Blackburn provides one-on-one mentoring for the athletes and performers that agencies and managers represent: one dedicated mentor who helps the client with routine, goals, money habits, fitness and life after a career, by video anywhere in the United States or in person in Los Angeles. The client chooses to take part, controls what is shared, and your role stays exactly the same.
Who this is for
- Sports agencies and player development staff supporting rookies, young professionals or athletes nearing retirement.
- Talent managers whose actors, musicians or creators need structure between projects; see mentoring and coaching for actors and creatives.
- Business managers and family advisers around a client who would benefit from weekly follow-through.
It is not a fit for performance training, sports psychology, contract work, representation or crisis care. Mentors are not therapists. If a client’s mental health is a concern, a licensed professional is the right step. In a crisis, call or text 988.
How a mentor supports a client off the field or off set
- Daily structure: sleep, training, meals and a schedule that holds up on the road, in the off-season or between projects.
- Life skills for a young professional: budgeting habits, a first lease, managing time and obligations. Mentors do not give financial advice.
- Goals outside the job: education, a side interest, relationships.
- Planning for after: exploring a next career quietly; see retiring from pro sports.
- Follow-through on plans set by the client’s other professionals.
Week to week, the client and mentor set goals and break them into steps, with 30 or 60 minute sessions weekly or several times a week and text and phone contact between sessions, on a weekly or monthly plan.
Who engages and who gets updates
- An agent, manager or family member introduces Blackburn, or the client contacts us directly.
- The client completes the five-minute assessment at get started and has a free intro call.
- The client decides whether to go ahead and sets the goals with the mentor.
- The client decides who receives updates and what they cover. Some choose brief progress notes to a manager; others keep everything private.
Who pays is agreed openly before anything starts. We do not publish prices; rates are reviewed on the intro call.
How confidentiality is handled
- Sessions are private between client and mentor.
- Nothing goes to an agency, manager, team or family without the client’s permission, and the client can change that at any time.
- Agreed updates focus on engagement and progress, not personal details.
- Mentors do not talk to media or post about clients.
- If a safety concern comes up, the mentor points the client to the right professional or emergency help.
Mentoring that travels by video
Camps, road trips, shoots and tours do not have to break the routine. Sessions are by video and scheduled in the client’s local time zone anywhere in the US, with text check-ins on the road. Clients in Los Angeles can also meet in person. See how video mentoring works.
How this differs from what clients may already have
- League and union programs are valuable but often group-based or occasional. Mentoring is one on one and weekly.
- Sports psychologists and therapists handle clinical and performance work. A mentor coordinates with them only with the client’s permission.
- Life skills workshops are usually one-time events. Mentoring is ongoing with the same person.
- One consistent mentor. Our team matches the client with one mentor who stays with them.
Mentoring works best as a complement to what your clients already have. It fills the space between appointments, events and seasons, where good intentions tend to slip.
Questions to ask any provider
- Will the client work with the same mentor every week?
- How is consent for updates recorded and changed?
- What do mentors not do?
- How do they coordinate with professionals already involved?
- Can sessions continue during travel?
For other referral settings, see for professionals and athlete transition mentoring.
Related
- Athlete transition mentoring
- For professionals
- Mentoring for student athletes
- Retiring from pro sports
Common questions
Can an agency sponsor a client’s mentoring?
Payment arrangements are agreed openly before starting. Either way, the client chooses whether to take part and what is shared.
Will you report to us?
Only what the client agrees to share, and the client can change that at any time.
Do you work with performers as well as athletes?
Yes. Actors, musicians and creators use mentoring for structure between projects, by video or in person in Los Angeles.
Do mentors give career or business advice?
No. Representation, contracts and business decisions stay with you. The mentor focuses on routine, goals and follow-through.
Get started
Want to talk about how mentoring could support a client? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.