Psychology

Foundation Certificate in Soccer Psychology & Mental Skills Training

The Certificate in Soccer Psychology & Mental Skills Training introduces you to the knowledge, methods & techniques used by elite clubs to build motivation, focus and confidence while protecting the mental well-being of its players.

Flexible AccessStudy anytime, at your pace
100% OnlineAccess from anywhere
16 hrs learningGuided learning
Internationally accredited & endorsedCPD-certified courseCertificate of AchievementExpert-led · 100% online

This Course Enables You To:

  • The role of psychology
  • Energy management
  • Focus, attention & concentration
  • Player motivation
  • Team cohesion & communication
  • Self-confidence
  • Using imagery
  • Coach self-reflection

Course Details

The difference between great players and average players can often be seen in their mastery of the mental aspect and dealing with adversity.

The Certificate in Soccer Psychology & Mental Skills Training course has been developed by some of the most respected soccer psychologists and mental skills practitioners to help players and coaches develop in the mental aspect of the game.

This course is suitable for:

  • Individuals tasked with the responsibility for the training & coaching both individual players and teams at all levels of the game.
  • Individuals with an interest in developing their knowledge and skills to enable them to coach players and teams at all levels to achieve peak mental performance.
  • Sport psychologists keen to understand more about soccer science & football training.

The course is comprised of the following:

  • 16 study hours
  • Tutor assessed assignment
  • Certificate of Achievement
Who is this course designed for?

This course has been designed for beginner to elite level coaches who want the latest research findings, most efficient training methods for soccer specific psychology and mental skills training.

How long is the course?

This is a 16-hour course providing a deep understanding and best practices that can be applied to your own team environment to maximise performance and protect the mental well-being of your players.

Is my progress logged through the course?

After each lecture there is a short multiple-choice test designed to cement your learning. You can access your test results at anytime through your course progress area.

Can I stop/pause a presentation part way through?

Yes, the course is completely flexible. You can go back to a module at anytime and continue from where you left off.

Can I take the modules in any order?

No. The course follows a set structure that must be studied in numerical order. You can only access the next module once you have completed the previous module test.

Is there a time limit on the course?

Yes. This course has a 6-month access limit. You can access the course 24/7 within this period.

Will I get a certificate to show that I have passed the course?

Yes, you will receive a pass certificate provided you have attained the minimum pass grade of 75%.

If you have any further questions, please Contact Us.

The focus of the course is as follows:
  • Provides latest research findings, most efficient training methods & detailed insights into sport psychology;
  • Maximise the developmental aspects of sports participation & understanding the systemic issues associated with sports settings and organizations.
Official Accreditation By ISSPF

This course is fully accredited by ISSPF & ensures the study hours will contribute to the achievement of a formal accreditation & ISSPF continued professional development.

UEFA Federations

Official Accreditation By Latvian Football Federation (UEFA)

The Latvian Football Federation (LFF) fully accredits ISSPF online courses. Completion of these courses contributes to formal LFF accreditation and professional development. ISSPF courses are also recognized for UEFA PRO to C course revalidation and Professional Diploma refreshment.

Official Accreditation By Slovenian FA (NSZ) (UEFA)

The Slovenian FA (NSZ) fully accredits ISSPF online courses. Completion of these courses contributes to formal NSZ accreditation and professional development. ISSPF courses are also recognized for UEFA PRO to C course revalidation and Professional Diploma refreshment.

Official Accreditation By Iceland FA (KSI) (UEFA)

The Iceland FA (KSI) fully accredits ISSPF online courses. Completion of these courses contributes to formal KSI accreditation and professional development. ISSPF courses are also recognized for UEFA PRO to C course revalidation and Professional Diploma refreshment.

Official Accreditation By Lithuanian Football Federation (UEFA)

The Lithuania FF (LFF) fully accredits ISSPF online courses. Completion of these courses contributes to formal LFF accreditation and professional development. ISSPF courses are also recognized for UEFA PRO to C course revalidation and Professional Diploma refreshment.

CONCACAF Federation

Accredited by British Virgin Islands Football Association (BVIFA), CONCACAF

This online course holds full accreditation from the BVIFA, guaranteeing that study hours count toward formal accreditation and BVIFA's professional development. Additionally, it's accepted for BVIFA-CONCACAF course revalidation.

