Serving Up: Jesse Engelbrecht on Mindset, Resilience, and the “Next Rally Mindset”
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Few figures in modern squash blend experience, empathy, and performance psychology quite like Jesse Engelbrecht. A former world No. 55 turned elite coach, author, and founder of SportMind, Jesse has dedicated his career to helping athletes master the mental game — not just in squash, but across all sports.
In this episode of Serving Up, presented by OLIVER, host Shaun Sullivan dives deep with Jesse on what truly separates the best players: mindset, acceptance, and the ability to respond rather than react.
From battling fear and anxiety on tour to building practical, science-based tools for athletes worldwide, Jesse’s journey is a story of growth, resilience, and redefining success from the inside out.
Shaun Sullivan: Morning, Jesse.
Jesse Engelbrecht: Morning, Shaun. Thanks for having me. Bright, sunny Monday—let’s see what direction we take this in today.
Shaun: Great to have you on. With everything you’re doing on the mental side of sport—not just squash—you’re in a unique position to shed light on what really separates top players. From my experience, the gap between elite athletes and everyone else is mostly between the ears: what they tell themselves, what they practise mentally.
Before we get into that, let’s introduce you for those who don’t know. You were a player first—represented both South Africa and Zimbabwe, right?
Jesse: Semi-complicated story! Born in South Africa, played half my career for Zimbabwe. When the political situation there went bad—we were farmers—we were forced to leave. My family moved back to South Africa, and because I was SA-born, I spent a year unable to represent Zimbabwe, then switched. So, second half of my career was for South Africa.
Shaun: And you reached No. 55 in the world—an incredible level most never get near.
Jesse: I reflect on that a lot. As a junior I made the British Junior Open quarter-finals, playing against James Willstrop, Greg Gaultier, Karim Darwish—really strong generation. That gave me the confidence to go pro.
Reaching 55 felt good, but honestly it also felt like a failure. I believed I had the tools to go higher. I could beat top-10 players one week, then lose to someone ranked 500 the next. It was all mental—fear of failure, anxiety, panic attacks on the way to tournaments. I measured success the wrong way.
Those highs and lows were exhausting: total elation after wins, dark depression after losses. I had no real tools—people just said “focus” or “concentrate.” Looking back, SportMind (originally SquashMind) was me creating the tools I wish I’d had.
Leaving the Tour
Shaun: You retired fairly young—27 or 28. What pushed you to stop?
Jesse: It built up over time. The moment I knew was at the Italian Open in Rome—glass court, shopping centre, 500 yards from the Colosseum. Dream venue. I landed, went straight to the desk, booked the last flight out that night. I played, couldn’t compete mentally, and flew straight back. Everything felt grey and hollow. That was it—ten years on tour, done.
Shaun: What brought you back to squash as a coach instead of walking away completely?
Jesse: I actually did step away for six months. Looked at investing in a restaurant with friends, moving home to South Africa. But I realised my most authentic moments—even as a pro—were when I was helping others. Coaching wasn’t about validation anymore; it became about impact. It felt like a calling.
Turning Pain into Purpose
Shaun: Did that dark period shape your coaching?
Jesse: One-hundred percent. It was the greatest gift I could’ve received as a coach. I started with technique and movement, but the real impact came when we talked about pressure, nerves, flow, closing out games. Sometimes a 45-minute lesson was 30 minutes of talking and 15 of hitting—and those were the sessions that changed players the most.
That evolved into SquashMind, and later SportMind—practical, science-based tools for the mental game.
The “Aha” Moment
Shaun: Was there a specific moment where you realised the mental side was everything?
Jesse: During COVID. I’d studied a master’s in sports psychology but found it very theory-heavy—no tools. So, during lockdown I started sending players 15-minute WhatsApp visualisations: narrating a rally up and down the backhand wall. The brain can’t tell detailed visualisation from reality—it fires the same neural pathways. Players loved it. I uploaded them to SoundCloud, then built a simple app. That became SquashMind. When competition resumed, those players said everything felt familiar—they’d lived it hundreds of times in their minds. That was the turning point.
Working with Top Players
Shaun: When did top players start approaching you? I know both Sobhy sisters speak highly of your work.
Jesse: Amanda was first. We’d recorded a podcast during COVID, and when the tour resumed she reached out. She said, “I’m at my highest ranking—world No. 3—but I’m miserable.” She’d tied happiness to results. We started working together, and I helped her through her second Achilles rupture—she’s now competing at the top again.
Then her sister Sabrina came to me mid-injury, with a wrist problem. We worked through acceptance, recovery, and the transition back to competition. Both journeys were about identifying core values, building an internal scoreboard, and regaining control of what’s controllable—rehab habits, mindset, breathwork, journaling, and visualisation.
Acceptance and Response
Shaun: That idea of focusing on the process reminds me of what Simon Rösner said recently—he only cared if his process was right, not the scoreline.
Jesse: Exactly. Acceptance is not passive. Acceptance doesn’t mean approval—it means choosing not to waste your limited attention on things you can’t control. My strapline is:
We don’t control what happens—we control how we respond.
