About
"Your mind is the factor that affects everything: your game, your actions, and your overall happiness."
"For one to achieve greatness, a person must first achieve a mindset that allows for it."
"A game is only a game if one perceives it as one. Rather, it is another stepping stone to achieving one's optimal mindset."
Maximilian H. Pollack, M.S. is the founder of Optimal Mindset Consulting, LLC. As an intuitive yet highly inspirational coach, Max is dedicated to helping you achieve personal growth, understanding of your inner self, and developing the mental skills necessary to attain optimal results in any situation you encounter. By focusing on your key strengths, you can begin to break down the barriers that you are experiencing. Max has an eclectic approach to consulting which is comprised of:
Specialized Education
Max received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from The University of Central Florida. He graduated from Barry University's Human Performance and Leisure Sciences department with a Dual Track (Applied Track and Thesis Track) Master of Science degree in Movement Sciences with specializations in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. Throughout the Masters program, his work with clients was supervised by CMPC certified consultants. He is provisionally certified through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) where he currently serves as Chair of the Web Presence Committee (WPC) for AASP. Max is co-author in the textbook titled Global Practices and Training in Applied Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology: A Case Study Approach which was edited by Dr. Gualberto Cremades and Dr. Lauren S. Tashman. Max has experience working with numerous Division I and II NCAA athletic teams as well as individuals in a range of different sports where he provided Mental Skills Training (MST) based on the needs of each client. He has worked with children, adolescents and adults from varying performance related backgrounds, including parents, coaches, and soldiers of the United States Army. Max has also completed an internship led by Carrie Cheadle, M.A., CMPC at Diabetes Training Camp where he worked with adult and minor Type 1 Diabetic athletes to improve their Mental Skills and healthy living habits. He has previously worked with the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program (CSF2) and Ready and Resilient (R2) program in Colorado Springs on building resilience and enhancing performance to prepare soldiers for what they will face in training, while deployed, and when reintegrating back into home life. Afterwards, Max served as the Cognitive Performance Specialist for the Marines Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC). Currently, he is working with United States Special Operations Command Headquarters (USSOCOM HQ) and Special Operations Central Command (SOCCENT). Max provides Mental Skills Training and biofeedback training based on the most up to date research in a variety of fields to enhance performance and resilience of all Critical Skills Operators, Special Operations Officers, Medical Support Personnel, and Support staff.
Consulting Experience
Max also has experience working in various settings:
Mental Skills Training (MST) Offered
Some MST training that Max provides includes:
His areas of research include
Authorship:
Participation in Sport
In addition to his Mental Conditioning and Mental Skills Training background, Max is a former rugby player for the University of Central Florida's club rugby team and has taken part in many different sports including football, basketball, boxing, tennis and jiujitsu. He has also coached at the elementary, middle school and high school levels in basketball along with coaching youth football for several years.
Optimal Mindset consultations can be beneficial to any coach, athlete, performer, or individual who would like to improve performance, gain a competitive edge, develop mental tools, game plan, as well as increase self-awareness, mindset, routine, ability to handle stress, focus, and motivation. Many of us suffer from the inability to break free from the limits that are created within our mind and reach that next level that is so easily attainable, but can feel unreachable.
Are you ready and willing to break free and achieve your maximum potential?
The vision and mission of Optimal Mindset Consulting is to help individuals achieve their utmost potential for performing at their best while maintaining a positive mindset, present focus, and enjoyment for all that is to come. Through the incorporation of mental conditioning and enhancing one's life skills, each client can transfer the lessons of Optimal Mindset Consulting to many areas in life.
