Psychologist Christopher Shen: Tips to bolster and improve your mental health

Christopher Shen

The current COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the mental health of the soccer community. Players, coaches, decision-makers, administrators, and supporters have all been impacted by the coronavirus, which can cause anxiety, distress, fatigue, a diminished ability to perform, and burnout. Scientific research has revealed several evidence-based techniques which can help Soccerscene readers bolster our mental health, during this challenging time.

Here are some tips for readers to help improve and master our mental health:

1.Savouring

Please identify ways to create savouring experiences, thoughts, and emotions. Savouring refers to strategies we can use to create, maintain, and share positive experiences.

Tips:

  • Please use mannerisms and gestures, such as smiling, and greeting each other.
  • Please celebrate and acknowledge positive events and moments with others.
  • Please write and read affirmations, and positive words and quotes.
  • Please create and listen to playlists of music and sounds which are uplifting and inspiring.
  • Each night with a beloved person, please identify three positive events that transpired during the day, as well as the causes of these events.

 

2.Gratitude

Please adopt a positive attitude of gratitude and appreciation towards yourself and others.

When we are grateful and express gratitude to others, we create positive thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and decrease negativity. A helpful practice is to show gratitude towards our family members, teammates, coaches, staff, and loved ones. When we show gratitude and compassion towards ourselves, we can often withstand challenges and frustrations.

Tips:

  • Please write a positive message to someone important in your life, expressing gratitude. Send this message, or deliver this message directly to the important person.
  • Please identify a regret in your life. Please write a reassuring message to yourself, expressing compassion and understanding towards yourself about this regret.
  • Please identify an opportunity to offer kindness and assistance to someone in need. What can you do to help someone else – especially during this Covid-19 pandemic?

 

3.Mindfulness

Mindfulness refers to a psychological state in which individuals experience an awareness of objects in their immediate environment, as well as their current thoughts and feelings.

Individuals who demonstrate mindfulness direct their attention to their present surroundings and their psychological state, but engage in experiential rather than analytical processing. That is, mindfulness refers to sustained or frequent awareness and attention to current and ongoing experiences. People who practice mindfulness develop greater self-esteem, concentration, emotional intelligence, and resilience.

Tips:

  • Every hour or so, please sit quietly for a few minutes with your eyes closed and focus your attention on your breath.
  • Then, direct your attention towards your surroundings – What you hear, what you smell, what you can taste, and how your body feels.
  • Then focus on your emotions, and thoughts.
  • Mindfulness practice can be used by Soccerscene readers in your pre-game preparations to develop focus, reduce anxiety, and build resilience.

Christopher Shen is a Psychologist, based in Melbourne, Australia. He can be contacted at: www.christophershen.com.au

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FCA to Host Exclusive Two-Part Goalscoring Workshop Series with Dr Ron Smith

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One of Australian football’s most respected coaching minds shares decades of research ahead of the FIFA Men’s World Cup.

Football Coaches Australia (FCA) has announced an exclusive two-part coach education series featuring renowned coach educator and football analyst Dr Ron Smith, offering coaches a rare opportunity to explore the evolving science of goalscoring through the lens of one of Australia’s most influential football thinkers.

The online workshops, scheduled for June 1 and June 8, will examine the historical development, modern trends and future direction of goalscoring in football, drawing on extensive research that formed the foundation of Dr Smith’s doctoral studies.

For FCA, the sessions represent the culmination of more than a year of planning and provide a timely opportunity for coaches to deepen their understanding of attacking play ahead of the FIFA Men’s World Cup.

“Ron’s work on goalscoring has been years in the making and continues to evolve,” FCA President Ian Greener said.

“We felt there was no better time to bring this knowledge to the coaching community than in the lead-up to the World Cup, when coaches around the world will be analysing the game’s best teams and players.”

Across the two sessions, Dr Smith will present findings from his extensive research into goalscoring patterns and trends, examining how the game has changed over time and what coaches can learn from football’s biggest tournaments.

Topics covered throughout the series will include:

  • Historical analysis of goalscoring trends
  • How goalscoring has evolved in the modern game
  • Key patterns identified through Dr Smith’s research
  • Scoring trends across the last six FIFA Men’s World Cups
  • Comparisons between men’s and women’s World Cup tournaments
  • The role of pressing, transition moments and direct play in creating goals
  • Practical coaching implications for improving attacking performance

The two-part structure has been intentionally designed to build upon itself. Session One will focus on the evidence, data and research underpinning Dr Smith’s findings, while Session Two will explore the practical applications and coaching interventions that can emerge from that analysis.

Football Australia has accredited both workshops with one Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hour each, allowing coaches to earn two CPD hours by attending both sessions.

Dr Smith’s coaching and coach education credentials span decades. He has worked extensively with Football Australia, the Australian Institute of Sport and the Socceroos, while also holding coaching roles internationally in Iceland and Malaysia, as well as within the A-League.

His contributions to coach development have helped shape generations of Australian coaches, making this series a valuable opportunity for coaches across all levels of the game.

Event Details

History and Future of Goalscoring – Session One
Date: Monday, June 1, 2026
Time: 7:30pm AEST
Format: Online
CPD: 1 Football Australia-accredited CPD hour

Following the completion of the FIFA Men’s World Cup, FCA is also planning a special panel discussion featuring leading Australian and international coaching voices to analyse the key tactical developments, trends and lessons emerging from the tournament.

Further details regarding that event are expected to be released later this year.

FCA members can attend the workshops free of charge, while guest registrations are available through Eventbrite.

UEFA and Japanese FA commit to sustainability strategy until 2031

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UEFA and the Japanese Football Association (JFA) agreed this week upon a new sustainability protocol agreement, aligning with both organisations’ long term goals.

An inter-continental partnership

Sustainability is an unavoidable, essential factor to consider as the beautiful game continues to grow across communities worldwide.

So when two governing bodies like UEFA and the JFA – who both already hold their own sustainability initiatives – agree to share, support and guide mutual growth, the implications are immensely promising.

“Sustainability in football must be clear, practical and action-oriented,” said UEFA President, Aleksander Čeferin, via official press release.

“It is about protecting the environment, but also about people – their health, education and communities – and about using football’s reach to create lasting impact beyond the pitch.”

Furthermore, JFA President, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, also highlighted the undeniable potential born from football’s global powe to bring about genuine, positive changes to the wider population.

“In the global football community today, how we address social issues – such as climate change, human rights, discrimination and safeguarding – has become a crucial theme.”

“In JFA’s growth strategy for 2026 to 2031, we have positioned sustainability as one of our three ‘beams’. Under our social programme, Asu-pass!, we are advancing initiatives centred on five key areas: planet, people, well-being, education and community,” Miyamoto continued.

 

The responsibility of all

With 250 million players in association football, and total fanbases encompassing 4-5 billion people, football truly is the world’s game.

But despite the pride behind this affectionate nickname, there must also be an awareness of the game’s resulting impact.

Because if football touches the lives of 5 billion people, the policies and plans in place must focus on sustaining, supporting and growing everyone.

UEFA’s Sustainability Strategy 2030 seeks to drive positive change through focusing on the sport’s wider impact, long-term investment and objectives, and working as a collective unit.

JFA’s Asu-pass! also builds on the JFA philosophy of enriching societies through the widespread love of football. Thus, by partnering with UEFA and creating a platform for sharing expertise and values, communities across both regions are set for a promising future.

“Together, through football, we want to contribute to a better society and a brighter future,” stated Miyamoto, underlining exactly what this alliance between UEFA and JFA is all about.

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