The Upper Ferntree Gully women’s football team made history this season, winning the club’s first ever women’s premiership. As a mindset coach, Melbourne based, I had the privilege of speaking with them before finals, and what I saw in that room has stayed with me.
Let me be clear, the players won that grand final, and the culture their coach built is what carried them. A talk doesn’t win a premiership. But the mind is where so much of the game is won or lost, and what I saw that day is the same thing I see again and again. The belief was always in them. They just needed to feel it.
What actually shifts when you work on the mind
Skill and fitness get a team to finals. What happens between the ears often decides what happens there. And the change isn’t vague or fluffy, it’s specific and it shows up on the field.
Here’s how one of the players described it, in her own words:
“Anna came and spoke to our women’s team before our semi final and it’s stuck with me since. I’m more focused on the game, I’m thinking about the team more, and when I make a mistake I keep my head up and get on with it rather than letting it snowball. It’s made a real difference to how I play.”
Read that again, because every coach knows exactly how valuable each piece of it is. Sharper focus. More team-first thinking. And the big one, a player who makes a mistake and gets straight back to the game instead of spiralling. That resilience, the ability to reset after an error, is often the difference between a good player and a finals player.
Why this matters for your team
As a former Olympian, I know the mental side of sport from the inside, the pressure, the self-doubt, the way one mistake can unravel a game if you let it. And as a life coach, I know how to help athletes work with it rather than be ruled by it.
A mindset talk gives your players practical, usable tools: how to stay present under pressure, how to reset after a mistake, how to play for the team and not get lost in their own heads. It builds on the culture you’ve already created as their coach, and gives them one more thing to draw on when it matters most. You can read more about my one to one coaching here.
When to bring in a mindset coach, Melbourne clubs
There are two natural moments:
Start of season, to set the tone, build belief and give your players mental tools to carry through the whole year.
Midway or before finals, to lift belief when it counts, steady the nerves, and help your team bring their best on the day that matters most.
Let’s talk
If you coach or manage a team and you want your players as strong between the ears as they are on the field, I’d love to talk. Whether you’re after a mindset coach Melbourne clubs can bring in for a one-off talk or something ongoing, let’s have a chat.
With care, Anna