- Cognitive-Behavioral Psychology
- Positive Psychology
- Eastern Philosophical Approach
- Mindfulness
- Humanitarian Approach
Specialized Education
Max received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from The University of Central Florida. He graduated from Barry University's Human Performance and Leisure Sciences department with a Dual Track (Applied Track and Thesis Track) Master of Science degree in Movement Sciences with specializations in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. Throughout the Masters program, his work with clients was supervised by CMPC certified consultants. He is provisionally certified through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) where he currently serves as Chair of the Web Presence Committee (WPC) for AASP. Max is co-author in the textbook titled Global Practices and Training in Applied Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology: A Case Study Approach which was edited by Dr. Gualberto Cremades and Dr. Lauren S. Tashman. Max has experience working with numerous Division I and II NCAA athletic teams as well as individuals in a range of different sports where he provided Mental Skills Training (MST) based on the needs of each client. He has worked with children, adolescents and adults from varying performance related backgrounds, including parents, coaches, and soldiers of the United States Army. Max has also completed an internship led by Carrie Cheadle, M.A., CMPC at Diabetes Training Camp where he worked with adult and minor Type 1 Diabetic athletes to improve their Mental Skills and healthy living habits. He has previously worked with the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program (CSF2) and Ready and Resilient (R2) program in Colorado Springs on building resilience and enhancing performance to prepare soldiers for what they will face in training, while deployed, and when reintegrating back into home life. Afterwards, Max served as the Cognitive Performance Specialist for the Marines Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC). Currently, he is working with United States Special Operations Command Headquarters (USSOCOM HQ) and Special Operations Central Command (SOCCENT). Max provides Mental Skills Training and biofeedback training based on the most up to date research in a variety of fields to enhance performance and resilience of all Critical Skills Operators, Special Operations Officers, Medical Support Personnel, and Support staff.
Consulting Experience
Max also has experience working in various settings:
- United States Special Operations Command
- Special Operations Central Command
- Marine and Sailors Special Operations Command
- DoD Warrior Games
- Evert Tennis Academy
- Fusion Soccer Club
- After-School Programs
- Psychiatric Hospitals
- Drug and Rehab Centers
- Diabetes Training Camp
- NAIA athletics
- Division II Athletic Programs
- Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program with the United States Army
- Operation Cold Steel II
- Cadet Summer Training
- Bariatric Setting
- Competitive Youth Athletes
- Hiring Our Heroes: Corporate Fellowship Training
Mental Skills Training (MST) Offered
Some MST training that Max provides includes:
- Imagery
- Relaxation Techniques
- Recovery Techniques
- Motivation
- Biofeedback Training
- Stress Management
- Effective Communication
- Team Building
- Attention Training
- Goal Setting
- Emotional Control
- Energy Management
- Leadership Development
His areas of research include
- The Experience of Flow in Professional Musicians During an On-Stage Performance
- Confidence and Anxiety in Musicians
- Superstitious Rituals within NCAA Division II Athletes
- Conformity in the Group Setting
- Eating Disorders in Female Athletes
Authorship:
- Pollack, Maximilian H. (2020). These Are the Moments We Live For. In Sachs, M., Tashman, L., & Razon, S. (Eds.), Performance Excellence: Stories of Success from the Real World of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
- Pollack, Maximilian and Norman, Marissa. (2016). We All Start Somewhere: The Experience of Consulting For the First Time. In Tashman, L. S. Global Practices and Training in Applied Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology: A Case Study Approach. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
Participation in Sport
In addition to his Mental Conditioning and Mental Skills Training background, Max is a former rugby player for the University of Central Florida's club rugby team and has taken part in many different sports including football, basketball, boxing, tennis and jiujitsu. He has also coached at the elementary, middle school and high school levels in basketball along with coaching youth football for several years.
Optimal Mindset consultations can be beneficial to any coach, athlete, performer, or individual who would like to improve performance, gain a competitive edge, develop mental tools, game plan, as well as increase self-awareness, mindset, routine, ability to handle stress, focus, and motivation. Many of us suffer from the inability to break free from the limits that are created within our mind and reach that next level that is so easily attainable, but can feel unreachable.
Are you ready and willing to break free and achieve your maximum potential?
The vision and mission of Optimal Mindset Consulting is to help individuals achieve their utmost potential for performing at their best while maintaining a positive mindset, present focus, and enjoyment for all that is to come. Through the incorporation of mental conditioning and enhancing one's life skills, each client can transfer the lessons of Optimal Mindset Consulting to many areas in life.
Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them -- a desire, a dream, a vision.”
-Muhammad Ali (World HeavyWeight Champion Boxer)