Dan Mickle’s work sits at the intersection of performance, pressure, and attention.
He has spent more than two decades coaching athletes across youth, high school, collegiate, and professional levels, and what kept showing up was not a lack of effort or ability, but a breakdown in the moment. Athletes knew what to do, they just couldn’t stay connected to it when the pressure rose. That pattern became the foundation for the work he does today.
Dan is the founder of Soul Performance Academy, a mental performance and training organization based in South Central Pennsylvania. Since 2006, he has worked with athletes, teams, and organizations to build systems that help people slow the moment down, reset, and execute when it matters most. His approach is not built on motivation or hype. It is built on clarity, repeatability, and real-time application.
His current doctoral work in Health Sciences focuses on attention, pressure, and performance, with a growing emphasis on how neurodivergent athletes experience and manage competitive environments. That work continues to shape the systems he teaches, bridging research and practical application in a way that athletes can actually use.
Alongside his work in performance psychology, Dan has an extensive background in learning design and technology. He holds graduate degrees in both Sports Psychology and Learning Technologies, and has spent years designing training systems in both athletic and corporate environments. Before transitioning fully into coaching and consulting, he worked in the IT sector for over 20 years, including founding and leading a technology support and training company.
On the court, Dan currently serves as the head women’s volleyball coach at York College of Pennsylvania. He has coached across all levels of the sport, from beginners to professionals, indoors and on the beach. His experience also includes international competition, including his role with USA Volleyball’s ParaBeach program, where the men’s team captured a world championship and the women’s team earned a silver medal.
His coaching career includes over 100 wins at each the NCAA Division III, junior college, and high school levels, and his playing background includes a USA Volleyball Open Beach National Championship, 2x National Sitting Volleyball Champion, and multiple state and national medals. He is a member of the Harrisburg Area Community College Hall of Fame.
Away from coaching and consulting, Dan is a husband, a father of three, and someone who still finds his way back to the beach and the mountains whenever he can. Those early experiences, growing up around competition, movement, and curiosity, continue to shape how he sees performance today.
At its core, his work is simple: help athletes and performers stay connected to who they are and what they do, especially when the moment gets loud.
Education
- Doctor of Health Sciences (candidate) 08/2027
PennWest University – California, PA - Master of Science: Learning Technologies and Media Systems 12/2020
Harrisburg University of Science & Technology – Harrisburg, PA - Master of Science: Performance Psychology 05/2015
California University of Pennsylvania – California, PA - Bachelor of Science: Sports Management 05/2013
California University of Pennsylvania – California, PA - Associate of Arts: General Studies 05/2010
Harrisburg Area Community College – Harrisburg, PA
Honors and Awards
Member of the US Center for Coaching Excellence | Associate member of the American Psychological Association | featured presenter at the annual American Volleyball Coaches Association convention (2012-present) | Presidential Academic Award, California University of Pennsylvania (2015) | Athletic Hall of Fame, Harrisburg Area Community College (2013) | Dean’s List, California University of Pennsylvania (2010-2013) | Robert Lindsay Award Recipient, USA Volleyball (2008) | Mid-Penn Coach of the Year (2005, 2006, 2009, 2012) | Student presenter at the 1990 Apple Computer K-12 Education Forum.
Hobbies and Outside Interest
Certified mental coach | Coaching education cadre member for USA Volleyball | College volleyball coach for over 12 years | former semi-professional beach volleyball player | Paralympic beach volleyball coach |Published author | Podcasting | Blogging | Collecting vinyl records