Building your wellbeing foundations for sustained high level coaching and management performance.
LMA Perform is a 12-week, 6-module online course focused on the core aspects of mental health, performance management and resilience, that form the basis for surviving and thriving as an elite performance football manager or coach.
DON’T DO IT ON YOUR OWN.
Being an elite level football manager and coach can be both extremely rewarding and challenging, all at the same time. Coaches and managers are sporting performers in their own right, and like their players they need to be in optimal condition to flourish and succeed. Coaching performance is a combination of physical, technical and mental capabilities, all delivered in a competitive, volatile, complex and visible environment.
Those that truly understand themselves, have an awareness of their mental wellbeing and capabilities, as well as a range of strategies to cope with the challenges of professional football. Those that understand how to manage their own mental wellbeing are more likely to avoid acute stress, limit burnout and excel.
This is the 2nd cohort of LMA Perform, building on the back of the successful first cohort earlier in the year, this course course designed to build the wellbeing skills needed for thriving in elite level coaching and management.
Richard Bevan OBE LMA Chief Executive
LMA Perform is a 12 week, 6 module online programme focused on the core aspects of mental health, performance management and resilience that form the basis for surviving and thriving as an elite performance football manager or coach.
The programme is intended to be:
To the real-life challenges and pressures of managing and coaching in professional football.
Delivered face-to-face and online with the ability to catch up in your own time.
LMA LEARNING PRINCIPLES.
Using tasks and scenarios for participants to tackle between sessions.
CO-CREATED
Blending theory, expertise and research with unique LMA member insights and experiences.
Encouraging participants to adopt new ways of thinking and behaving.
Open to subscribed LMA members who are looking to develop their skills
Starting Wednesday 8th October 2025
12 weeks (6 X 90 Min fortnightly sessions – Wednesdays)
Online: 5.00pm - 6:30pm
• Accredited by the English FA for 9 hours of CPD
• Accredited by the LMA Institute of Leadership & High Performance
• Participants with 100% engagement (live/on-demand) will receive LMA Institute certificate and CPD hours upon completion
Funded by the LMA
The LMA Perform online short course will equip participants with:
KNOWLEDGE:
A strong understanding of a range of important mental health and wellbeing concepts and theories.
SELF-AWARENESS:
An enhanced awareness of your own mental health and wellbeing, including strengths and areas for development.
SKILLS:
A range of practical, useable techniques and skills to improve and enhance a number of important wellbeing metrics and maintain wellbeing through periods of stress.
INFLUENCE:
The capacity to be an influential advocate for the development of wellbeing-focused cultures and to assist others in managing and developing their own wellbeing.
The LMA Perform online short course is grounded in the YOU pillar of the LMA’s Personal Development Model that provides a simple, holistic overview to the four pillars of personal development that are relevant to coaches and managers in professional football. The model is underpinned by a blend of academic research and real-life LMA member experiences, and is aligned with the game’s collective Coach Excellence Framework.
YOU focuses on your personal and professional development, encompassing self-awareness and wellbeing. It emphasises the importance of building a strong foundation to sustain high performance and achieve your ambitions.
YOUR TEAM concentrates on your role and responsibilities as a leader, emphasising the importance of building, managing and inspiring a team for success. By understanding the dynamics of effective leadership and team dynamics, you can guide your team to consistently perform at their best and achieve its goals.
THE INDUSTRY explores the wider football landscape and its impact on your role as a football manager. By understanding these external factors, you can make informed decisions, adapt to changes and manage effectively in the dynamic environment of football.
THE GAME focuses on your technical knowledge of football and sporting performance and the framework that shapes this. This pillar equips you with the tools to enhance performance and drive success on the pitch.
LMA Perform will cover the following six modules:
Date: 8th October Online: 5.00pm - 6.30pm
Date: 22nd October Online: 5.00pm - 6.30pm MODULE 3:
Date: 5th November Online: 5.00pm - 6.30pm
MODULE 5: CHANGE & E MOTIONAL REGULATION.
Date: 19th November Online: 5.00pm - 6.30pm
MODULE 4: GOLD MARK RESILIENCE.
