Create Your Back Yourself Plan to Play in Big Games the Way You Play in Training
Tuesday training
Saturday trial
So you can take the shot instead of the safe pass, shake off a mistake in seconds and show selectors the player you really are. Join me live on November 10 and we'll build your plan together. For the past 12 years I've worked with over 1,000 hockey players.
Tuesday 10 November · 8am UK · 10am South Africa · 4pm Perth · 6pm Queensland · 7pm NSW and Victoria · 9pm New Zealand
Lauren Penny
Part of the 2012 Olympic squad.
Three Masters World Cups as a player. Gold in 2024.
Captain of my over 40s team at the 2026 Masters World Cup.
Founder, Hockey Performance Academy.
"I can play really well, even when the NZ selectors are watching!"
"I've finally achieved my childhood dream of playing for my country. Working with Lauren has been absolutely game changing."
"After being plagued by self-doubt for years, at trials this year I showed up as the best version of myself and I couldn't be happier."
Players I've coached, in their own words.
You've trained your body for big games.
Nobody ever trained your mind for being judged.
That's the Pressure Gap.
As a junior, I wasn't picked.
I wasn't selected for my national team.
I was gutted.
I started asking myself, what's the point?
I almost quit hockey.
Instead, I moved to England.
I lived there for 10 years and played in the Premier League.
Somewhere in there, I fell back in love with the game.
Then one week, a fill-in coach took our session. He was a former GB international coach.
After training he told me I had potential.
But I needed to work on my mental game.
I had no idea what that meant.
Looking back, it's the best piece of advice I've ever had.
I spent the next six weeks learning the mental game.
Then someone who'd been watching me play mentioned me to the South African national coach.
I was invited to the national training camp.
I made the team.
And I scored on my debut, in the last four minutes of the game.
Six weeks on the one part of my game I'd never trained.
- Not picked
- Almost quit
- Six weeks on my mental game
- National camp
- Debut goal
Then I saw it up close, at an Olympic Games.
In 2012, I was picked in the Olympic squad as first reserve.
With a dislocated shoulder.
I had to train and stay ready to play at the Olympics, with no idea if I'd ever get on the pitch.
I was picked ahead of players who were more physically capable than me at the time.
That's when I really saw it.
At the top, the mental game decides who performs under pressure.
I started Hockey Performance Academy in 2014.
For the past 12 years I've worked with over 1,000 hockey players. Juniors, seniors, and now mostly masters players.
I've played at three Masters World Cups and coached at two.
I've watched who gets picked and who doesn't.
Who's still sharp on day six of a tournament, and who fades.
Here's what I've learned.
It isn't fancy skills.
It isn't extreme fitness.
It's the decisions you make under pressure, game after game.
You don't have to be perfect. Just consistent.
Back Yourself
A live workshop on Zoom with Lauren Penny
- Tuesday 10 November, 8am UK (10am South Africa, 4pm Perth, 6pm Queensland, 7pm NSW and Victoria, 9pm New Zealand)
- 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes of live Q&A
- You build your own Back Yourself Plan, live, for your next trial, tournament or big game
- The replay, so you keep it
$47
Watch the workshop, apply what Lauren teaches, and if you don't feel genuinely more prepared and confident going into your next trial, tournament or big game, email us and you'll get your money back. Simple as that.
hockey players coached
years
masters players picked for their country
Olympic squad
Masters World Cups played
at the 2024 Masters World Cup
Here's How Hockey Players Close the Gap Between Training and the Games That Count
At higher levels, it isn't about fancy skills and tricks.
What separates the best players is simple.
They make great decisions under pressure.
And they do it consistently, in every game.
For international level, you want to aim for 90% consistency.
Not perfect. Consistent.
That's a skill. Which means you can train it.
The old plan, and the new one
The old plan
- Another fitness block.
- Extra skills sessions.
- Random drills off Instagram.
- Someone telling you to "just believe in yourself".
- You turn up fitter, and still second-guess every touch.
The new plan
- Tuesday 10 November, you build your Back Yourself Plan.
- That week, you rehearse it at training.
- On the day, you run your routine, back yourself on the ball, and reset in seconds after a mistake.
Why training harder doesn't fix it
Picture it.
Saturday. Trials. Ten minutes in.
The ball comes to you with space to drive into.
The same space you'd take every Tuesday at training.
You play the safe pass.
Two minutes later, you miscontrol a simple ball.
And for the next quarter, that's all you can think about.
While a selector writes something down.
You walk off thinking, "I played ok... but I didn't really make an impact."
That's the Pressure Gap.
You've trained your body and your stick where nobody is judging you.
You've never trained your mind for the moments that are judged.
And it isn't your fault.
Most programs, coaches and YouTube channels train the body and the stick. It's what's easy to film and measure.
So when you don't perform, the answer is always the same. Train harder. Do more.
But more training doesn't equal better performance.
You're not underperforming because you're not doing enough.
You're underperforming because nobody's shown you how to bring your skills, your training and your mindset together, at the right moment.
"You don't have a fitness problem. You have a pressure gap."
The Back Yourself Plan
One page.
Built by you, live, with me.
