The BLAZE Framework: Six Pillars to Success
Confidence
Emotional Regulation
Emotional Regulation
Confidence in youth athletes is the belief that they can learn, improve, and handle challenges in sport, even when things feel difficult or new. Within Blaze Mindset Consulting, we help athletes build and sustain confidence by teaching them how to interpret experiences in a more helpful way and apply mental skills consistently, so they can perform with greater trust in themselves now and carry that foundation into future sport and life situations.
Emotional Regulation
Emotional Regulation
Emotional Regulation
Emotional regulation is the ability to first bring awareness to what you are feeling in the moment and then understand how those emotions are influencing your thoughts, actions, and performance. At Blaze Mindset Consulting, we help athletes slow down and recognize their emotional responses without judgment, then individualize strategies that allow them to channel those emotions in a more productive direction, leading to greater control under pressure and more intentional, effective performance over time.
Pressure
Emotional Regulation
Mindfulness
Pressure is the experience of internal and external demands placed on an athlete, and it often comes from both intrinsic expectations (self-imposed goals and standards) and extrinsic sources (coaches, teammates, competition, and environment). Here atBlaze Mindset, we help athletes first identify where their pressure is coming from and reflect on how they relate to it, then develop strategies to reframe and manage it so they can use pressure as a tool for focus and performance rather than something that overwhelms them.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing full awareness to the present moment without judgment, helping athletes stay grounded and focused during competition. At Blaze, we use mindfulness along with tools like breath-work and imagery to help athletes regulate attention, stay composed under pressure, and mentally prepare for competition in a way that supports consistent performance.
Mistake Management
Mistake management is the ability to recognize that mistakes are an inevitable part of sport, while focusing on how an athlete responds to them in the moment. Within Blaze Mindset Consulting, we help athletes shift their mindset from avoiding mistakes to responding to them with awareness, reset skills, and intention, so they can recover quickly and maintain performance rather than letting errors define the outcome.
Mental Toughness
Mental toughness is the ability to stay engaged, composed, and committed in challenging situations, and it often separates good athletes from great ones. Blaze Mindset helps athletes build mental toughness by recognizing what is within their control versus what is not, allowing them to focus their energy on effort, attitude, and response so they can stay gritty, adaptable, and consistent when facing opponents.
About Me
LilyAna Petersen
My name is LilyAna Petersen, and I am the founder of Blaze Mindset Consulting. I am originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota and hold a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Neuroscience from Augustana University and a master’s degree in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
I grew up highly active and competitively involved in soccer and basketball, which ultimately led me to compete in collegiate soccer. Beginning in middle school, I began to experience significant mental challenges in which my performance became closely tied to my self-worth. This dynamic intensified in college and contributed to notable mental health concerns, which ultimately shaped both my personal and professional direction.
These experiences influenced my decision to pursue sport psychology, as I often felt alone in these struggles and wished for a space where I could openly process them with someone who understood performance-related pressures. My goal with Blaze Mindset Consulting is not only to support athletes in enhancing performance, but also to validate their experiences, helping them understand that they can acknowledge and work through difficult thoughts and emotions while still performing at a high level.
In my free time, I enjoy staying active through yoga, walking, running, and other forms of movement. I also teach Cycle classes, which allows me to combine my passion for physical activity with energy, community, and motivation. I value movement as a way to better understand both the body and mind, while continuing to learn and grow through physical challenge. I also enjoy spending time with my family and travel anywhere and everywhere!