The Mind Room

You’re 2-1 down to your arch rivals in a game that might decide who wins the league. You’ve played as though you’re chasing only your second title in 25 years: the nerves are palpable. You have 45 minutes to put things right.

The stakes don’t get much higher than Feyenoord’s match against Ajax in March 2023. The game at the Amsterdam Arena setup the possibility of the visitors going six points clear with only eight games to play - but also provided a chance for their closest challengers to mount a late charge for the league.

It’s the kind of situation Dan Abrahams and the rest of Feyenoord’s backroom team spent months preparing for. The ex-England rugby psychologist, who joined the Dutch club in the summer of 2022, put in place a ‘shared mental model’ that underpinned the way the team responded to setbacks such as the first-half showing against Ajax. The following 45 minutes, played out in front of 70,000 home fans (with Feyenoord supporters unable to travel to the ground due to security restrictions) represented a litmus test of the approach.

As Abrahams recalls: “After being 2-1 down at half-time, their (Feyenoord’s) relentlessness in the first 20 minutes of the second half was everything that we had been working on around high performance mindset, driving and winning more moments.

“Mindset, moments, momentum became a little bit of an image in everybody's head and whilst I'm not for one minute suggesting that was the main thing (in the comeback), I'd like to think it was a contributing factor.”

The anecdote is part of a two-episode interview with Abrahams, in which the Englishman talks - for the first time - about his two-season stint with the current Dutch Cup holders, his work with Arne Slot and the cross-club culture which helped Feyenoord to only their second league title in the last quarter of a century.

You can listen to the full episode by becoming a Mind Room member (and taking advantage of the 20% discount available during the Olympics).

The offer is available on monthly and annual subscriptions (until August 11th), giving you access to:

* The weekly Mind Room newsletter

* The full archive of 150+ stories and podcast episodes, covering sport psychology theory, practice and strategy

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Previous articles

As a Mind Room Member, you can access all of the website stories - covering everything from AC Milan’s neuroscience lab to the way English rugby teams are embracing ‘shared mental models’ - via the four sections below:

* Theory

* Practice

* Strategy

* Features

Thanks again for reading The Mind Room!

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How do you convince an ageing centre back to swap the security of a low block for a high press that might make Ange Postecoglou blush? Karl Marius Aksum may have the answer.

The Mjallby assistant coach, who is part of a backroom team that has helped the Swedish club to the highest position in its 85-year history, was refreshingly honest in an explanation which exemplifies how he’s taken his doctorate knowledge onto the training ground. 

“It's by using video clips in a manipulative way,” he jokes.

“So, it starts with me showing a lot of positive clips where we play a high line and we are successful.

“Then I emphasize how good this is, because maybe we win the ball and we create a chance. So, the clips are very important.

“When it comes to coaching, it's some principles that are non-negotiables - so, you have to play a diagonal pass instead of a sideway pass in this situation - but most of the time it's, ‘Hey, instead of doing that, what about if you do this instead? What if you waited one second, controlled the line first, and then pressed?’

“You're inviting their thoughts because it would be stupid for me to tell a 34-year-old who has played in European competitions and as a professional for 15 years, how to defend in every situation.

“It's a collaboration, it's getting their input, their understanding of the situation with their specific skills, and that is important because maybe I want him to do something but he's not quick enough to do it, in which case he shouldn't do it.”

Aksum’s insight was part of a wide-ranging discussion, exploring the Norwegian’s creative approach to honing cognitive skills, the club-wide culture which has helped propel Mjallby to third place in Sweden’s top-flight and the power dynamics crucial to establishing an effective coaching team.

Here are a few soundbites from the episode, which you can listen to in full via the audio player at the top of this article.

On making the move from academia to professional football:

“I was the one with the doctorate degree who had really never worked daily with a team at this level: all my ideas were mostly in my head and written down on paper, but never used in practice.

“So, yes, there was some scepticism for sure, but I also think that was why I got the job because they wanted someone who really had a deep understanding of how players learn and the game of football.

On what psychological theory looks like on the training ground:

“For me, it’s about making everything specific to the game of football. Every time I start planning a session, I start with the session intention and session design, because I believe that players are learning in their interactions with teammates and opponents in game situations, where you have to perceive a situation, you have to decide and you have to execute.

“Also, you need cognitive intensity in everything you do. You need to be fully committed to each exercise. And then there’s repetition without repetition.

“So, we create a scenario or a situation where we never tell the players exactly what to do because football is too complex. You never, ever play the same situation two times. So we would set up a situation with some principles, and then we will run through that situation 10, 15 or 20 times, where they play and they make decisions.”

Throughout the Olympics, we’re offering a 20% discount on Mind Room Membership.

The offer is available on monthly and annual subscriptions (until August 11th), giving you access to:

* The weekly Mind Room newsletter

* The full archive of 150+ stories and podcast episodes, covering sport psychology theory, practice and strategy

* The monthly podcast/Q&A

Questions?

If you have any queries about the newsletter, get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Previous articles

As a Mind Room Member, you can access all of the website stories - covering everything from AC Milan’s neuroscience lab to the way English rugby teams are embracing ‘shared mental models’ - via the four sections below:

* Theory

* Practice

* Strategy

* Features

Thanks again for reading The Mind Room!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themindroom.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themindroom.substack.com

“Most athletes compete at one Olympics, so they might have been working forever for this one moment, and then, that's it, it's gone.

“There's only one heat that you get to compete in. You've only got one chance to do your beam routine. It lasts a minute, but you've trained for it for 15 years.

“It's about how you prepare for those moments.”

Misia Gervis…

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“If someone calls themselves a sports psychology consultant and they're not licensed, what do you do? There's no punishment. There's nothing you can do to change that. The psychology board can send them something that says, ‘Please don't do this’ and maybe the club can sue them if something goes wrong, but by and large, there's not an accountability me…

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Geir Jordet has spent most of his professional career studying penalties. The Norwegian professor, who has worked with several of Europe's top teams over two decades in football, knows the psychological subtleties of spot kicks as well as anyone. 

All of which means that, as Euro 2024 moves towards the knockout stages and the drama of penalty shootouts, …

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Barely a week goes by without mentions of ‘culture change’ within sport. Some of the commentary is vital: in sports ranging from rugby to swimming, there are serious issues to confront, requiring systemic reforms and widespread behavioural change. In other instances, the term is in danger of becoming a buzzword, meaning anything from dressing room camar…

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Former Lionesses psychologist Misia Gervis drops by for an exclusive interview, explaining how she prepared the England women's side for their last visit to a European Championship final and the lessons the current team might learn from 2009.   

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We welcome back Wycombe assistant manager Richard Dobson and regular guest Dr Misia Gervis for a discussion about the secrets of a successful coach-psychologist relationship. After almost a decade of working together, Richard and Misia reflect on how they formed their partnership, the key elements behind their sustained success and offer some advice for coaches and psychologists on similar journeys.  

Read 'The Mind Room', The Football Psychology Show sister newsletter: https://themindroom.substack.com/

Get in touch and follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/soccerpsychshow

 

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Former Premier League psychologist Sarah Murray joins us to discuss: 

• The emotional impact of going on loan


• Adding psychologists to EPL coaching teams 


• What are the ingredients of successful leadership?

Read 'The Mind Room', The Football Psychology Show sister newsletter: https://themindroom.substack.com/

Get in touch and follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/soccerpsychshow

 

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themindroom.substack.com/subscribe