Sport performance results from the interaction of physical, technical, tactical and psychological aspects. However, in Soccer training less attention is devoted to the psychological domain. The purpose of this study was to investigate elite Soccer coaches' perceptions concerning different aspects of the psychological dimension, namely the conceptions about mental training and his relationship with training, in general, and performance; the coaches' level of preparation to apply a specific psychological training; and the collaboration with a sport psychology expert. Using in-depth interviews, fifteen coaches of the Portuguese first league were interviewed. The interviews showed that the coaches attribute great significance to the psychological domain and to a possible collaboration with a sport psychology expert, as coaches seem to be unprepared to apply specific mental strategies or are unfamiliar with them.
Mental training; Soccer; Elite coaches
