209 How To Create Better Decision Makers On The Football Pitch

Demystifying Mental Toughness

Mental toughness development is all about helping people deal with pressure better. In general, you’ll see sports psychology practitioners advocate psychological skills training to create better decision makers in this regards. Our toolkit includes visualisation, cognitive restructuring, strategic goal setting, relaxation and sports hypnosis.

In today’s episode however I introduce a relatively new concept, cognitive skills training where Felix Lehmann, a UEFA B Certified Football Coach and co-founder of Cognigoals discusses how our brains can be trained systematically. We discuss 3 main elements to cognitive skills training; authentic two-footedness, game intelligence and creativity. Enjoy tuning in!

Key Learning Points:

• When there's pressure on football players from opponents, with little space or time, players use their strong foot because it feels better, cognitive training seeks to change this.
• We help create new comfort zones for the weak foot with systematic training.
• Game intelligence in football describes the ability to act appropriately and generate optimal solutions in different game situations.
• If a football players cognitive flexibility has improved, as well as their inhibitory control and working memory, they will be able to perceive and process information a lot quicker.
• Self-awareness is critical for players, “as a coach I want football players to be able to observe themselves better.”
• Adaptability is a secret weapon for football players, every game situation is different, so you have to adapt the best that you can. Therefore, cognitive training focuses on this where exercises and patterns that we use change regularly.

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