The Champion Forward Training System

The Ultimate Resource for Athletes, Parents, & Coaches to Thrive in the Game & Beyond

Champion Forward gives you proven tools to experience sports in a mentally and emotionally healthy way, creating awareness, balance, and connection that last a lifetime.

Founded by World Series MVP Ben Zobrist

Trusted by teams, schools, and families

Transforming the sports experience

Young athletes today face more pressure than ever.

Year-round seasons. Packed schedules. TikTok highlight reels. Balancing school, sports, and friends.

It’s no surprise burnout is one of the top reasons talented athletes quit, even when they love the game.

Players learn how to train their bodies, but not how to navigate emotions, identity, expectations, failure, and fame.

There's a massive gap on the mental and emotional side, costing everyone:

• Athletes lose confidence, struggle with pressure, or quit the game.

• Parents feel helpless watching their kids struggle, unsure how to help.

• Coaches see teams fracture under pressure, with no roadmap to build a healthy culture.

“Mental health” gets talked about, but rarely is there accessibility to daily tools families and teams can use to positively impact mental health.

That’s where the Champion Forward Training System comes in.

This program is the missing link every parent, team, and organization needs to turn sports into a foundation for lifelong confidence and resilience .

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Champion Forward has been a low-effort, high-impact investment for our organization and kids. The way we coach, connect, and care for our players has completely transformed. We now have tools to support the emotional and mental health of our athletes, parents, and program.

— Sean L., Parent & 10U Baseball Coach, Nashville, TN

Ben Zobrist

Founded by 2× World Series Champion & MVP Ben Zobrist

When Ben Zobrist stood on the field in 2016, holding the World Series MVP trophy after helping the Chicago Cubs end a 108-year drought, it looked like the pinnacle of success. Millions of fans, a championship parade, private jets… everything an athlete dreams of.

But when the uniform came off, Ben realized something few talk about: success on the field doesn’t automatically bring peace, confidence, or purpose off of it. Beneath the celebrations, he struggled with anxiety, identity, and the question every athlete eventually faces: Who am I beyond the game? That journey inspired Ben to create his non-profit organization, Champion Forward.

Determined to turn the lessons of his career into practical, everyday tools, he set out to transform the way athletes, parents, coaches, and teams approach the game.

The Champion Forward Training System is the result: a movement equipping entire communities with the tools to make sports a training ground for mental and emotional health.

"I believe in a world where athletes compete with confidence without losing who they are, where parents can exhale knowing they have the tools to support their kids, and where sports becomes a system of growth and connection for everyone. When athletes thrive, families, teams, and communities rise together."

- Ben Zobrist

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A Game-Changer for Everyone

Athletes who know how to regulate emotions, reset after mistakes, and stay connected under pressure don’t just feel better—they play with more freedom.

With the Champion Forward Training System, the transformation doesn’t stop with the athlete. It equips parents, coaches, and entire programs to grow together.

Parents

Gain the words and tools to support your kids through wins, losses, and everything in between.

Coaches

Get a clear framework to build trust, confidence, and leadership that last long after the season.

Teams

Build programs known for developing resilient athletes who leave stronger than when they arrived.

“I now have the confidence to coach athletes from a transformational perspective.”

— Ian S., HS Baseball Coach

The Champion Forward Methodology

Our system is built on the Emotional Intelligence concepts of Awareness, Balance, and Connection: the pillars that shape how athletes see themselves, relate to others, and approach the game.

Awareness

Awareness is the starting point. When athletes learn to notice what’s happening inside—thoughts, emotions, and reactions—they can separate their worth from wins and losses. Awareness creates choice and clarity.

Balance

Athletes learn how to respond instead of react, staying steady through the highs of success and the lows of failure. Balance keeps them grounded, focused on growth and well-being, rather than being defined by outcomes.

Connection

Balance opens the door to connection to self, others, and community. Connection creates authenticity. It makes it safe to be who you are and builds trust that strengthens relationships on and off the field.

The Bigger Impact

From these three pillars grows purpose: clarity about who you are and where you’re headed. Purpose fuels ownership, accountability, and vision. Together, Awareness, Balance, and Connection forge inner strength—so athletes stay calm under pressure, resilient in setbacks, and courageous in challenges because they know their worth isn’t tied to the scoreboard.

Get Started Today

“Our baseball community now shares a common language to talk about the emotional side of sports. There are plenty of resources for physical training, but almost nothing for navigating sports in a healthy way. Champion Forward stands in that gap.”

— Tim O., Parent of High School Athletes, Tacoma, WA

WHAT'S INSIDE

What You Get Inside the Champion Forward Training System

Every plan begins with the same foundation: tools that athletes, parents, and coaches can use every day to turn sports into a place of growth, confidence, and connection. From there, the system scales to support teams and organizations.

Game-Changing Video Lessons

Learn directly from World Series MVP Ben Zobrist and Executive Director John Harrison as they break down the building blocks of emotional intelligence in sports. These video lessons make the inner game simple and practical, giving athletes, parents, and coaches tools they can use right away to build confidence, resilience, and connection.

