Licen­sed Sports Per­for­mance Coach® - Licen­sed Sports Per­for­mance Coach®

Ray Popoola - Sports Performance Coach

In this Licen­sed Sports Per­for­mance Coach Trai­ning you will learn, how to dis­solve even the toug­hest men­tal blocks in ath­le­tes, allo­wing them to deli­ver peak per­for­mance on demand instead of con­stantly fight­ing them­sel­ves.

Ath­le­tes don’t want a con­stant dia­lo­gue run­ning in their heads. What they truly want is to focus on the task at hand. In this trai­ning, we show you how to release the “belief bra­kes” in ath­le­tes’ minds, moving them from insi­gni­fi­cance to signi­fi­cance by hel­ping them access their full poten­tial exactly when it mat­ters most.

You will learn from Ray Popoola, Direc­tor of the Sports Aca­demy, Society of NLP. He will share his know­ledge with you, how he has gui­ded dozens of elite ath­le­tes — up to Olym­pic levels — to deve­lop a winner’s mind­set. With this know­ledge, you will be equip­ped to lead ath­le­tes to the podium.

Dates: 21st – 27th July 2026
Invest­ment:
US$ 3’500.– ($3’000.– before May 21st)

From Com­pe­ti­tion Suc­cess to Ever­y­day Coa­ching

The Licen­sed Sports Per­for­mance Coach trai­ning is led by our Head Trai­ner, Ray Popoola, Direc­tor of the Sports
Aca­demy, Society of NLP. For over 15 years, he has men­to­red elite ath­le­tes across nume­rous disci­plines to Swiss, Euro­pean, World Cham­pi­onship, and Olym­pic levels — inclu­ding Mar­len Reus­ser (Sil­ver, Tokyo 2020) and Andreas Züger (3rd Place, Taekwon-​​Do World Cham­pi­onships). This is first-​​hand exper­tise directly from the world of elite trai­ning and com­pe­ti­tion.

Elite ath­le­tes are acu­tely aware when their phy­si­cal per­for­mance in com­pe­ti­tion or trai­ning falls short of their poten­tial. In those moments, mil­li­se­conds or a few mil­li­me­ters decide who stands on the podium. Vic­tory begins in the mind. You will learn exactly how to faci­li­tate this through nume­rous real-​​world case stu­dies.

Prac­tical Learning

Many pro­grams focus solely on theory and tech­ni­ques. Our focus is on trai­ning your NLP skills for sports per­for­mance. This enab­les you to deve­lop a winner’s mind­set in ath­le­tes and your­self with ease, ensu­ring they can deli­ver pin­point per­for­mance during com­pe­ti­ti­ons.

Licen­sed Sports Per­for­mance Coach®
21st – 27th July 2026

  • Mas­ter the Flow State
  • Dis­solve Per­for­mance Blocks
  • Build a Winner’s Mind­set
  • Over­come Pain Bar­ri­ers
  • Stra­te­gic Phase Plan­ning
  • Lead Sport Teams to Suc­cess
  • Desi­gning men­tal com­pe­ti­tion pre­pa­ra­tion

 

Pre­re­qui­si­tes

  • Cer­ti­fied NLP Prac­ti­tio­ner
  • A pas­sion for sports and ath­le­tic suc­cess.
  • The desire to work with ath­le­tes in trai­ning and com­pe­ti­tion.
  • Awa­ren­ess of and inte­rest in ath­le­tic per­for­mance.

On-​​site Days: 7 days
Hours: 09:00 AM – 05:00 PM
Capa­city: 20 seats
Invest­ment: US$ 3’500.– ($3’000.– before May 21st)
Pre­re­qui­site: Cer­ti­fied NLP Prac­ti­tio­ner
Tar­get Group: Sports coa­ches; par­ents of young ath­le­tes; sports psy­cho­lo­gists; for­mer ath­le­tes.
Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion: Licen­sed Sports Per­for­mance Coach®, Society of NLP
Trai­ner: Ray Popoola

This NLP Sports Per­for­mance Coach Trai­ning is the Society of NLP’s only pro­gram that inte­gra­tes NLP with pro­fes­sio­nal ath­lete coa­ching.

