About — FLOW Mental Performance

welcome, friend.

Let’s turn the setback into the comeback.

I’m Cristina - a mental performance coach, sport specialist chiropractor, and ex-varsity-soccer-player-turned Crossfitter.

During my competitive playing days, I had my fair share of mental struggles.

I got injured in second year of university - and had an intense fear of re-injury that left me lacking confidence when I was finally able to get back on the field.
I spent almost the entirety of my first varsity season on the sidelines - not even on the bench, but IN THE STANDS - and only got about 20 minutes of playing time as a rookie. I was thiiiis close🤏 to quitting the team.
I worked my butt off in training and in the gym and was faster and stronger than ever before - and still struggled to focus in high-stakes games, missing simple passes and tackles.
I choked under the pressure of sudden death penalty kicks in the bronze medal game - and missed the net, resulting in the end of our season and my varsity career.
I struggled to balance my responsibilities at soccer, school, part-time jobs, and relationships with friends and family.

While I was working hard in training on my technical skills and physical ability, what I didn’t know was that it was equally as important to

train the mental side of my game.

(…but more on this later.)

After I finished my undergrad degree in Kinesiology at McMaster, I decided to become a sports chiropractor because

I loved human anatomy and biomechanics, and could rattle off any muscle of the body including its attachment points, action, and nerve supply.
I absolutely LOVED watching people compete at the top of their game and I LIVED for the magical moments in sport. Like when Sidney Crosby scored the game winning goal for Canada in the 2010 Olympics… chills.
I loved helping people.
As a youth soccer player, my chiropractor was the one who helped me heal from (what we thought was) a season-ending injury to be able to play in the Ontario Cup championship game.

I wanted to do that for someone, too.

Four years of school later, when I started treating athletes in practice during my sports specialist training, I realized something.

After sustaining an injury, it was really hard for some athletes to get back on the field.

And it wasn’t their physical capability. Even after a rigorous rehabilitation regimen, strength testing that indicated they were strong enough to return, and even practicing with the team - some athletes still struggled to get back.

After weeks or months off from training and competition, they were fearful and lacked confidence to return to sport.

They didn’t trust their knee/shoulder/head/insert-injured-body-part-here to do what they wanted it to do.

And the scientific research supports this. One of the biggest predictors of return to play after an injury is psychological readiness. That’s just a fancy way of saying that even though athletes are physically ready, they are not MENTALLY ready to return to their sport after an injury.

That’s when I applied to do my Masters in applied sports psychology. So I could help my athletes return to their sport both physically AND mentally ready. So I could help athletes who struggle with the same things I did as an athlete.

Along the way, I learned about how to leverage mental skills and strategies not just for injury rehab, but for performance as well.

Most of the professional and elite athletes I work with - they use mental performance strategies in their training and competition too.

… I believe in them so much that I use them in my training as a (wannabe) Crossfit athlete too 🙂

That’s why I started FLOW Mental Performance

For athletes who are newly injured and struggling with fear, uncertainty, and overwhelm of getting through the rehab process.
For athletes who are physically ready to return to their sport but not mentally ready to step back on the field.
For athletes who choke under the pressure of big games or big moments.
For teams struggling with identity and cohesion on the field and not playing to their potential.

… and here’s how we can help

COACHING

COURSES

WORKSHOPS

I’ll save you the full CV…

If you’ve made it this far and you still want to know what makes me “qualified” to do this… here is my formal educational background:

Bachelor of Science Kinesiology | McMaster University | 2013

Doctor of Chiropractic | Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College | 2017

Master of Human Kinetics | University of Ottawa | 2018

Fellow & Sports Specialist Chiropractor | Royal College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences (Canada) | 2022

Teams, organizations, and athletes I’ve worked with:

12 things you likely don’t know about me…

I always chose #12 as my jersey number in honour of the goat, Christine Sinclair.
I have travelled to 21 different countries... and counting. This is me jumping off a gondola in Switzerland.
I have both my Canadian and Italian citizenship. All four of my grandparents were born in northern Italy. This is my Nonno Paolo’s hometown in Trentino Alto Adige.
My favourite thing to do on a rainy day is a 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
I have lived in five different cities in Ontario, Canada - Hamilton, Windsor, Vaughan, Toronto, and Ottawa.
I played flag football for four years. My main position was defensive end. #bullrush
I believe no vacation is complete without a hike and a view.
Mountains > beaches, don't @ me.
I have my snowboard instructor certification but have never once formally instructed snowboard lessons.
I am a published academic author.
Here’s the link to my most recent publication.
I am a mama to a human child and a fur child - meet Moose the Yorkie.
I loooove to DIY home projects and know my way around power tools. I have upcycled furniture, built shelves, and painted and painted more. Here is some artwork I made with a few slabs of wood.
I went to a specialized high school program for visual arts. I have always had a creative streak, and most recently, dabbled in custom home portrait illustrations.