The Illinois Sport and Performance Institute (ISPI) at ASCEND is Illinois’ premier resource for sport and performance health.

ISPI proudly collaborates with performers and ensembles - ranging from passionate beginners to elite professionals, including Olympic athletes and world-class musicians. We build confidence, empower strength in competition, manage distractions, optimize performance, and help individuals and teams realize unparalleled success.

Our award-winning team values a multi-disciplinary approach to assessment, support and intervention. Our goal is to help each performer optimize success, and restore joy to the performance and competition process.

Strategies and resources for for athletes, instrumentalists, singers, dancers and other performance disciplines, include:

- Understanding past distractions
- Coping with adversity
- Practice strategies
- Navigating challenging coaching dynamics
- Preparing for competition
- Adjusting to team changes or role shifts
- Coping with social media challenges

- Excelling under pressure
- Recovering from injury
- Managing performance anxiety
- Overcoming obstacles
- Navigating the conservatory audition process
- Creating sustainable motivation
- Creating pre-performance and competition routines

What To Expect

With over four-decades of experience the ISPI team is internationally recognized as a leader in sport/performance support. What separates ISPI is the specificity of resources tailored to each individuals instrument/sport, which provides a unparalleled level of support.

At ISPI we help individuals:

  • Define success personally & uniquely

  • Understand the training process as a non-linear journey

  • Recognize that not all competition is fair

  • Find success in both wins and losses

  • Learning from lapses is vital for subsequent success

The ISPI team strongly believes in providing constructive responses to mistakes, setbacks, injury, loss or training disappointments. This focus is a vital component of progress, success and sustained motivation.

Recent Collaborations

ISPI, led by CEO Dr. Jenny Conviser - a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC), PSYPACT-registered psychologist, and proud member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Mental Health Registry—is a trusted training partner for athletes at all levels of competition.

Under Dr. Conviser’s leadership, ISPI has collaborated with some of the world’s premier cultural and sports institutions, including the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, The Joffrey Ballet, the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, Chicago White Sox, and Opernfest Prague.

Contact us to learn more about ISPI’s full spectrum of services.