BY LEADERSHIP-NEXT
G Ravindran
“Our athletes need to be mentally tough”, “International competition demands players with a strong mind” etc are comments made with elan. Then you see the perplexed look on the face of our budding champs … “but HOW”?
Senior sportspeople have some advice based on experience. Sports psychology has some solutions. Ravi, however, knows that there is a lot more to it. This comes from decades of developing individuals and teams, working with hi-performers, releasing potential, looking for ‘X’ factors etc. Working with a deep understanding of behavioral sciences meant that the ‘possibilities’ are endless. Add technology, and the energy of yoga and alternate sciences and we now possess a unique path-breaking ‘know-how’ to build lasting mental strength.
With like-minded ‘impact’ professionals adding to the mix, Mind School is a BIG idea that has taken shape. Mind School for sports’ excellence.
Preeti Joseph
A learner, entrepreneur, and passionate experiential educator. She curates, designs and delivers need-based development programs globally. The designs are anchored on ‘challenge by choice’, consciously to make learning safe, personal and impactful.
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Over the last 15 years, her methodology has been to use different mediums like sports, music, and other experiences to drive awareness and hi-performance.
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Empathy, Connecting with people and a partnering approach are her natural strengths. It's the little details that are vital for her. Off-line, she loves to sing, dance and experience new adventures.
JAI BALAN
1 wife, 2 kids, 3 tattoos. Family man and the ‘world is my home’. Travel buff, currently off to explore the world with family .. literally living Peter Senge’s sentence “what else is there”. And that’s the dull part.
The other part of Jai is with over 20 years in developing people, teams and organizations across the country; training, teaching, coaching for performance and unlocking potential.
Obsessed with movies and music, this strong silent type believes he is great fun to be with and around.
Saumya Chandra
Endurance Athlete, Running Form & Mental Toughness Coach, Podcast Host, Sports Enthusiast.
Saumya is the founder of MindfulRunning and trains athletes to run efficiently based on principles of the ancient Chinese martial arts Tai-chi. She combines her qualification and experience as a Human Resources professional, to train for ‘mind body advantage’, moving mindfully as a single unit for peak performance.
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A protagonist for diversity and inclusion through sports, Gurgaon based Saumya lives her belief that the world of sports and endurance makes for a better individual & citizen.
Vineeta Tikekar
A Marathon runner for over 12 years, Vineeta has turned to teaching, training and coaching after over 20 years experience in India and Internationally as a business leader.
As a Coach and Mentor to individuals and teams, she is seen as an insightful, charismatic facilitator who is also fun to be with. As an adjunct faculty to many MBA institutions in India and overseas, she keeps herself abreast with the latest on mental strength, resilience, and leadership.
Ranjit Jose
Ranjit Jose is a Certified Neuro Leadership Coach, who works across lines to unlock the true potential of individuals. He is a Certified Belbin Team Roles facilitator with deep expertise in high performing teams.
Recipient of PM's medal as an All India Best Cadet in 1999, he is a PADI Certified Diver, a certified Marksman from the Singapore Armed Forces Technical Institute, an amateur motorcycle rallyist and an accomplished athlete.
25+ years leading change and transformation, he is adept at identifying and nurturing high-potential talent, focusing on strengths and bringing about behavioral change for a mindset to win & excel.
Rajeev Menon
Rajeev is an avid sportsperson, trekker and hockey player. He lives by ‘Just do it’, which also meant that he had to set up his own Hockey Academy for U-16 players in Chennai.
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Rajeev has studied sports management from CIES / FIFA. Also having worked extensively with technology companies at a global level, Rajeev helps Mind School leverage AI/ML and next technologies to better understand behaviour.
As a senior human-resource professional, he now focuses on hi-performance of sportspersons, by working on behavioral change (habits, attitude) for Mental Fitness and IMPACT.
Kapil Jayant
Sports reflect the unending human spirit for excellence and keeps the world civil and sane. Always keen to learn a new sport, Kapil is a passionate advocate for animal rights & environment. A forever-learner.
Kapil has two decades of experience in developing people. Over the years he has worked with both individuals and teams to enable them sustain hi-performance, and achieve peak potential.
A master facilitator, and Mental Toughness & development coach, he believes that people learn best in a happy, judgement-free environment through experiences which relate to their personal lives. A Cinephile, he uses movies and interactive exercises as mediums to help people find the connection with learning.
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siddarth menon
Sid has a special skill. Give him a single line and he will bring it to life… be it strategy, situation, solution… whatever. A keen observer, quick on the uptake, incisive and insightful, he loves challenges in communication and development. Understands people, what makes them tick, what keeps them going, and unlocking their best gets him going too.
Hands-on Trainer, Coach and Facilitator working across multiple areas such as Decision Making, Communication, Building Accountability, Executive Presence, Business Acumen.
While unlocking individuals and teams for hi-performance, he is breaking new ground working with coaches, teachers, trainers on their learning and development.
KUSUM RAVINDRANATH
A passionate coach, writer, and life-long learner who works with individuals who are developing new elements and need structured support. Kusum draws on her own decade of experience working across the spectrum - grassroots to top echelon positions.
Her coaching approach is warm and empathetic, made interesting by her interdisciplinary professional background (empowerment, writing, podcasting), and a bias towards action as a form of reflection. She gets people to not just survive but fully thrive in their professional lives, closely linking their individual well-being as well as their place in society.
SAMYUKTA IYER
Samyukta – the Sanskrit term for "unifier". Her journey is finding light in the tiniest cracks. Two decades with high-performing professionals, transforming insights into goldmine campaigns, her mantra is curiosity leading to simplicity.
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Through classical music, fiction, or coaching, she peels back layers to reveal the ‘simple truth’. Samyukta travels - mentally through books, physically to exotic lands, and spiritually to holy sanctums. She loves what John Lennon famously crooned, "I may be a dreamer, but I am not the only one". And that gets her to unify by reducing the complex and finding the ‘simple’
Dr. ANIRUDDHA ARYA
Dr. Aniruddha Arya, Ph.D scholar in Faculty of Sports and Exercise, with a background in Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences (B.N.Y.S.) from S-VYASA and a Master’s in Musculoskeletal Sports Science and Health from Loughborough, UK. He has experience with elite para-athletes in wheelchair rugby, tennis, and basketball, conducting performance analyses with a focus on injury prevention.
He has been a research & teaching faculty in Psychophysiology and been involved in international conferences on integrative sports medicine and sports science. He has facilitated partnerships with sports organizations like Vijayi Bharat Sports Academy, The Sports School, and conducted sports-specific sessions for institutions like the Army Sports Institute, Army Rowing Node, the Indian Paralympic Committee apart from private sports' academies.
His research interests include developing sport-specific yoga and complementary medicine protocols for recovery, injury rehabilitation, and performance enhancement. He has experience with biofeedback systems and data acquisition software.
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Through his academic and professional engagements, Dr. Arya aims to bridge traditional yogic practices and modern sports science to support athlete well-being and peak-performance.
Contact
Get in touch to know how you too can strive to achieve Excellence in Sports & Games (individuals and teams)