Boost Your Self-Confidence and Focus With Expert Mental Game Coaching
Do you perform well in practice, but find yourself under-performing in games? Do you doubt your skills and second-guess yourself under pressure? Do you lose confidence after mistakes? Or are you looking to improve your game by increasing mental toughness? If so, mental training will help you reach your goals in soccer. Many soccer players have the skill but are held back by low confidence and lack of pregame mental preparation! Mental training will give you the mental edge in practice and games.
Do you identify with any of these statements?
- I become so frustrated with myself after mistakes.
- I feel like I lose my confidence when I’m in competition or under pressure.
- I train hard and have the skills, but my mind gets in the way.
- I wish I could play with the same confidence in competition that I have in practice.
- I feel like my performance is tight and cautious or that I try to not make mistakes in competition.
- I want to take my game to the next level and increase my mental toughness.
If the above statements sound familiar or you, then you will benefit from our soccer mental training program. Since 1996, Dr. Patrick Cohn and our team have worked with thousands of soccer players at every level — from youth club athletes to college and professional competitors.
Get the Mental Edge – With Mental Training
- Uncover the mindsets that prevent you from performing your best.
- Master the mental strategies that will help you play with focus and composure.
- Learn how to increase confidence and overcome self-doubt.
- Receive a customized mental game plan based on your individual needs.
Improve Your Mental Game From Anywhere In The World
You can get expert mental coaching with us from anywhere. Meet with us via Zoom, Skype, FaceTime or phone call. With today’s video technology, we are able to connect with athletes and coaches all over the globe.
**Complimentary 15-Minute Coaching Session**
Book a Free 15-Minute Mental Game Assessment Call.
We’ll identify your biggest mental barrier and
give you one strategy to use before your next game.
Call 407-909-1700
Please contact us today to learn how mental coaching works and to request pricing on all mental training programs for soccer players. Complete the form below to contact us via email or call us.
About Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.
Dr. Patrick Cohn is a mental training expert at Peak Performance Sports. Dr. Cohn works with athletes and teams worldwide from a variety of sport backgrounds including soccer players and coaches. As the president and founder of Peak Performance Sports (Orlando, Florida), Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is dedicated to instilling confidence and composure, and teaching effective mental game skills to help athletes, teams and corporate professionals perform at maximum levels.
In addition to working with athletes and teams, Dr. Cohn teaches parents, coaches and athletic trainers how to help soccer players achieve peak performance through mental game skills.
About Jaclyn Ellis, M.S., MGCP
Jaclyn Ellis, M.S., MGCP, is a mental performance coach for Peak Performance Sports. She earned a Master’s degree from Illinois State University. Her passion is working with athletes, coaches and parents to enhance both performance and enjoyment of sports.
She has a background in competitive sports including soccer, volleyball, and tennis. She also performed in advanced show choirs for many years. Additionally, she was a competitive youth head soccer coach in Bloomington, IL.
She has provided mental performance coaching to youth and elite athletes in various sports including soccer. Jaclyn has experience using cognitive programs like NeuroTracker and Eye Matrix to improve an athlete’s eye-tracking movements and cognitive functioning.
About Lane Schwartz, M.S., MGCP
Lane Schwarz is a mental performance coach with a Master of Science in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology from Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he carried a perfect 4.0 GPA. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Allied Health Science from Luther College, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.88 GPA.
Lane is working toward earning his Certified Mental Performance Coach (CMPC) designation through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and is completing the Mental Game Coaching Professional (MGCP) certification, trained directly by Dr. Patrick Cohn of Peak Performance Sports, LLC.
Lane brings hands-on experience working with athletes at every level. Through the Center for Sport and Performance Psychology at Minnesota State, he has worked with individual and group mental performance coaching with high school, collegiate, and ROTC athletes. He has designed sport-specific mental skills programs targeting confidence, focus, competitive readiness, emotional control, and resilience.
About Carolyne Lawley, M.S., MGCP
Carolyne is a mental performance coach for Peak Performance Sports. She earned a Master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of North Texas. She played collegiate basketball and was also a competitive track and field athlete in high school. Following college, she continued her athletic career by playing two years of professional basketball in Europe.
Carolyne has worked with youth, high school, and college soccer players at the D1 level. She is currently completing the requirements to become a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through AASP. She is a certified Mental Game Coaching Professional (MGCP) with Peak Performance Sports, LLC. Coach Carolyne has provided mental performance coaching to collegiate athletes.
Our Soccer Psychology Programs Include:
1. Soccer Mental Aptitude Assessment (SMAP)
Our soccer specific assessment will help you identify what mental game barriers are hurting your performance in soccer.
2. Personalized Mental Game Plan
You will be given a custom game plan based on your specific challenges. The mental game plan will act as a road-map for your mental training sessions. The mental game plan will outline exactly what mental strategies will help your performance.
3. Weekly Coaching Sessions
In person, or by Zoom, FaceTime, or phone call (Four, 45-minute coaching sessions). Each session is designed to teach you how to apply mental strategies for practice and games. You will work directly with one of our coaches and learn how to improve your mindset and performance in soccer.
4. Unlimited email correspondence with our staff
You are welcome to email our staff with any and all questions you have during the course of your mental training program.
5. Soccer Confidence audio and workbook program
After each session, you will receive a workbook specific to the topic discussed that day. You will be able to practice and apply the strategies between sessions.
