We plan strength, speed and technique down to the week, then leave the skills that decide games to chance and personality. These pieces are about that other half.
Every player you coach will meet their own 82nd minute. They deserve to arrive trained for it.From "What Argentina's final meltdown reveals about self-control"
I failed a test of my own emotional intelligence in front of my players. What happened, and what I changed.
Self-controlHeadCoach blog, July 2026Two bookings, a red card and a brawl. Why self-control gets zero minutes on the training calendar, and what a trained reset looks like.
PressureHeadCoach blog, July 2026Threat or challenge, and the seconds after a mistake. What Messi did between the miss and the final whistle can be trained.
ConfidenceHeadCoach blogCompetence is only one pillar of confidence. Read through Maslow's deficiency and growth needs.
OptimismHeadCoach blogTwo midfielders, two dressing rooms, one goal conceded, and what thinking about the next action looks like in a real game.
HabitsHeadCoach blogSelf-regulation sits inside every model of emotional skill. Habits, worked back from needs, are how it gets built.
PurposeHeadCoach blogJim Loehr's tombstone exercise, and habits that line up with what you want to be remembered for.
CoachingHeadCoach blogThe original version of the red card story, with the research behind what I changed.
Pieces marked HeadCoach blog are published at headcoachapp.com.
Both changed how I coach inside it.
Players have needs that come before performance. That's the humanistic view of Maslow, as Scott Barry Kaufman has updated it: safety and belonging first, then growth.1,2 A coach who only ever looks for what is missing builds the wrong environment, however good the intentions.
Read: Confidence for wellbeing and performanceLisa Feldman Barrett's theory of constructed emotion holds that the brain builds emotions from the body's state and from past experience.3,4 If emotions are built, the way a player reads a pressure moment can be trained, the same way a pass can.
Read: What have habits got to do with emotional intelligence?Tell me about the player or coach, and what you think is getting in the way. If I'm not the right person to help, I'll tell you who might be.
Book a free intro call Or email jonathononeill14@gmail.com