What exactly is Men­tal Trai­ning in sports?

It invol­ves con­sul­tancy to help ath­le­tes reach their goals. This inclu­des:

  • Success-​​oriented men­tal trai­ning
  • Visua­liza­tion trai­ning
  • Cur­rent inter­ven­ti­ons in sports psy­cho­logy
  • Addres­sing emo­tio­nal topics and chal­len­ges
  • Moti­va­tion trai­ning
  • On-​​field sup­port, com­pe­ti­tion, and trai­ning accom­p­ani­ment
  • Selec­ting appro­priate tech­ni­ques to direct focus
  • Coun­ter­ac­ting fear of failure through men­tal coa­ching
  • Mana­ging energy cor­rectly during trai­ning and com­pe­ti­ti­ons
  • Shar­pe­ning ath­le­tes’ per­cep­tion and awa­ren­ess

Do I need a degree in Sports Psy­cho­logy?

Most ath­le­tes find their focus and disci­pline through a Sports Per­for­mance Coach rather than a psy­cho­lo­gist. Howe­ver, this requi­res the coach to have a solid, prac­tical foun­da­tion to create suc­cess­ful enga­ge­ment.

When will I be able to offer moti­va­tion trai­ning?

Right after the first few days of trai­ning, you will have tools you can use directly with ath­le­tes. Because the course builds on your NLP trai­ning, your imple­men­ta­tion speed will be fast.

Is this trai­ning sui­ta­ble for sports coa­ches?

Abso­lu­tely. It is the per­fect com­bi­na­tion of your exis­ting sports know­ledge and men­tal suc­cess stra­te­gies. You can quickly link your coa­ching exper­tise with men­tal trai­ning stra­te­gies.

Am I limited to cer­tain sports?

No. The models focus on human neu­ro­logy and thought stra­te­gies, which apply to all disci­plines.

Can I sup­port other people as a licen­sed Sports Per­for­mance Coach?

In essence, yes. The men­tal stra­te­gies and cogni­tive pro­ces­ses of a human being do not fun­da­men­tally dif­fer. The dif­fe­rence lies in the con­text — whe­ther it is applied wit­hin sports or else­where. Howe­ver, this cer­ti­fi­ca­tion focu­ses exclu­si­vely on the ath­le­tic sec­tor. Life Coa­ching or Busi­ness Coa­ching are not part of this spe­ci­fic cur­ri­cu­lum.

Can I coach all per­for­mance levels with this cer­ti­fi­ca­tion?

You are free to choose which per­for­mance level you wish to accom­pany as a Sports Per­for­mance Coach. Sim­ply put: whe­re­ver an ath­lete faces chal­len­ges or where men­tal per­for­mance needs to be enhan­ced, you are able to step in. Across all levels, this trai­ning path will serve as a pil­lar for ath­le­tes to actively deve­lop a success-​​oriented mind­set during their trai­ning.

What are the pre­re­qui­si­tes for par­ti­ci­pa­ting in this type of sports men­tal trai­ning?

Par­ti­ci­pa­tion requi­res a com­ple­ted NLP Prac­ti­tio­ner cer­ti­fi­ca­tion. Addi­tio­nally, a pro­fes­sio­nal qua­li­fi­ca­tion or at least three years of pro­fes­sio­nal expe­ri­ence is recom­men­ded. The tui­tion fees include all necessary mate­ri­als to ensure you are fully pre­pa­red. Par­ti­ci­pants should bring a strong inte­rest in ath­le­tic deve­lop­ment and the abi­lity to per­ceive men­tal pro­ces­ses to sup­port ath­le­tes opti­mally.

Why isn’t this pro­gram offe­red on online?

While online could pro­vide theo­re­ti­cal know­ledge, direct inter­ac­tion with other par­ti­ci­pants fos­ters a much deeper under­stan­ding and allows for the prac­tical app­li­ca­tion of know­ledge. Our pro­gram focu­ses on per­so­nal exch­ange to inten­si­vely pre­pare future Sports Per­for­mance Coa­ches. Our goal is to equip par­ti­ci­pants for real-​​world chal­len­ges and pro­vide them with the tools for their suc­cess. Fur­ther­more, the degree inclu­des a com­pre­hen­sive qua­li­fi­ca­tion as a Sports Per­for­mance Coach — an aspect that online could only sup­port to a limited extent.