Transformative Tools

These life-changing tools give athletes, parents, and coaches a shared language to make sports a healthier, more connected experience, building skills that carry into every part of life.

  • CHEQ-In: A quick, powerful way to name emotions in real time so athletes can respond with clarity instead of bottling it up.
  • Advantages & Disadvantages: Shows athletes that every emotion has strengths and blind spots, helping them see feelings as fuel, not flaws.
  • Model of Movement: A step-by-step map to process setbacks and keep moving forward with confidence.
  • Famework: Teaches athletes how to stay grounded after wins and recognition. Builds humility, consistency, and balance so success becomes a foundation for growth, not pressure.
  • Pulse-CHEQ: A simple check-in to track growth in awareness, balance, and connection. Makes progress visible and creates clarity on where to focus next.

Everyday Integration Resources

  • Bag Tags & Wristbands: Physical reminders that make it easy for athletes to pause, reflect, and apply the tools in real time.
  • Worksheets & Guides: Action sheets that turn each lesson into real-life practice, making growth immediate and lasting.

Choose the Level That Fits Your Staff, Team, or Organization

Coach

  • 20 logins for your coaches & staff to grow as leaders
  • Access to all video lessons, tools, and integration resources
  • Bag tags & wristbands for real-time cheq-ins

Team

Everything in the Coach plan, plus:

  • Team Access: Up to 100 logins so every athlete, parent, and coach has access to the full curriculum and tools — no one is left out
  • Live Coach Training: One powerful 60-minute virtual session where your coaches, parents and athletes gain a clear roadmap to implement the system
  • Branded Partner Recognition: Use the Champion Forward logo as a public commitment to emotional health in sports
  • Custom Branded Portal: A dedicated hub with your program’s branding, so athletes, coaches, and families access the tools in a space that feels like their own

Organization

Everything in the Team plan, plus:

  • Train-the-Trainer Support: Champion Forward equips key leaders to deliver the methodology inside your organization, so the system scales seamlessly
  • Impact Surveys & Reporting: Get measurable insights into how your program is growing season by season, backed by real data
  • Launch Webinar with Ben Zobrist: An exclusive kickoff experience with Ben and the Champion Forward team

One Proven System. 

Three Levels of Impact.

“This has been the best training I’ve ever had.”

— Mike K., High School Athletic Director & Football Coach, Bourbonnais, IL

GET STARTED

Choose Your Level. 

Change Your Culture.

Coach

Equip Your Staff

$2,500 / Year

  • 20 logins for your coaches & staff to grow as leaders
  • Full access to all video lessons, tools, & resources
  • 20 bag tags & wristbands for real-time cheq-ins
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Team

Equip Your Team

$5,000 / Year

Everything included in the Coach level, plus…

  • Up to 100 logins for athletes, parents, & coaches
  • 100 bag tags & wristbands for real-time cheq-in’s
  • Live virtual coach training
  • Branded partner recognition
  • Custom branded portal
Get Started

Organization

Equip Your Program

Request a Quote Below

Everything included in the Team level, plus…

  • 100–1,000+ logins across your program
  • 100-1,000+ bag tags & wristbands for real-time cheq-in’s
  • Train-the-Trainer support
  • Impact surveys & reporting
  • Exclusive launch webinar with Ben Zobrist
Connect with Us

All revenue proceeds support the mission of Champion Forward—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to the mental and emotional health of teenage athletes, parents and coaches.

Learn more about Champion Forward here. 

“My priority is providing the support and resources our players need to be successful, on and off the pitch. The knowledge, support, and resources provided by Champion Forward are more tools in our toolbox as a staff to support that mission. Specifically, the Model of Movement and FAMEwork give athletes the resources to work through pressures of being a college athlete that will carry into their future roles as parents and colleagues.”
— Laura L., College Field Hockey Coach
“I wear many hats—athletic director, coach, father of six—and this training has changed my life. Simple tools like CHEQ-Ins and the ABCs have taught me to slow down and really listen. In a world that tells us to speed up, this has been the best training I’ve ever had.”
— Mike K., High School Athletic Director & Football Coach, Bourbonnais, IL
“Champion Forward has been an incredible resource. It’s helped me guide athletes through emotions, failures, and recognition with clarity and confidence. The value goes beyond performance. It’s helped us focus on balance, growth, and well-being.”
— Kristy B., HS Performance Support of Athletes, Temecula, CA
“The teachings of CF have profoundly shaped my life, my sons, and the players I am responsible for by instilling the values of mental toughness, focus, and performance under pressure. We’ve developed a mindset that thrives in high-stakes situations regardless of if we succeed or fail. CF has become a staple in our approach to youth sports and personal growth.”
— Sam O., Parent & 12U Baseball Coach

Sports Are More Than a Game

They're where young people learn life lessons, where families grow stronger together, and where coaches shape the next generation of leaders.

Champion Forward gives you the tools to make that vision real — to build athletes who thrive under pressure, families who feel equipped, and teams who grow in confidence, resilience, and connection.

This is your moment to bring Champion Forward to your family, your team, or your entire organization.

Get Started Today

For Champion Forward Training System Terms & Conditions please click here.