Date: 3rd December Online: 5.00pm - 6.30pm
MODULE 6: DEEP BENEATH PERFORMANCE.
Date: 17th December Online: 5.00pm - 6.30pm
Accredited hours towards UEFA Licence validation
The LMA Perform Short Course is accredited for 9 hours of CPD by the English FA.
Date: 8th October
INTRODUCTION:
This module will give an overview into the short course and give a clear understanding of how each topic links to mental health and its importance on overall wellbeing. Module one will give an overview into the different types of mental health experts, provide clarity on what mental health is and clear up myths and misconceptions of mental health. The module will showcase models of mental health which explain the experiences of struggling/crisis mental health right through to thriving in day to day life. Knowing about your range of mental health experiences is important to help you to navigate change and challenge successfully
Subjects Covered:
• The Mental Health Continuum
• The PERMAH Model of Positive Wellbeing
• The hierarchy of needs
• The Engagement and Wellbeing Matrix
Learning Outcomes:
• Knowledge of mental health, mental illness and wellbeing
• Knowledge of moving from struggling crisis states to flourishing
• Confidence in understanding types of mental health practitioners
• Knowledge of wellbeing as one complete state
What You Will Work On:
• A Self Care Inventory
• A PERMAH Wellbeing Self Rating
• The Engagement and Wellbeing Matrix
Date: 22nd October
INTRODUCTION:
There are 86 billion neurons in the human brain, all of which are in use. Each neuron communicates with many other neurons to form circuits and share information. The nervous system influences, and is influenced by, all other body systems including the cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal and immune systems. Understanding this and the formation of emotions is an enabler for wellbeing.
How you form emotions is important to understand so you can become more self-aware, connect with others and build better relationships. This module will explore psycho neurology to help you recognise and regulate a healthy body and mind.
Subjects Covered:
• Basic functions of the brain
• Introduction to neurons and neuroplasticity
• Perception creation
• The Emotional Compass
Learning Outcomes:
• The brain’s primary purpose
• How the body manages the brain
• How we create our emotions
• How we have more control than we think
What You Will Work On:
• A perception reflection task
• Hand expression of the brain
• The awareness and regulation matrix
Date: 5th Novebmer
INTRODUCTION:
While coaching and management can be a rewarding vocation, it also appears to be an all-consuming and stressful career choice, placing coaches and managers at risk of poor health and curtailed careers. Coaches and managers encounter organisational, performance, and personal stressors due to the complex nature of their role.
These demands impose internal and external pressures on them as they endeavour to deliver success by enacting numerous tasks, and performing in a climate of idealistic expectations. Research suggests that coaches may not cope with stress adaptively, leading to burnout. This module will enable you to recognise stress and reduce the likelihood of burnout.
Subjects Covered:
• Six month stability
• The process of burnout
• Olympic and international level sports coaches’ experiences of stress
• Mindful self-reflection to support sustainable high-performance
Learning Outcomes:
• Understanding of the stress process
• Develop self-awareness as a foundational skill
• Ways to manage burnout
• Knowledge on a framework for sustainability in High Performance Sport
What You Will Work On:
• Your long term stress map
• Create a burnout prevention and sustainability plan
Date: 19th November
INTRODUCTION:
Change is an inherent part of life and the football industry. Changes happen at many levels and in different ways within football, from organisational change to team change and individual change. To survive and thrive in the profession, individuals need to be aware of where change may come from and how it will impact them in order to successfully navigate it.
Emotional regulation is at the heart of an individual’s ability to successfully navigate change in order to reduce the risk of maladaptive coping strategies which may hinder performance and reduce wellbeing. This module will give practical ways to regulate emotions, feelings and behaviours in times of stress or change.
