Coach Scott Papek
Elite mindset and leadership coach
Helping athletes build confidence, handle pressure, and respond when things don't go their way.
Scott has spent more than 25 years working in high-performance environments across music and sports, helping athletes, coaches, and teams develop the confidence, leadership, and mental skills needed to perform at their best. Based in Boston, he works with athletes and teams from middle school through college.
1:1 coaching · team training · leadership · partnerships
Featured in New England Basketball Journal
“In the last year, Owumi has been meeting with Scott Papek of Max Out Mindset to develop a framework for staying calm in the many high-pressure basketball situations she encounters.”
— Ethan Fuller, New England Basketball Journal
“I was really excited to have someone to talk to that was unbiased and all that stuff, but he’s helped me the most (with) probably just resetting. I think I really had a hard time with just, if I was having a bad game, I felt like there was no way out. It was just like, ah damn, we just got to get through it and play my best. But there’s ways to get around it.”
— Bella Owumi
Gatorade New Hampshire Girls Basketball Player of the Year (2025–26) · ESPN No. 29 recruit in the nation, Class of 2027
THE MAX OUT MINDSET WAY
Scott's coaching is built on the Max Out Mindset approach—a proven framework for helping athletes and teams train the mental side of performance.
Our goal at Max Out Mindset is to provide world-class elite mindset training. We bring clarity to the process of training mindset to help coaches, athletes, and teams reach their full potential. Our training has been integral in achieving 15 national championships across the professional, college, and high school/club levels, along with nearly 30 high school state championships.
When we collaborate with teams, we also work relentlessly on culture and chemistry to help build Ultimate Trust—the foundation of high-performing teams.
WHEN CONFIDENCE TAKES A HIT, EVERYONE FEELS IT.
A missed shot. A bad inning. A mistake that gets replayed in their head all game. It's not really about the mistake — it's about confidence and not knowing what to do when adversity hits.
The athlete loses confidence and starts playing tight.
The team feels it in chemistry and performance when one player is stuck in their head.
The coach spends energy managing a mindset issue instead of coaching skill.
The parent watches their kid struggle and doesn't know how to help.
The athletic department sees it play out program-wide — inconsistent performance, culture issues, coaches without a shared approach.
It's not one problem. It's one problem that touches everyone around it. That's why mindset training isn't just for the athlete — it's for the whole program.
SO WHERE DO YOU START?
For most teams, groups, or organizations, the Competitive Mindset seminar is the easiest way in — one session, real tools, immediate impact. Have a more specific need — a single athlete, a unique situation, something that doesn't fit a group format? Let's talk first.
CONTACT: Scott@maxoutmindset.com or 858-740-4712
WAYS TO WORK WITH SCOTT
THE COMPETITIVE MINDSET
60-Minute Live Mindset Seminar for Athletes, Coaches, Teams, Athletic Departments & Parents.
You will leave with a practical way to build confidence, reset after mistakes, stay calm, and stay focused on what you can control. $35 per athlete; coaches attend free; 15-athlete minimum.
BRING THIS TRAINING TO YOUR TEAM
CONTACT: Scott@maxoutmindset.com or 858-740-4712
1:1 MINDSET COACHING
for Athletes, Coaches, Leaders, Parents
One-on-one coaching helps individuals build the confidence, self-awareness, and mental skills needed to perform at their best. Through meaningful conversations, practical tools, and personalized strategies, clients learn how to handle pressure, overcome setbacks, and become the athlete, coach, leader, and person they want to be. scott@maxoutmindset.com for custom pricing
TEAM MINDSET TRAINING
High School & College
Develop Confident, Connected Teams That Compete Under Pressure.
Build the confidence, communication, leadership, and mental skills athletes need to handle adversity and compete together. Contact scott@maxoutmindset.com for custom pricing
CLUB & AAU MINDSET TRAINING
Full Club or Individual Teams
Club and AAU programs are designed to help organizations build confident athletes, stronger teams, and a culture that supports long-term development. Through workshops, team training, coach education, and parent sessions. Contact scott@maxoutmindset.com for custom pricing
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT MINDSET TRAINING
Mindset Support Across Your Athletic Department
Athletic department partnerships help schools develop confident athletes, strong leaders, and connected teams across every program. Through athlete workshops, coach development, leadership training, parent education, and team culture initiatives, we create a shared mindset and language across the athletic department. Contact scott@maxoutmindset.com for custom pricing
NOT SURE WHERE YOUR MINDSET IS STRONG — OR WHERE IT'S GETTING IN YOUR WAY?