For the three moments the pressure hits.
Before the game
How you arrive switched on, not wound up. This is where my 4 step pre-game routine sits.
On the ball
What you do in the moments you'd usually play it safe. This is where my 3 Factor Risk vs Reward Framework comes in, the same one I use to make split-second decisions at international level.
After a mistake
How you reset in seconds, not a whole quarter. This is my Quick 10 Sec Reset.
The players who back themselves aren't always the most skilled.
They just know how to assess risk and reward in real time.
And they know what to do when it goes wrong.
That's what you'll leave with.
What players say
These are players I've coached and players in my programs, in their own words. They're not results of this workshop. Back Yourself is brand new.
"I can play really well, even when the NZ selectors are watching! I've made massive improvement in terms of mindset."
"I know I am an entirely different player than the one half paralysed by imposter syndrome at her first interpros last year."
"I wouldn't have got selected if it wasn't for this program and what I've learnt"
"I played with fun, flow and freedom. I was relaxed and approached it with a calm head. It was awesome. Hockey is amazing when you let go and trust yourself. It reminded me of what hockey should be: fun, competitive, enjoyable and supportive."
"I've finally achieved my childhood dream of playing for my country. Working with Lauren has been absolutely game changing."
"After being plagued by self-doubt for years, at trials this year I showed up as the best version of myself and I couldn't be happier."
"My tackling in the first game was the best I've ever done. Now I think about it, it's a big improvement for me personally and nice to see how all the things I've been working on over the last few months are coming together and how those 1%s do add up."
"I was part of the winning team in the over 65 regional tournament and carried out my designated role effectively. I have been doing the mindset work and watching the defending videos, determined to play confidently and get body position right."
"I just got off a session with a Hockey Australia physio about protecting older elite athletes across long tournaments. Everything I have learnt from you is absolutely spot on. I feel like I am preparing really well."
"It's the best my knees have been at the end of a tournament, and I think a lot of that is due to the work I've put in to strengthen muscles around them with the HPA workouts and with my physio. We had 5 games over the week and I felt strong the whole way through."
"You certainly didn't play like the old lady of the team. You are so fit and agile and your flexibility to play across the backline gave strength to the whole squad."
Here's everything you get
Back Yourself, live on Zoom
90 minutes with me on Tuesday 10 November. We build your plan together, moment by moment.
Your Back Yourself Plan
The one-page plan you fill in during the session. Before the game, on the ball, after a mistake. Yours to take to training and onto the pitch.
30 minutes of live Q&A
Bring your position, your next trial or tournament, and the moment that gets you every time.
The replay
So if the time doesn't work, you still get everything.
$47
This is for you if...
- You've got trials, a selection game or a tournament coming up, at any level.
- You play well at training, then tighten up when it feels like every touch is being judged.
- You overthink simple decisions, or play safer than you should.
- One mistake can send you into a downward spiral.
- You've trained hard and want to show it on the day.
- You want to play for your club, your region, your state or your country.
It's not for you if you're after a fitness or skills program. This is about how you think and decide when it counts.
Thirty days from now, one of two things will be true
You'll walk into your next trial with the same old hope that your nerves settle once you're out there.
Or you'll walk in with your plan.
You'll know how you're arriving.
You'll know what you do when the ball comes to you under pressure.
And you'll know what you do the second something goes wrong.
Questions
My trials are on a different date. Is this still for me?
Yes. You build your plan around your own trial, tournament or big game, whenever it is.
Is this only for masters or international players?
No. It's for any hockey player who gets judged. Club, regional, state, national or masters.
I've already trained hard. Is this still relevant?
Yes. Training prepares your body and your skills. This prepares you for playing while you're being watched and compared. When players are close in ability, that's often the difference.
What if I can't make it live?
You get the replay. Watch it, build your plan, and use it.
What time is it where I live?
Tuesday 10 November at 8am UK, 10am South Africa, 4pm Perth, 6pm Queensland, 7pm NSW and Victoria, 9pm New Zealand.
What if I don't get picked?
That can be tough. Your plan still goes with you to the next trial and the next big game. And you'll know what to work on.
Is this a "just believe in yourself" talk?
No. You don't need someone telling you to believe in yourself. You need a plan for when the game gets quick, you're tired, you've made a mistake, or you know someone is judging every decision.
What if it's not for me?
Watch the workshop, apply what I teach, and if you don't feel genuinely more prepared and confident going into your next trial, tournament or big game, email us and you'll get your money back. Simple as that.
Save your spot for Tuesday 10 November
Without another fitness block.
Without guessing what the selectors want.
So you can back yourself on the ball.
Even if one mistake usually sends you spiralling.
Even if you've missed out before.
So you can play in big games the way you play in training.
Without "just believe in yourself".
Even if you're short on time.
So you can show them the player you really are.
$47
P.S. You don't have a fitness problem. You have a pressure gap. On Tuesday 10 November we close it, one moment at a time, and you leave with your own Back Yourself Plan.
P.P.S. If you don't feel genuinely more prepared and confident going into your next trial, tournament or big game, email us and you'll get your money back. 8am UK, Tuesday 10 November. The replay is yours either way.