Improve Your Mental Game From Anywhere In The World
You can get expert mental coaching with us from anywhere. Meet with us via Zoom, Skype, FaceTime or phone call. With today’s video technology, we are able to connect with athletes and coaches all over the globe.
**Complimentary 15-Minute Coaching Session**
Call Us Today to Schedule Your Free 15-Minute Session.
Find Out How You Can Benefit From One-on-One Mental Coaching!
888-742-7225 | 407-909-1700
What Soccer Players Say About Our Coaching
“Doing Much Better Controlling His Emotions”
“The change in Owen has been noticeable to everyone: coaches, teammates, and us as parents. He used to let frustration take over and it would spiral through an entire practice or game. Now he gets over mistakes faster, stays in the game mentally, and competes with a composure we hadn’t seen before. Emotional control was always his biggest obstacle. Mental coaching gave him the tools to manage it in a way we never could on our own.”
~Brandon Bergin – Soccer parent
“A Big Boost to Her Confidence”
“Jenna is doing better with the things she has learned. Her last tournament before vacation went much better. She was able to keep her composure, she played well and sh”Jenna’s confidence used to crumble the moment things got hard. She’d get in her own head and it would affect her whole game. After working with the team at Soccer Psychology Tips, I watched her compete in a tournament where she stayed positive from start to finish. A level of confidence I genuinely hadn’t seen from her in a long time. She ended up coming in first. The mental skills she’s learned have made a real difference.”e remained positive, displayed a level of confidence I have not seen in awhile, and she ended up coming in first. I think that was a big boost to her confidence as well. We do appreciate all your help. I do think that it made a difference.”
~Julie Sandine, Sports Parent
“She was relaxed, did not get frustrated, and never once shut down.”
“Michelle had the best weekend of soccer she has ever played. She was relaxed, composed, and completely present. No frustration with herself, no frustration with teammates, no shutting down when things got difficult. It was a different athlete out there. Mental coaching unlocked something in her that all the technical training never could. I only wish we had started sooner.”
~Diana, Michelle’s Mother
FAQ: Mental Coaching for Soccer Players
Why does my soccer player perform well in practice but struggle in games?
This is the single most common issue soccer parents and athletes reach out about — and it has a clear explanation. Practice and competition place very different psychological demands on a player. In practice there’s no scoreboard, no coach judging every touch, no crowd, and mistakes carry no real consequence. In games, the mental pressure shifts and players often start thinking about outcomes, what others will think, or trying to control their performance instead of just playing. The result is hesitation, tightness, and a performance gap that has nothing to do with skill level. Mental coaching directly targets this gap — giving players the specific tools to compete with the same freedom and confidence they show in training.
What does mental coaching for soccer players actually involve?
At Soccer Psychology Tips, coaching begins with a Soccer Mental Aptitude Assessment (SMAP) — a structured evaluation that identifies each player’s specific mental game strengths and weaknesses. From there, your coach builds a personalized mental game plan targeting the exact challenges holding your athlete back. You then meet weekly with a certified mental performance coach for 45-minute sessions via Zoom, FaceTime, or phone. Between sessions, players work through audio programs and workbooks to practice and reinforce their mental skills. Coaches include a team of certified mental game coaching professionals (MGCPs) with master’s-level training in sport psychology.
What are the most common mental game challenges soccer players face?
The mental challenges we see most often in soccer players include: losing confidence after a missed shot, bad touch, or defensive error; freezing up or hesitating in front of goal; performance anxiety before big matches or tryouts; frustration that snowballs and derails focus mid-game; self-doubt and second-guessing decisions in real time; inconsistency between strong training sessions and weak game performances; and difficulty bouncing back after a bad game or losing streak. These are not signs of a weak mindset — they are learnable mental skills gaps that coaching can close systematically.
At what age should a soccer player start working with a mental performance coach?
There is no minimum age, but most players begin to benefit meaningfully from structured mental coaching around ages 10–12, when competition becomes more serious and the emotional stakes of performance start to rise. For younger players, we often work on fun, simple confidence and focus habits. For high school and college players, coaching goes deeper into pre-game routines, managing recruitment pressure, and performing under elite competition demands. The earlier a player develops a strong mental game, the greater the long-term advantage — mental skills compound across a career just like technical skills do.
Can mental coaching help my soccer player get through a slump or rebuild confidence after a rough stretch?
Yes. This is one of the most direct applications of mental performance coaching. Slumps are almost always driven by mental factors: a player starts pressing, over-analyzing, or playing not to fail instead of playing to compete. Left unaddressed, a confidence slump can become self-reinforcing. A mental performance coach works with the player to identify the mental patterns driving the slump, rebuild proactive confidence that isn’t tied to recent results, and develop a pre-game routine that sets the right mental state before stepping on the field. Most players notice a meaningful shift in mindset within the first three to four sessions.
How is a soccer mental performance coach different from a regular soccer coach?
A soccer coach develops technical and tactical skills — passing, positioning, fitness, game strategy. A mental performance coach develops the psychological skills that determine how well a player executes those technical abilities under pressure. The two roles are completely complementary. Many club and high school coaches recognize the mental side of the game but don’t have the training or time to address it systematically. A mental performance coach fills that gap — giving players a structured, private space to work on confidence, focus, composure, and consistency in a way that directly enhances everything their soccer coach is already teaching them.
Disclaimer
*Testimonials found on this site are examples of what we have done for other clients, and what some of our clients have said about us. However, we cannot guarantee the results in any case. Your results may vary and every situation is different. No compensation was provided for these testimonials.