Official Course Endorsement

Endorsed By Scottish Football Association (SFA)

This course has been endorsed by the SFA as part of the revalidation process.

Endorsed By Bournemouth University (BU)

This course is fully endorsed by the Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, England, UK.

Endorsed By East Tennessee State University (ETSU)

This course is fully endorsed by the ETSU, Tennessee, USA.

Endorsed By Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)

This course is fully endorsed by the UiTM, Malaysia.

Endorsed By Wrexham University

This course is fully endorsed by the Wrexham University, Wrexham, Wales, UK.

Official Course Endorsement By Estonia Football Association (UEFA)

The Estonia FA (EJL) endorses ISSPF online courses. Completion of these courses contributes to professional development. ISSPF courses can be used for UEFA PRO to C course revalidation and Professional Diploma refreshment.

Official Accreditation By Football Association of Finland (UEFA)

The FA of Finland (FAF) accredits ISSPF online courses as part of their UEFA coaching program & course revalidation. Completion of these courses contributes to formal FAF accreditation refreshment and professional development.

Course Modules

01Introduction to Soccer Psychology

Delivered by Dr Alena Grushko

In this lecture you’ll increase your knowledge about the general sports psychology world. How performance enhancement processes are applied in sports psychology. In the context of soccer you’ll discover mental skills training and social skills training, perceptual-cognitive training and some further instrumental methods.

02Energy Management in the Game

Delivered by Ricardo Pires

With the highs and lows experienced during the season and indeed each game, energy management is key. In this lecture, you’ll discover the concepts of arousal, anxiety and stress. Each of these concepts differ from each other and it’s important that you can identify them. You’ll learn what are the potential sources of stress and anxiety and the four stage of the stress process. Performance in your players requires a level of arousal and anxiety… you’ll learn some practical ways of applying these factors in your sessions.

03Improving Focus, Attention and Concentration in Soccer

Delivered by Omer Ates

Lapses of concentration lead to mistakes on the field, some end up as game changers. In this lecture Omer Ates explains what the various types of attentional focus are, what can be some of the psychological distractors which effect players. But crucially, you’ll discover techniques to improve your players concentration thus minimising and even avoiding those costly lapses.

04Player Motivation: Goal Setting in Soccer

Delivered by Sarah Murray

An extremely practical lecture, Sarah will guide you through the three stages of player motivation, exploring what goal setting is, why does goal setting work and it’s impact at an individual level and how you can practically implement SMART goal setting in your team environment. Specifically in this lecture, you’ll learn about multiple goal setting strategies, how to structure goals with context, how to measure and review goals and crucially how you can support your players through this process.

05Team Cohesion & Communication

Delivered by Ricardo Pires

In the lecture, you will examine what is cohesion and how you identify the different dimensions of cohesion. Team cohesion is multi faceted, so in this lecture we’ll explore together a model of cohesion and also the correlational factors and outcomes. Watch a successful team in full flight and you can see these factors and outcomes in real life, however, in this lecture, you’ll understand the dynamics between cohesion and performance and how you can develop cohesion in your squad. One key skill in developing this is excellent communication skills which is another topic within this lecture.

06Developing Self Confidence in Soccer, Training & Match Interventions

Delivered by Sion Rowlands

Self belief is key to player and team success, but it’s not just something that is turned on and off in the competitive environment. In this lecture, Sion explores with you what is self confidence and it’s an important factor in your players performances. You can have a massive impact both positively and negatively on a players self confidence, so it’s vital that you know what an intervention is and how to use them to get the most out of your players.

07Imagery as a Mental Skills Intervention

Delivered by Omer Ates

In an earlier lecture Omer looked at Focus, Attention and Concentration, in this lecture you’ll explore the specific skill of using imagery. You may have heard the saying by Napoleon Hill “Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve.” To fully execute this you need to understand how imagery works, what factors can affect its effectiveness and why imagery has can have a positive or negative impact on performance. Practically at the end of this lecture you’ll be able to create an imagery script with your players and squad.

