About Nick
A Coach Who's Been in the Arena
Nick Upstill brings together a background in competitive athletics, sport psychology, and evidence-based coaching to help athletes unlock the mental side of their game.
The Story Behind Nick Upstill
Meet Nick Upstill My journey in athletics has been shaped by perseverance, resilience, and a belief that success is earned long before game day. Growing up in Huntington Beach, California, I played baseball at Huntington Beach High School as an undersized athlete who wasn't the biggest, fastest, or most highly recruited player. I quickly learned that talent alone wasn't enough. Competing against bigger and stronger athletes required me to develop confidence, discipline, mental toughness, and the ability to respond to adversity. Those lessons became the foundation of both my athletic career and my passion for mental performance. I continued my baseball career at San Francisco State University, where years of dedication culminated in a .370 batting average during my senior season. I later transferred to Pepperdine University to pursue a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology while competing at the Division I level. During my time at Pepperdine, I batted .340, earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors, and completed my Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology. Balancing the demands of elite athletics with graduate-level clinical training gave me a unique perspective on the powerful connection between mental health and peak performance. Today, I founded Upstill Mental Performance to help athletes develop the same mental skills that shaped my own journey. By combining evidence-based psychological principles with firsthand experience as a collegiate athlete, my mission is to help athletes build confidence, overcome adversity, strengthen resilience, and perform at their highest level—both in competition and in life.
Credentials & Training
Associate Marriage Family Therapist
As an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, I have received graduate-level clinical training in evidence-based therapeutic approaches, mental health assessment, and counseling. My experience includes working with adolescents, young adults, and families while helping clients build resilience, manage stress and anxiety, strengthen emotional regulation, and develop healthy coping strategies. This clinical foundation allows me to support athletes as both performers and people.
NCAA D1 & D2 Experience
Competing at both the NCAA Division II and Division I levels provided firsthand experience with the mental demands of high-level athletics. From managing performance pressure and adversity to balancing academics with elite competition, I understand the challenges athletes face because I've lived them. My experience allows me to connect with athletes through practical strategies that translate directly to competition.
Masters of Arts in Clinical Psychology
Earning a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University provided advanced training in human behavior, evidence-based interventions, performance psychology, and mental wellness. This education serves as the foundation for helping athletes improve confidence, focus, resilience, and overall mental performance using research-backed techniques.
Understanding of Trials and Tribulations
Every athlete's journey includes challenges that aren't always visible—performance slumps, injuries, self-doubt, pressure to succeed, fear of failure, balancing academics with athletics, and the emotional highs and lows of competition. Having experienced these obstacles throughout my own journey as a collegiate athlete, I understand how demanding sports can be both mentally and emotionally.
The Upstill Philosophy
Mental performance coaching isn't about motivation speeches. It's about building real, repeatable skills.
Evidence-Based
Every technique we use is grounded in sport psychology research — not guesswork, not hype. You'll learn skills that have been tested and proven to work.
Athlete-Centered
Your sport, your goals, your challenges. We don't use a one-size-fits-all approach — every program is built around you.
Practical & Applicable
The skills you develop in sessions are ones you can use immediately — in practice, in competition, and in life beyond sport.
Long-Term Development
We're not here to fix one bad game. We're here to build mental skills that serve you for the rest of your athletic career and beyond.
Sports Nick Works With
Ready to Work Together?
Book a free consultation and find out how mental performance coaching can help you reach your next level.