download your work from each module when you finish it.
- Write honestly. Not the version that sounds good — the version that's actually true. The athletes who get the most out of this are the ones who are real with themselves.
- If a question stumps you — good. Sit with it. Come back tomorrow. The best answers don't come instantly.
- The MBAT practice is 15 minutes, five days a week. Same time, same spot if you can. Consistency beats intensity every time.
"The best athletes don't just play the game.
They know who they are while they're playing it."