All articles by Frédéric Damato
Elite sport mental training at the service of your teams
Corporate conferences, workshops and masterclasses: I adapt the mental training tools used in elite sport to your team's challenges.
Fear of losing, fear of failure or fear of winning: learn how these mental blocks influence sports performance and how to work on them.
How to develop the right mindset for peak performance? How mental training affects confidence, emotions and performance.
Assess your mental skills: confidence, stress management, concentration, emotions and motivation. Discover your strengths and areas for improvement.
Self-confidence is often seen as something you either have or you don't. Yet in mental training, self-confidence is a skill that can be understood, developed and practiced.
Can't break through despite your efforts? Mental blocks, cognitive biases and unconscious mechanisms that hold back your progress.
Mental preparation in equestrian sport is often what makes the difference in competition, especially in show jumping. At equal technical level, stress management, concentration and the rider/horse relationship determine performance.
Mental endurance is a skill that can be developed. Discover how to manage stress, strengthen your confidence and improve your concentration to perform in sport, business or studies.
The lactate threshold is a key moment in sports performance.
When effort intensity becomes very high, muscles produce lactate and the burning sensation appears. Many athletes then think it’s all happening in the muscles. Yet managing this lactate zone also depends heavily on the brain, on perception of effort and on mental strategies.
Mental training helps an athlete be more consistent, more confident and more effective in competition. Discover the right age to begin and how the mind develops as athletic progress is made.
Escaping Karpman's Triangle: a powerful lever in mental training
Karpman's triangle shapes stress, emotions and confidence. Discover how mental training helps you step out of the Victim, Rescuer and Persecutor roles to boost performance.
If some still wonder what it is, here are 5 answers just for you. 5 questions / 5 answers
Discover what mental training is, who it's for, when to start, how long it lasts and how it works.
Spacing out is not a weakness but a signal from the brain. It's a normal phenomenon that can even become a performance lever. Mental training helps you understand and optimize this process.
The weight of guilt is often an invisible barrier to performance.
It feeds stress, doubt and loss of confidence, both for athletes and in everyday life. In mental training, working on guilt helps free mental energy, improve concentration and restore a smoother, more authentic performance.
Remote mental training sessions still raise legitimate questions among athletes, parents and coaches. Are they as effective as in-person sessions? Field experience now shows the results are equivalent. Learn more …
Personal Development: What if the Real Goal Was Lightness?
Requests for personal development are often straightforward: confidence, stress, emotions, performance. But behind these goals a common reality frequently appears: actions that have become too costly mentally. What if the real aim wasn't to do more… but to act with more lightness?
The Law of Assumption is often presented as a lever for performance. But what does science actually say?
In this article I distinguish belief from real psychological mechanisms linked to self-talk, concentration, flow and performance.
Discover what Libet’s half-second reveals about decision-making and sports performance.
Better understand what happens between conscious intention and action in performance situations.
Decisive meetings, public speaking, decisions under pressure: the corporate world demands a resilient mindset.
Mental training, drawn from high-performance sport, offers concrete tools to stay clear-headed, effective and high-performing.
Discover why this fear is often an intelligent message from the body, and how to transform it into lasting confidence
I regularly work with athletes held back by fear of injury. Goal: regain confidence.
I regularly provide mental coaching to prep-class students facing high demands and pressure to deliver results.
My support is designed to help them stay clear-headed, confident and perform at their best over the long term.
Mental support for parents: how to support a young athlete without burning out
Being the parent of a young athlete on a high-performance pathway means managing pressure, emotions, logistics and uncertainty. I offer mental training sessions specifically for parents to help them find the right stance and support their child without losing themselves.
How to manage the weight of daily thoughts and responsibilities
A neuroscientific breakdown of mental load and practical solutions to recover calm and balance in a hyperconnected world.
Is the flow state a myth or reality? Discover how mental training creates the conditions for this peak performance experience where everything seems to align perfectly.
Move beyond binary thinking to regain nuance and mental fluidity
Why mental training is the secret weapon of professional players
Esports presents unique psychological challenges. Discover why mental training is crucial for performing at the highest level.
What we eat affects our physical energy, but also our concentration, confidence, recovery, and mental performance.
Eating well supports energy, concentration, recovery, and mental performance. Discover the four building blocks of a balanced meal, simple guidelines for the day, and the importance of hydration.
A guide for parents and young athletes on managing emotions and mental preparation to improve sports performance.
5 practical strategies to build emotional resilience in young athletes
Discover proven techniques to help young athletes develop their tolerance for frustration and their mental strength.
The crucial role of parents in managing sports disappointments
Practical guide to supporting a young athlete after a poor performance and turning that setback into a catalyst for growth.
How to turn pressure into an ally rather than an enemy
Learn how athletes and leaders learn to master pressure so it becomes a performance driver instead of a brake.
Why do you like my sessions?
Discover the methods and tools that make my mental training sessions so effective for athletes and professionals.
How to Improve This Essential Mental Skill in High-Performance Sport
In this second part on Mental Endurance, discover how to develop this key skill with insights from experts like Yannick Bokolo and Mehdi Mary.
Why We're All Wired to Bounce Back
Resilience isn't a superpower reserved for a few. It's an innate ability we all have. Discover how to activate it.
Why the smallest annoyance becomes unbearable
Analysis of the root causes that make frustration so hard for young people today — between screens, impoverished language, and missing role models.
Understand the key role of the mental coach in helping athletes optimize their performance and manage emotions.
The five main benefits a mental coach brings to athletes and professionals to optimize performance.
An exploration of how sport helps us push our physical and mental limits, with practical tips for progressing gradually.
How to mentally prepare young athletes to succeed in their pre-professional pathway and build the foundations for a sustainable sports career.
For young athletes, juggling a sporting project and school is a real challenge. Discover how to make both work through mental training.
Personal development is trendy... here are 5 great reasons to finally think about yourself and your mental well‑being!
When tennis transcends sport and becomes a human transcendence
Analysis of the legendary final between Alcaraz and Sinner that redefines the standards of mental and physical performance at the highest level.
A reflection on the limits of a self-centered approach
Analysis of the individualistic excesses of personal development and a case for a more relational, humane approach to flourishing.
Understanding this key skill in high-performance sport
First part of a discussion on mental endurance in high-performance sport, with insights from URB Brain Basket and experts like Yannick Bokolo and Mehdi Mary.
Team cohesion, timing and mental training for young athletes
Answers to common questions from coaches, athletes and parents about mental training at the start of the season.
Gérard Houllier's Preface to Lionel Bellenger's Book
Gérard Houllier shares his vision of coaching in this compelling preface, revealing the paradoxes and challenges of this demanding role.
Influences, Behaviors, Reflection
In-depth analysis of parental influence on young athletes: how behaviors affect confidence, anxiety and performance.
Performance vs. Pleasure: Myths and Realities
Exploring the link between enjoyment and sporting performance: do you have to be having a blast to perform? Testimonials and reflections.
The mental performance coach plays a key role during the return-to-sport phase, helping injured athletes preserve their mental edge and technical skills.
Announcement: I'll be at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as a mental performance coach for elite athletes, following London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Mike Hayford looks back on 2019, a year marked by a thunderous comeback in his discipline thanks to intensive mental training.
2020 ==> 2021 - Reflections on the mental impact of the Olympic postponement
Analysis of the mental impact of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic postponement on athletes and a message of hope for this difficult time.
Keeping your athlete's mindset during lockdown
How to maintain your athlete's mindset during lockdown and use this time as an opportunity to come back stronger.
