Mental Performance Coach

The Mental Performance Coach is responsible for enhancing the psychological readiness, resilience, and overall mental well-being of individual players, coaches, and staff within a professional football organization. This role integrates performance psychology, leadership development, and culture-building strategies to help the entire organization perform at its highest level on and off the field. The Mental Performance Coach will be fully embedded in the team environment - attending training sessions, matches, and travel – and works collaboratively across departments (health and performance, coaching staff, operations etc.) to foster a high-performance environment grounded in communication, composure, accountability, and continuous growth.

["[\"Conduct individual and group sessions focusing on confidence building, focus, decision-making under pressure, emotional regulation, and mental resilience.\",\"Develop personalized mental performance plans aligned with each player’s goals, role, and team expectations as part of IDPs.\",\"Support players in navigating challenges such as return to play following injury, performance dips, transitions, and career stressors.\",\"Design and deliver mental skills training using evidence-based techniques such as visualization, mindfulness, and game-day preparation.\",\"Work closely with medical, performance, and coaching staff to integrate mental performance strategies into holistic IDPs.\",\"Coordinate with licensed mental health professionals to provide referrals and continuity of care.\",\"Maintain player records in line with confidentiality standards and professional body requirements.\",\"Collaborate with the Head Coach and performance team to define and sustain team culture, values, and behavioral standards.\",\"Facilitate team workshops on communication, trust-building, accountability, conflict resolution, and cohesion.\",\"Support leadership development within the player group to strengthen internal leadership structure.\",\"Analyze team dynamics and provide insights to enhance on-field decision-making and collaboration.\",\"Assist in managing team-wide stress levels during high-pressure periods such as playoffs or losing streaks.\",\"Provide coaching, mentorship, and resources to staff on communication, leadership, and performance psychology principles.\",\"Train staff in mental skills strategies for use with players.\",\"Support staff well-being, burnout prevention, and personal growth in collaboration with HR.\",\"Facilitate interdepartmental collaboration and alignment for consistent messaging and support.\",\"Attend training sessions, matches, and travel as an embedded member of the high-performance team.\",\"Communicate regularly with coaching and performance staff to align mental skills programming with tactical and physical performance goals.\",\"Contribute psychological insights into player recruitment, drafting, onboarding, and transition processes.\",\"Provide regular reports to leadership while upholding ethical boundaries and confidentiality.\",\"Serve as an ambassador for mental performance, promoting a supportive and stigma-free environment.\",\"Stay current with sport psychology and mental performance research to inform program design and delivery.\",\"Develop assessment tools and metrics to evaluate the impact of mental performance interventions.\",\"Perform other duties as assigned.\"]"]

["[\"Master's or doctoral degree in Sport Science, Sport Psychology, Neuroscience, or related field.\",\"Minimum 3 years’ experience working with elite athletes either individually or in a team sport setting (collegiate, professional, Olympic, or similar standard in another domain).\",\"Experience with individual coaching and group facilitation.\",\"Ability to work non-traditional hours, including evenings, weekends, holidays, and travel with the team.\"]"]

["[\"Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) preferred.\",\"Other accepted certifications include ISSP-R, USOPC Mental Health Registry, NASM Certified Mental Toughness Coach, HPI Certified Corporate Athlete, or ICPA certification (with documentation of domain-specific training and supervision if non-CMPC).\"]"]

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