In August 2024, I was approached by the Slovak Futsal Association to join the women’s national team coaching staff as a mental coach in preparation for the FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup 2026 qualification tournament in Sweden. The timeline was extremely tight, with only six days of preparation before the tournament began.
Right before the start of the Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar, we had a unique opportunity – to work with the Kyrgyz men’s national football team during the final stage of their preparation.
The mental side of the game, players’ mindset under pressure, and overall team dynamics play a crucial role at this level – especially for a nation that has never experienced this kind of mental coaching before.
I’ve always been ambitious and want to be successful. I believe in my vision and my style of play. However, I’m not always successful in conveying information to the players, and my fiery nature has scared a few in the past.
In my coaching career, meeting a mental coach was a pivotal moment for my professional growth. I desperately needed to manage my emotions and learn to communicate more effectively with players.
John Doe (athlete’s anonymity) was a young hockey player who struggled to transfer his performance from training to games. He worked hard on himself, but during matches, nervousness and uncertainty led to inconsistent performance. Sometimes he was way down, other times way up. But these were just glimpses of the form he envisioned for himself as a result of his training efforts.
I was stuck in a rough patch, not being able to lock down a spot in the starting 11 and bouncing around different clubs on loan. After three years of this, I was beyond frustrated. My old mental coach focused too much on technical stuff, like scoring, and ignored the bigger picture. This made me obsess over things I couldn’t control, and my confidence and market value took a hit.
I’ve registered the Headformers team for quite some time. Our cooperation started a few months ago.
My dream job that I always had in my head was working with athletes. Up until now, I have also worked and still work as a general psychologist. However, I have always been much more fascinated by the collaboration between the head and the body in the sports field.
Want to elevate your game? Dive into your mental strengths and uncover the secret to outperforming the competition. Complete your personalized mental profile and start mastering your mind like a pro—because true champions train both body and mind!
When an athlete has a physical injury, they rest and do everything in their power to heal
and recover so they can compete at their highest level.
The stigma surrounding mental health stops many athletes from taking this same
approach when they’re feeling mentally unwell.
That’s because stigma can cause athletes who are struggling mentally to experience
shame. Take for example one of our clients (let’s call him Tim).