Subjects Covered:
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Psychological process of change
• Conditions antecedent to change
• Making sense of the sack race
Learning Outcomes:
• To understand where you are/have been in change processes
• Recognise psychological and emotional processes of change
• Learn emotional regulation strategies
• Become aware of acceptance techniques of emotional regulation
What You Will Work On:
• Individual change influence
• Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ)
• ACT Rating Scale
INTRODUCTION:
Date: 3rd December
Mental resilience is not something that every coach automatically has or doesn’t have. Like physical resilience, mental resilience can be built and developed over time. Resilience is not the ability to suffer, it is the ability to maintain functioning when under pressure and to be able to respond positively to challenge and adversity. It is dynamic, cultivated, relational and environmental. It is not how you endure, it is how you recharge and bounce back. Resilience is developed by building a set of skills combined with a challenge mindset that views difficult situations as a function of elite performance and as opportunities for growth and development. Resilience is a vital component for building a long, meaningful and successful career in football management and coaching.
Subjects Covered:
• Understanding resilience
• Situational appraisal – identifying the controllables
• Challenge mindset
• Thinking traps
Learning Outcomes:
• Knowledge of resilience and its applicability to elite coaching and management
• Knowledge of mindset and perspective
• Gain confidence in building skills that enhance resilience
• Understand the wider role of resilience in your staff and teams
What You Will Work On:
• The ABC model of resilience
• Thought regulation strategies
• Perspective shifting tasks
Date: 17th December
INTRODUCTION:
Challenge and change are inevitable, but both present organisations, teams and leaders with opportunities for growth. However, to realise the potential of change moments, leaders must understand how individuals and teams respond to change at the deepest level.
Through understanding the psychological and biological impacts of change, leaders can adapt their approach, foster a challenge mindset in their teams, and reconnect with purpose and direction. Furthermore, it is a leader’s job to manage and remove destabalising influences on their teams whilst building collective team confidence and resilience, insulating groups againstunpredictable and difficult moments.
Subjects Covered:
• The Action Gap
• Attitude structure
• Defining values and purpose
• ABC Study
• The theory of basic human values
Learning Outcomes:
• The links between values and beliefs to wellbeing
• Develop awareness of your own values and beliefs
• Discuss the relationships between values, wellness and the workplace
• Summary of all modules and the link between wellbeing and performance
What You Will Work On:
• Happiest moments reflection
• The rules for living well
• The Portrait Values Questionnaire
The LMA Perform online short course is designed and delivered by the LMA’s team of world class mental health and sport psychology experts, all of whom have extensive experience of working with world class coaches in the unique world of elite level football.
JIM SOUTER LMA Director
DR PETER OLUSOGA Chartered Psychologist
STEVE JOHNSON, CEO, Wellbeing Science Institute
I HAVE DONE LOTS OF COURSES PREVIOUSLY BUT LMA PERFORM HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST HELP AND ITS TRULY AMAZING WHAT I HAVE LEARNT AND I WILL CONTINUE TO REFLECT BACK ON ITS CONTENT THROUGHOUT MY MANAGERIAL CAREER.
Micky Mellon LMA Member
To ensure equitable access to the programme, the LMA Perform online short course is open to all registered LMA members by applying using the link below:
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 17th September 2025.
The LMA Perform Short Course is designed to accommodate a maximum cohort of 30 people.
Participants who meet the entry requirements and apply within the application window will be accepted onto the short course (subject to capacity).
League Managers Association
Learning and Development Manager
claire.mulvenna@leaguemanagers.com
League Managers Association
Wellbeing Manager
sophie.cliff@leaguemanagers.com
Based at the National Football Centre, St George’s Park, the League Managers Association (LMA) and League Coaches Association (LCA) trace their history back to 1919.
The LMA has been operating in its current structure since 1992, whilst the LCA was formed in 2023 to enhance the holistic support available to coaches, analysts, scouts and technical directors throughout the game.
Our members : guide our programmes through their lived experience and commitment to the game.
Game knowledge: through our unique role in football we know the game, its realities and its complexities.
Other sports: we have extensive relationships with coaches and performance experts in other sports, always bringing new ideas and challenging our thinking.
Experts: we engage with many of the leading academics and industry experts in leadership, sports performance, wellbeing and personal development.
Our team: the LMA & LCA team is committed to our members, to continuous improvement and to exceptional delivery.
League Managers Association, St. George’s Park, Newborough Road, Needwood, Burton upon Trent DE13 9PD 01283 576350 | leaguemanagers.com | LMA@leaguemanagers.com