Coach Rob Motivations and Performance · Rochester, Minnesota
You know better. So why does it keep happening?
Pressure makes good people freeze, snap, or shut down, right when it matters most. I help athletes, teens, parents, and people starting over find the split second where they still have a choice.
Sound familiar?
If you're a teen
You studied. You knew it. Then the test started and your mind went blank.
If you're a parent
You promised yourself you wouldn't yell this time. Then your kid rolled their eyes.
If you play a sport
Great in practice. Tight in the game.
If you're starting over
New job, second chance, and one comment from the boss almost made you walk out.
If you've ever said "I don't know why I did that"
That's not a character flaw. It's pressure. And you can learn to hold it.
Here's what's really happening
- 1
Your body moves first
Tight chest. Hot face. Clenched jaw. It happens before you notice.
- 2
Feelings show up second
Fear, anger, or embarrassment take over.
- 3
Your thoughts show up last
Usually just in time to explain what you already did.
The good news: there's a split second between that first body signal and the reaction. You can learn to catch it, and hold it. That's what I teach.
When pressure hits, part of you is asking
- What do I need?
- What is my worth?
- Am I safe?
When you're free, you get to ask
- Who am I?
- What is my purpose?
- Where do I belong?
My work helps people move from the first set of questions to the second.
Find your pressure lens
Everyone sees pressure through a lens. The Pressure Profile shows yours: the question your mind asks first when pressure hits, and the mindset that tends to take over. Results read like this: "You lean toward The Sentinel as your primary lens, with The Still Water as your secondary. You gravitate toward the Safety domain."
Need
What do I need?
The Sovereign
"If I do it right, the world owes me a fair return."
The Undercurrent
"Whatever I do, it won't change how this ends."
Worth
What is my worth?
The Echo
"Sooner or later, they'll push me out."
The Invisible
"I gave everything I had, and no one saw it."
Safety
Am I safe?
The Sentinel
"If I don't push back, I get hurt."
The Still Water
"If I disappear, I stay safe."
Every lens carries a real strength. At the center is The Open Hand: what any lens looks like once you can feel it fire and still choose. That's where the work leads.
Choose the Sports track (football, basketball, track and field, softball, baseball, strength and conditioning, or another sport), the Everyday track (school, work, home, and friends), or a Mixed track.
Quick Read · Free
12 situations, about 5 minutes. Your primary and secondary lens, your leaning domain, and the strength your lens carries.
Full Profile · With coaching
Your lens on a calm day compared with under pressure, the early body signals that show up first, how much pressure you're carrying right now, and a starting plan built with Coach Rob.
Who I help
Teens and young adults
For the ones who shut down, blow up, or freeze, and are tired of hearing "you're better than this."
Parents and families
For the parent who loves their kid and is running out of ideas. We work on the moments that keep turning into fights.
Athletes
For players who perform in practice and tighten up in the game. High school, college, and adult athletes in football, basketball, track and field, softball, baseball, and strength and conditioning.
Coaches and sports programs
For coaches who keep losing the kid who shows up already loaded. See Under Pressure.
People starting over
After treatment, incarceration, or a hard season. For keeping the job, the relationship, and the progress when pressure shows up. See Recovery coaching.
Schools, employers, and organizations
Training for staff and teams, including a five-session series for employers welcoming people from treatment and reentry.
Leaders
For the ones carrying everyone else's pressure, and their own.
How it works
No lectures. No labels. We work on the real moments in your life, one at a time.
- 1
We start with your Pressure Profile
Your lens, when the pressure hits, and what your body does first.
- 2
You choose what you want instead
Not what anyone else wants for you. What you want.
- 3
You practice it
A simple body-based skill you can use anywhere, even in the middle of the moment.
- 4
You use it in real life
At school, at home, on the field, at work.
- 5
We look at what you noticed
Every rep teaches you something. That's how it sticks.
For coaches and programs: Under Pressure
Under Pressure: The Stage 0 Coaching System trains coaches, athletic directors, and sports programs to work with the athlete who arrives already loaded.
