Kaci Allen serves as Sports Psychologist and Mental Performance Coach for Oceanside Collegiate Academy Athletics, bringing more than two decades of experience working with professional, collegiate and elite high school athletes and their families.
Known as "Coach Kaci," Allen is a Master Certified Sport Psychology and Mental Performance Coach, Licensed Professional Counselor and former NCAA Division I student-athlete. She is the founder of Catch23 Performance, a Nashville-based practice serving athletes and their families throughout the United States and internationally.
Through Catch23 Performance and her professional work, Allen has worked with athletes across the NFL, MLB, PGA, LPGA, MLS, NHL, NBA, UFC, Team USA and NCAA programs. She is a preferred clinician with the NFL Players Association and Major League Baseball and has taught sport and performance psychology at the university level. Allen also presents nationally on the unique mental health and performance challenges faced by elite athletes and their families.
A South Carolina native, Allen was a standout athlete at Dorman High School, competing as a four-year varsity athlete in volleyball and softball. Her high school accomplishments included All-State and All-Region recognition, Region Player of the Year, North/South All-Star, team captain and MVP honors. She finished her senior softball season with a .562 batting average.
Allen continued her athletic career at Belmont University, where she competed in NCAA Division I softball. An injury that affected her pursuit of an opportunity connected to the 2000 Olympics helped shape her understanding of the psychological demands faced by elite athletes and ultimately influenced the direction of her professional career.
Allen earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She later returned to graduate school to combine her experiences and interests in athletics, performance and mental health, earning a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a focus on Sport and Performance Psychology. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA and highest honors.
Her approach combines mental performance strategies with an understanding of the overall well-being of the athlete. Allen works with athletes to develop the psychological skills associated with optimal performance while also helping them navigate the pressures and challenges that can accompany competitive sports.
As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Allen's clinical background also allows her to address concerns including anxiety, depression, grief and loss, relationships and other mental health issues when appropriate within a counseling relationship.
At Oceanside Collegiate Academy, Allen works with Landshark student-athletes to strengthen the mental side of performance, helping them develop skills in areas such as confidence, focus, resilience, preparation, response to adversity and management of competitive pressure.
Her combination of experience as a Division I athlete, mental performance coach, clinician and educator gives Allen a unique perspective on student-athlete development. Her work at OCA supports the athletic department's commitment to preparing Landsharks not only to perform at their best in competition, but also to develop skills that can help them thrive academically, personally and beyond athletics.