How does sports men­tal trai­ning help ath­le­tes over­come the fear of failure?

The trai­ning pro­vi­des approa­ches such as visua­liza­tion and brea­t­hing exer­ci­ses to spe­ci­fi­cally address the fear of failure. Ath­le­tes learn to reduce stress and trans­form nega­tive thoughts into self-​​confidence. These methods pro­mote a posi­tive atti­tude and help build men­tal strength and res­i­li­ence in high-​​pressure situa­ti­ons.

Which methods improve the abi­lity to con­cen­trate in sports?

Ath­le­tes bene­fit from men­tal exer­ci­ses that increase their focus. Using visua­liza­tion and brea­t­hing tech­ni­ques, they learn to hone in on their goals and block out dis­trac­tions. These methods are par­ti­cu­larly cru­cial in sports that require pre­cise move­ments and stra­te­gic thin­king.

Is sports men­tal trai­ning limited to spe­ci­fic sports?

No, the methods taught in the trai­ning are app­lica­ble across all sports. They strengt­hen thin­king stra­te­gies and men­tal pat­terns that lead to suc­cess in any ath­le­tic disci­pline. Ath­le­tes learn to improve their men­tal endurance to increase focus and per­se­ver­ance, regard­less of their spe­ci­fic sport.

How does sports men­tal trai­ning pro­mote a winner’s mind­set?

A winner’s mind­set is based on posi­tive self-​​perception and tar­ge­ted trai­ning. Ath­le­tes learn to over­come men­tal blocks and focus on their own strengths. During the trai­ning, they learn goal-​​setting and moti­va­tion stra­te­gies that help them secure long-​​term suc­cess and uti­lize their men­tal strength in decisive moments.

What is the signi­fi­cance of psy­cho­lo­gi­cal sup­port in sports?

Men­tal tech­ni­ques are an essen­tial com­po­nent and offer valu­able insights into the men­tal pha­ses that influ­ence per­for­mance. In elite sports, they help indi­vi­du­als handle pres­sure bet­ter and plan for suc­cess pur­po­se­fully. These approa­ches sup­port mas­te­ring ath­le­tic chal­len­ges with self-​​confidence and sta­bi­lity.

What does the sup­port look like during the trai­ning?

During the trai­ning, par­ti­ci­pants receive indi­vi­dual sup­port and prac­tical exer­ci­ses. By working with expe­ri­en­ced trai­ners, you receive per­so­nal feed­back to apply what you have lear­ned directly in prac­tice. This allows you to opti­mally pre­pare for your future role as a Sports Men­tal Trai­ner.

Can sports men­tal trai­ning be applied in other areas?

Yes, the methods lear­ned are ver­sa­tile and can also be used in the work­place, edu­ca­tion, and per­so­nal deve­lop­ment. The approa­ches pro­mote con­cen­tra­tion and moti­va­tion, hel­ping par­ti­ci­pants achieve their goals outs­ide of sports and mas­ter per­so­nal chal­len­ges.

How does tar­ge­ted men­tal com­pe­ti­tion pre­pa­ra­tion con­tri­bute to suc­cess?

Through men­tal com­pe­ti­tion pre­pa­ra­tion, ath­le­tes learn to main­tain their focus and manage their energy cor­rectly. Visua­liza­tion exer­ci­ses and brea­t­hing tech­ni­ques help calm the mind and con­cen­trate on the essen­ti­als. During stress­ful com­pe­ti­tion pha­ses, this ensu­res sta­ble per­for­mance and increa­ses the likelihood of a suc­cess­ful out­come.

Swiss Coa­ching
Asso­cia­tion
VPT Verband Persönlichkeitstraining
Schwei­zer Dach­ver­band Per­sön­lich­keits­trai­ning
Reiss Moti­va­tion Pro­file
Society of NLP
Society of NLP -
Dr. Richard Band­ler
Managerverband
Deut­scher
Mana­ger­ver­band