08Coach & Player Self Reflection

Delivered by Thomas Pratl

Soccer management can be a very rewarding and brutal environment. Having the ability to let go of mistakes and poor decisions as a coach while also reflecting on what you could change is important. Likewise, maintaining confidence in the face of adversity is a vital component of a coach and managers makeup. You are the leader of a wider group and how you cope and manage these various situations impacts on all around you. In this lecture, you’ll discover a better understanding of self reflection, what strategies you can implement and how they can affect your coaching behaviour.

Only$259Buy now

What you get with your enrolment:

  • 16-Hours Soccer Psychology Training
  • Tutor Assessed Assignments
  • Certificate of Achievement
  • 30 day money-back guarantee

Frequently asked questions

Who is this Soccer Psychology & Mental Skills course for?
  • Individuals tasked with the responsibility for the training & coaching aspects of both individual players and teams
  • Individuals with an interest in developing their knowledge in the preparation, training & development of individual soccer players and teams
  • Sport psychologists keen to understand more about soccer science & football training.
Is this course suitable for me?

Need info

Why is this Soccer Psychology & Mental Skills course important?

Need info

What skills will I improve if I take this Soccer Psychology & Mental Skills course?
  • Understanding the key components of what drives coaches, players, & athletes to succeed is of paramount importance
  • Developing strategies in order to prepare individuals for both training & competitive games from a psychological perspective is of great benefit to coaches & practitioners
  • Coaches & performance practitioners can make huge advances in this under-applied area of coaching & sport science
  • This course is developed specifically to enhance the coaching & performance process
  • All practitioners & coaches can only benefit themselves & their players even further by having a more in-depth knowledge of applied psychology & mental skills training development
  • May help us to maximise our decision making through a better understanding & appreciation of psychological & mental skill principles
How will this course help me?

Need info

How can this course assist me to progress?

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Reviews from professional coaches

Steve McClaren
Steve McClarenManchester Utd
"This is by far the most innovative style of learning that I've seen in this digital era. The breadth of topics covered, combined with the level of detail and insights makes this a must learning environment for any coach who is working or wants to get into the game and progress to the highest levels."

Manchester Utd, Middlesborough, FC Twente, Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest, Derby County, England

Ringo Wu
Ringo WuAFC ‘B’ Coaching Certificate
ISSPF have managed to provide our soccer coaching staff within our college team with a 1st class opportunity to learn & apply some key performance coaching aspects. The opportunity to personally develop & track the staff’s progress through their assisted e-learning process is very impressive. I highly recommend the content as a must for all individuals tasked with the development of soccer players across all levels of the game."

Head of Physical Education & Sport, Nanwai Kings College Soccer Team, Jinkai District, Jiangsu, China

Kari Ukkonen
Kari UkkonenUEFA Professional License
Working with ISSPF as an educational partner has allowed us here at the Football Association the chance to provide CPD and continue to educate our coaches across a wide range of learning levels from our UEFA foundation levels through our UEFA Professional Licence. Offering our candidates, the chance to use both the ISSPF platform & specific soccer courses, is a huge advantage to us as an education provided within the game

Head of Coach Education, Football Association of Finland, UEFA, Helsinki, Finland

Vin Blaine
Vin BlaineCONCACAF
An experienced director with a demonstrated history of working in the soccer industry & having developed across a range of sports psychology, match analysis, player development, and sports management – I feel the opportunity to integrate the e-learning facility available from ISSPF into as a federation, club or individual self-development level is of huge benefit. As a FIFA & CONCACAF Instructor & Director of Football I have rarely seen an educational tool as good as this to positively influence individuals across a range of key soccer topics.
Leo Lucas da Silva
Leo Lucas da SilvaLevel-2 License
Using the ISSPF learning facility has opened my eyes to the detail and incredible knowledge provided from an elite faculty of elite coach developers and soccer science educators. As an individual who continually wants to progress my coaching pathway, I think this might be the best solution to increase my awareness of all elements of the game. The large amount of content and lectures available has already, and will continue to improve me. Gaining the Foundation Certificate in Soccer Science & Performance was extremely to me.

