Andrea Vötter

luge, Olympian

Before I started to work with Jan I have had experience with another mental coach, but I didn´t see any significant progress. So I quit working with him. I realized that I still had many problems in both my sport and private life and that I wouldn´t have been able to make it without a really good mental coach. That is why I started to work with Jan.

What was the beginning of the mental training with Jan like?

The first year of our cooperation was a little challenge. We didn´t know each other at the beginning and it took a while before I got to know him and Jan managed to eliminate my previous doubts about mental training.

We started with interviews, questionnaires and tests at the beginning of our collaboration so that Jan was able to know my personality better. As soon as I learned more about Jan´s work I immediately knew, that he really knows what to do in mental training.

What were you working on with Jan the most?

Our collaboration was very intense and lasted nearly 2 years. I learned many things.  At the beginning we were working on how to get to know myself better and how to improve my self-confidence, so I was able to start the season confident.

Thanks to Jan´s mental training I am able to focus better on myself and on my performance. I used to have problems with that and many things distracted me during the races. We worked on mindfulness, how to get in flow and how to create a protective barrier around myself thanks to which I am now more mentally tough. I don´t let myself get distracted and affected by others anymore. I look forward to racing more and I believe I am able to use everything I learned in the races and of course I am able to succeed.

What was the best result you achieved with Jan?

I achieved my best results, after I started working with Jan. I won 2 bronze medals at the European Championship. The long term collaboration with Jan also helped me in the preparation for the 2022 Olympic Games in Bejing.

Was the mental training with Jan any special to you?

Mental training with Jan has helped me not only in sports but also in normal life. It strengthened my self-confidence. I have different goals in my life. I focus on myself and people who are important to me.

Jan has a big potential in my opinion.  He still educates himself which is especially important in the area of mental coaching. There are so many ways and each person is different and Jan is able to find the right one for everyone.

I will always remember 2 sentences Jan used often: „ each man is unique and different,“  and „focus on what you can influence and control.“