Top athletes train that response. Between stimulus and response there’s a space—that’s the space we build through practice.
The Diego Elias Example
Shaun: You’ve seen how emotion can derail matches—Diego Elias vs Joel Makin at the Tour Finals springs to mind. If you worked with Diego afterwards, what would that look like?
Jesse: First, respect to the refs—they’re human. But yes, that moment showed the cost of untrained emotional control. I’d start with breathwork (I’m a certified Oxygen Advantage coach). Breath control is emotional control—when you breathe consciously, the amygdala calms.
Then we’d use reframing—seeing things not as happening to you but for you—and negative visualisation: replaying that moment mentally with crowd noise and rising tension, and practising the response using my ABC Loop—
Accept → Breathe → Courageous Action.
Train it hundreds of times so it becomes instinctive.
Simplifying It for Juniors
Shaun: How do you explain that to juniors—or their parents—when emotions run high?
Jesse: The simplest tool: write NRM on the grip—Next Rally Mindset. It’s a cue to reset. Pair that with the story of the two wolves: the angry, destructive one and the calm, problem-solving one. Which wins? The one you feed. Your self-talk feeds the wolf.
And ditch toxic positivity. You don’t need to tell yourself, “Come on, this is great,” at 10-all after two tins. You need action: “Return the serve down the line. Chest up. Aim higher on the drop.” Instructional self-talk over empty optimism.
Simplify, Simplify
Shaun: I love that. I found the same in my own game—when I overthink, everything unravels.
Jesse: Exactly. Simplify. Even Ali Farag does this—when he’s below par, he says, “I try to hit the back wall six times in a row.” Pure basics. See target, hit target.
When I coach, I use floor targets—but I focus on heat maps, not bullseyes. Consistency in an area is more valuable than one perfect shot. Reward repetition, not luck.
The Books
Shaun: Let’s talk about your books. What led you to write The Squash Playbook?
Jesse: Honestly? I was tired of repeating myself! I organised everything I teach into four sections: Scoreboard Pressure, Emotions, Conditions, Opponents. It’s a library of “what ifs”—2–0 up or down, playing a friend, hot or cold courts, fast or slow opponents.
If it would’ve helped younger me, I included it. The feedback’s been humbling—juniors asking me to sign their copies, coaches using it with players. A second edition is coming with a few refinements.
SportMind Daily
Shaun: And now SportMind Daily—tell me about that.
Jesse: It launches in November. One page per day—366 entries, including leap year—each with a quote, reflection, and quick action. It’s about mastering resilience. Each month has a theme: January—Acceptance, February—Action, then Flow, Consistency, Discipline, and so on.
A companion journal follows next year. Journaling anchors everything. It crystallises thoughts, improves sleep, and trains the subconscious. My first 20 minutes each morning: hydrate, breathwork, journal—no phone. Win the morning, win the day.
Comparison, Envy, and Fear of Opinions
Shaun: I love that. You mentioned comparison earlier—“comparison is the thief of joy.” Still true?
Jesse: I tweak it now. Comparison can motivate—“If they can, maybe I can.” Envy is the thief of joy. The real trap is FOPO—Fear Of People’s Opinions. Many athletes aren’t scared of losing; they’re scared of what people will think if they lose. That’s toxic. Re-anchor to your core values and internal scoreboard.
A Junior Example
Shaun: Real scenario: a top junior withdrew from an event because they didn’t like the seedings—they feared losing early. How would you talk to that family?
Jesse: I’d start with perspective: we’re hitting a rubber ball in a box. It’s not life and death—it’s a perfect practice canvas for life. Every “unfair” draw is a sparring partner for resilience.
If they played and won: brilliant, but did they stick to their Ideal Competitive Mindset? If they lost: great data—what can we improve next? Either way, we focus on controllables. Challenges aren’t punishments—they’re sparring partners that expose your growth edges.
Growth Mindset and Legacy
Shaun: That reminds me of juniors playing up age groups—those challenges build character.
Jesse: Exactly. Carol Dweck’s growth mindset—champions aren’t made in comfort zones. Kobe Bryant said it best: “Losing is exciting—it shows where to improve.”
Shaun: And for you—how do you want people to view your work in years to come?
Jesse: As someone always learning—curious, humble, consistent. I don’t claim to know it all, but I try to simplify complexity and give athletes usable tools. My motto: Consistency defeats brilliance. Help people, stay curious, keep growing.
Shaun: I can name a few players at my club you’ve helped already. Thanks for joining me, Jesse—really insightful.
Jesse: My pleasure, Shaun. Great questions—got my energy flowing. Keep building the podcast and spreading these conversations.
A powerful reminder that the gap between good and great isn’t found in technique — it’s in mindset, self-talk, and the ability to handle pressure.
Jesse’s work continues to reshape how athletes think, train, and perform, and his platforms offer invaluable resources for anyone looking to strengthen their mental game.
📚 Find Jesse’s work here:
- 🌐 Website → jengelbrecht.net
- 🧠 SportMind → sportmind.io
- 📖 The Squash Playbook → squashplaybook.com