Sameer Verma on working with Andreas Pettersson

He's pretty good at the mindset coaching side of things. Screw tactics. What I've learned through Andreas is that 80% of this game is just how you think and how you manage your own mind, and the actual 20% is execution. That 80%, he's probably even better at: making sure that I'm staying calm, that I'm not stressing myself out on scenarios that I shouldn't be stressing myself out about. And even if a scenario is pretty bad, how to navigate that without losing your mind.

He has a lot of grace. He made me take a CliftonStrengths test. My number one is competition, to always measure myself up against people, and he's always like, "Hey, these people are seven years ahead of you. Calm down." Most coaches would be like, "Yeah, man, you should be pissed. Let's go, go, go." He's a lot more realistic. It's like, "Man, chill out." I feel like that eliminates the self-sabotage that can hurt you.