Developing Mentally Strong Footballers

Gary Curneen is currently the Assistant Coach at Racing Louisville FC. He is also the founder of Modern Soccer Coach, the author of the Modern Soccer Coach book series and a podcast host. His goal is to bring in-depth content to soccer and football coaches on topics that really matter in the beautiful game and elite-level sport.
Today I’m joined by Gary Curneen a football or soccer coach, an author and a coach educator who shares with me some great nougats of advice for coaches involved in a range of sports. Gary and I go on to chat about his experiences as a football coach and how important the psychological side of the game is, as well as how effective it is used. We chat about the role of video analysis and sport science in producing confident footballers. How you communicate and what and when you say it as a coach were also things we discussed.
Key Learning Points:
- It’s a really interesting era for coaches because there’s more pressure, more distractions and more information to decipher through.
- Knowing the individual player is vitally important.
- Comparing players in a team is not a good way to build confidence.
- Perfection v effectiveness should be questioned by players and coaches.
Connect with Gary Curneen
Connect with David Charlton
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To Listen to Football or Soccer Podcast Episodes
Podcast Episode Ep27: Natalie Henderson – How to Develop Mental Toughness with Young Footballers
Podcast Episode Ep43: Jamie Forrester – Thriving in Professional Football
Podcast Ep49: How Does Sport Psychology in Elite Football Academies Help – James Maurice
Podcast Ep51: Peter Ramage, Brendan Pearson and Julian Dowe – Why Talking Matters
Podcast Ep64: Edu Rubio – How to Support Young Footballers
Other Football or Soccer Resources
Psychology in Football or Soccer Blogs
Blog 5 Coaching Tips to Develop Mentally Tough Footballers
Blog: Does Your Warm Up Influence How You Perform?
Blog: How To Overcome Self-Doubt When You’re A Goalkeeper
Blog: 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment
Blog Supporting a Professional Footballer during Challenging Times
Click the button below to join The Sports Psychology Hub a Facebook group that David hosts to help ambitious athletes, serious sport coaches, sporting parents, sports psychologists and mental game coaches to support each other.
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Best Wishes
David Charlton
Global Sports Psychologist who is located near Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK and willing to travel Internationally. David also uses online video conferencing software (Zoom, Facetime, WhatsApp) on a regular basis and has clients who he has supported in USA, Canada, South America, UAE, Australian and New Zealand.
Managing Director – Inspiring Sporting Excellence and Founder of The Sports Psychology Hub. With over 10 years experience supporting athletes, coaches, parents and teams to achieve their goals, quickly.
T: +44 7734 697769