Her Story
About Megan
Megan Henderson is a Mental Performance Coach with more than 30 years of experience in youth sports and coaching. Her professional journey began with youth soccer while she was attending the University of Colorado Boulder, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology in 1996. She has also coached volleyball for her own children and other youth teams, giving her extensive firsthand experience working with young athletes. As a certified mindset and life coach and certified performance coach through Brian Kane, Henderson combines her coaching background with training in mindset, social-emotional learning, and character development.
Since becoming a mental performance coach in 2020, Henderson has focused on helping young athletes develop the mental skills necessary to perform with greater confidence and resilience. Her work addresses mindset, emotional regulation, confidence, response to mistakes, and the pressures associated with competitive sports. She also teaches social-emotional health in schools and has developed The Car Ride Home, a workshop designed to help parents and coaches create healthier and more supportive environments around youth sports. In addition, she conducts “Walk & Talks,” giving students an opportunity to discuss the challenges, setbacks, and obstacles they encounter in their athletic experiences.
Henderson is particularly passionate about making a positive and lasting impact on young people. She supports the Little Ski Hill nonprofit in McCall, Idaho, volunteers with local sports clubs, and provides The Car Ride Home programming through the NICA Mountain Viking Tribe in Boise. She attributes her success to empathy, trust, and the relationships she builds with young athletes and is especially proud when former athletes return from college and share that something she taught them had a meaningful impact. Her professional philosophy is grounded in respect, accountability, communication, resilience, and love, while her broader mission is to help young athletes recognize their potential and develop the confidence and mindset needed to thrive both in sports and in life.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Megan
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success with young athletes to empathy, the trust I earn from them, and the relationships I have built over the years. I believe that creating genuine connections allows young people to feel understood and supported, which helps me make a meaningful impact in their development.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have received is, “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard.” I interpret this as a reminder to focus on steady, manageable progress rather than becoming overwhelmed by everything that needs to be accomplished at once.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would encourage young women entering this field to stay passionate, purposeful, and poised. I believe they should not allow fear to prevent them from taking the next step or pursuing an opportunity. When I give advice to young people, I believe it is important to take that advice myself as well. Most importantly, believe in yourself and trust that you have something valuable to contribute.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge I see right now is the growing importance of mindset and mental health among student-athletes while many of them still do not have adequate resources available to support those needs. This creates a significant opportunity to expand mental performance education and make mental health and mindset resources more accessible to young athletes.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that are most important to me are respect, accountability, communication, resilience, and love. I believe these values are essential to building strong relationships, creating healthy environments for young athletes, and helping people navigate challenges both in sports and in life.
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