TAKE THE FREE COMPETITIVE MINDSET ASSESSMENT
25 questions. 5 areas.
Confidence | Pressure | Control | Composure | Reset
See how you respond to mistakes, pressure, frustration, and things you can't control.
Mindset training resources for teen athletes.
(Please ask about bulk pricing for book clubs)
Leadership is one of the most discussed qualities in sports, but one of the least developed. Every season, athletes hear, “We need leaders,” yet few are ever shown what that really means or how to become one. Coaches expect it, teammates depend on it, and the game exposes when it’s missing. The problem isn’t that athletes don’t want to lead — it’s that no one has taken the time to train them how to lead.
As a youth basketball coach for the past five years, I’ve seen these challenges up close — athletes afraid to communicate, hesitant to hold each other accountable, and unsure of how to step into leadership when their team needs it most.
Drawing on years of experience around high performers and winning teams, leadership & team culture coach Scott Papek breaks down what leadership really looks like on and off the field.
With practical strategies, powerful stories, and reflection questions, The Athlete’s Guide to Leadership helps athletes:
Lead themselves first through mindset and habits
Build trust and strengthen team culture
Communicate with clarity and composure under pressure
Balance love and accountability with their teammates
Become the kind of leader others want to follow
Email Scott for bulk pricing: scott@maxoutmindset.com
Confidence is the number one challenge athletes face — and the most important skill they can train. Too often, athletes second-guess themselves, overthink mistakes, play small, and shut down under pressure.
From middle school to college, the competition has never been tougher. Coaches expect toughness, teammates look for leaders, and parents want results, yet most athletes are never given the tools to handle the mental side of the game.
As a youth basketball coach for the past five years, I’ve seen the struggles up close — how players hesitate, experience self-doubt, and play scared in big moments.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
This guide is written specifically for student-athletes. It’s not another coach or parent telling you what to do, and it’s not a homework assignment. The chapters are short and to the point, with reflection questions to help you slow down, think, and apply the lessons to your own game.
Drawing on years of experience around high performers and winning teams, Mindset & Leadership Coach Scott Papek is your battle buddy on your journey to becoming your best.
Inside these pages, you’ll learn how to:
Build real confidence and reset quickly after mistakes
Stay composed and focused under pressure
Train your self-talk so it works for you, not against you
Understand mindsets that shape performance, like growth, grit, and comparison
Use elite mental training tools to strengthen confidence, composure, concentration, and commitment
Discover what leadership looks like, even if you aren’t the loudest voice or top scorer
Most of all, you’ll develop the skills to become a stronger teammate, player, and person — on and off the field.
Email Scott for bulk pricing: scott@maxoutmindset.com
LOCK IN is a 90-day performance journal for teen athletes who want to improve their confidence, focus, and consistency—by understanding their performance, not just doing more.
Elite athletes don’t just train their bodies. They reflect, adjust, and take ownership of their growth. This journal helps athletes do exactly that in five minutes or less.
Designed for use after practices, games, or recovery days, LOCK IN helps athletes:
track performance and mindset
manage emotions after wins and losses
learn from mistakes instead of carrying them forward
build confidence through awareness and reflection
develop independence instead of relying only on coaches
Each daily entry builds three key areas of awareness:
awareness of performance
awareness of emotions
awareness of goals
This journal is simple, structured, and athlete-friendly. Short prompts make it easy to stay consistent, even on busy days or after tough performances.
LOCK IN is ideal for middle school and high school athletes in any sport who want to:
compete with more confidence
stay focused under pressure
understand what helps them play their best
make steady progress over 90 days
Whether used independently, with a coach, or alongside a training program, LOCK IN helps athletes take control of their development—on and off the field.
Most athletes don’t have a skill problem—they have a focus problem.
When pressure hits, your mind gets loud. You overthink mistakes. Confidence goes up and down depending on how things go.
This journal gives you a simple way to take control of that.
Designed for athletes—especially teens—and high achievers, this 3-minute daily system builds focus, confidence, and consistency.
How it works:
• Morning: 3 things you’re grateful for + 1 thing you want to do well
• Evening: 3 good things that happened, 2 things you did well, 1 thing to improve
That’s it. Just quick mental reps that train how you think.
Over time, this builds awareness—the skill that separates average from elite performers. You stop focusing on what’s going wrong and start seeing what’s working.
When your thinking becomes more steady, your performance follows.
Perfect for athletes, students, and anyone chasing improvement—in sports, school, and life.
If your mind gets in the way when things get hard, this gives you a simple way to take it back.