Youth Academy Coach, Botafogo de Futebol, Brazil

Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex FergusonManchester United
Sports science, without question is the biggest, most important change in my lifetime. It has moved the game onto another level that maybe we never dreamt of all those years ago. Sports science has brought a whole new dimension to the game.

Aberdeen, Manchester United

Oriol Gonzales
Oriol GonzalesUEFA Professional License
Living abroad to work as a soccer coach has its difficulties in terms of coach education provision due to travel and time commitments. Being able to access the ISSPF platform has allowed me not only to maximise my spare time from a self-development perspective, but we have also been able to gain certifications & qualifications as a club across all elements of the game. From our senior squad staff to the academy staff, ISSPF is a fundamental education tool for our club development strategy.”

Head Coach & Technical Director, Angkor Tigers FC, Asian Champions League, Cambodian Superleague, Cambodia

Jingze Quan
Jingze QuanAFC ‘B’ Coaching Certificate
Being able to develop the coaching staff throughout the club here in Eagles River FC is a large part of my role within the club. Having come across ISSPF and now using the e-learning platform for our English-speaking Chinese coaching, and medical staff we have been able to improve our focus and upgrade some key elements within the organisation. As a large grassroots club here within the province, we feel using ISSPF as an educational partnership is of huge benefit”

Director of Youth Development Coaching, Eagles River FC, Yanbian, Jilin, China

Woody Jacobs
Woody JacobsSAFA Level 1 Diploma
Working as both Assistant Manager with elite players of our national team, I have been able to directly take a lot of content and thought provoking ideas from the content on view within ISSPF and use them to the benefit of our national players. Furthermore, I am delighted to say that we are now integrating the ISSPF online courses into our coach development program to uplift the whole coaching education aspects of our nation.

Assistant Manager & Coach Developer, Namibian National Soccer Association, Namibia

Susan Lockyear
Susan LockyearFFA Advanced Coaching License
As the game develops within the professional women’s game & also filters down within the girl’s academy programs across the world, we are proud to be at the forefront of driving the developmental aspects of the game in this area. To be able to link as an educational partnership with ISSPF is a huge part of our federation soccer development strategy, and as we can now offer a range of online content, certification qualifications and courses from a range of leading professionals – we have already seen a direct enhancement across our coaching content and performance department delivery.

Head Coach & Technical Director, Canberra State County FA, Australia

Lorenzo Francini
Lorenzo FranciniMSc
As a fitness coach and sport scientist working at the elite level of the female game, I feel that ISSPF and their integration of both applied and academic quality is something that will be of huge importance for people within our industry. ISSPF have manage to accumulate a faculty of leaders across soccer science, medical & coaching science that will enable them to educate people from a very insightful and practitioning way.

Head of Performance, AC Milan, Women’s Division, Italy

Peter McDonnell
Peter McDonnellUEFA A License
The layers of content within ISSPF is in a league of it's on when considering CPD options for coaches of all levels. Having explored many avenues through my own coaching journey, the detail embedded in the courses really lends itself to closing the gap between the integrated knowledge across the fields of Sports Science and the actual application of the skills on the field. Being able to learn from many experts, across a global faculty, affords me the ability to step into their professional world and soak in the abundant knowledge they have, all in my own time.

Assistant Soccer Coach – The University of Maine

Claudio Donatelli
Claudio Donatelli
ISSPF have been able to seamlessly provide all individuals with an interest in team sports and specifically soccer with the chance to learn from some of the best people in their key research areas. Developing throughout my career as a fitness & conditioning expert and applying the scientific principles of training at the elite level of the soccer, I feel being able to use the e-learning strategy within ISSPF challenges and adds further credibility to my working practices. I highly recommend individuals from all learning levels to tap into the fantastic resource available here.

Performance & Fitness Coach Italian National Team

Tony Merola
Tony MerolaUEFA A License
Never before have I seen a unique set of soccer specific performance & coaching specialists under one banner and available 24 hours a day 7 days a week to learn within the comfort of my own home. Being part of the educational partnership program with ISSPF has opened up a new & time efficient way for both myself as Technical Director, and my club coaching and fitness staff to up skill and develop as coaches.

Boys ECNL Director – Tulsa Soccer Club, USA

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