Most coaches only see the moment. Under Pressure teaches you to see the weight.
Peer stress, home, sleep, social media. Many kids walk into practice half-activated before anything even happens. Then one correction sets them off, or shuts them down.
Preseason coach workshop
How pressure builds before the game, what it looks like on your roster, and what to say and do instead.
Season-long program support
Ongoing consulting for staff as real situations come up.
Team sessions
Teach the whole roster how pressure works, plus a simple reset coaches can cue from the sideline or in a timeout.
Recovery coaching
Recovery takes more than knowing what not to do. It takes holding steady in the moments that used to pull you back. As a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS), I walk alongside people in recovery, and the families supporting them, through those moments.
Relapse rarely starts with a decision. It starts with pressure.
A hard conversation. A bad day at work. An old number lighting up your phone. The same skill I teach athletes, catching the first body signal and holding the moment, can protect a recovery.
One-on-one recovery coaching
Peer support for people in recovery or thinking about it: setting goals, planning for the high-pressure moments, and connecting to the right resources.
Support for families
For parents, partners, and loved ones learning how to help without carrying it all themselves.
Life after treatment
For the first months home or back at work, when the structure ends and real life starts.
Recovery coaching is peer support, not treatment. It works alongside counseling, medical care, and recovery programs, never in place of them. If you need treatment, I'll help you find it. If you're in crisis, call or text 988.
The book
Hold the Moment: A Step-by-Step Guide to Developing Resilience, Overcoming Pressure, and Maximizing Performance Control
The full method behind my work, written for the people who help others through pressure: coaches, counselors, teachers, supervisors, and leaders. It walks through how the pressure response works and how to train a better one, step by step.
Available on Amazon. Published April 2026.
Hey, I'm Coach Rob
My name is James W. Robertson, II, but just about everyone calls me Coach Rob. I grew up in Washington, D.C., served in the Army, and I've called Rochester home for more than twenty years.
I started out coaching track and mentoring young people, and I kept seeing the same thing: talented kids who knew exactly what to do and couldn't do it when it counted. I've spent my career since then in schools, sports programs, and recovery programs, figuring out why, and how to help.
That work became a method I call the Isometric Cognition Model, and a book, Hold the Moment. I'm also finishing my doctorate studying it, because the people I work with deserve something that's been tested, not just talked about.
- Founder, Coach Rob Motivations and Performance
- Coach: football, basketball, track and field, softball, baseball; strength and conditioning
- Former Associate Director of Recovery; MCB-approved CPRS supervisor
- Former Equity Specialist, Rochester Century High School
- Author, Hold the Moment
Certified graduate life coach. MS, General Psychology; Advanced Degree, Performance Psychology; LSW; CPRS; CTP. Doctoral researcher, Grand Canyon University.
"Purpose isn't something that you find. Purpose is something you apply."
Coach Rob
"My goal is to work myself out of a job."
Coach Rob
Questions people ask
Is this therapy?
No. This is mental performance coaching. It works alongside counseling or treatment, never instead of it. If you or your child needs clinical care, I'll help you find it.
What's the difference between the free and full Pressure Profile?
The free Quick Read shows your primary and secondary lens and the domain you lean toward. The Full Profile comes with coaching. It adds how you show up on a calm day versus under pressure, your early body signals, how much pressure you're carrying right now, and a starting plan. Neither one is a diagnosis; they're a starting place for the work.
Which sports do you work with?
Football, basketball, track and field, softball, baseball, and strength and conditioning, plus athletes from other sports. The pressure works the same way; the moments just look different.
My teen doesn't want help. Does that matter?
It's normal. Most teens don't want to be "fixed." That's not what this is. We start with what they care about, and they decide what they want to work on.
Do you work with schools, teams, and businesses?
Yes. Coaches and sports programs can bring in Under Pressure: The Stage 0 Coaching System. I also train staff and teams, including a session series for employers welcoming people from treatment and reentry.
How do I get started?
Send a message or call. We'll talk about what's going on and whether I'm the right fit for you.