Elite Inner Performance

Elite Inner Performance Helping footballers improve their game on and off the pitch.

03/09/2026

Speaking to players this week, I've realised that they're making things all about them.

And then, when they've made it all about them, they've increased the pressure on themselves, and they've got stuck in their own head.

Sometimes making it all about you is a good thing.

I remember talking to Ben Foster on one of my podcasts, I need to save this team today, they need me…

But as always, what works for one doesn't work for someone else.

So after a few chats with players this week, when they've been so focused on themselves, I've changed the focus to turn it on others.

This is what massively helped me in my public speaking.

I made it about the audience.

Not about me.

Start helping your teammates out by communicating more.

Start having conversations in the changing rooms.

Because it would take the focus off yourself

And I know this: most players are petrified.

They're petrified of making mistakes. They're petrified of getting criticised.

So it helps you, but it helps them too.

As always, just try it on and see if it helps you.

If you want to work with me and this season, DM me or click the link in my bio. I don't say this lightly. We will change everything for you.

02/09/2026

Most players get help when they're struggling to deal with the pressure…

When they're struggling to deal with judgement…

When they're out of form, and that's when they react.

Usually what you do is you work harder.

More hours on the grass.

Extra reps in the gym.

And instead of getting better, you get worse.

One thing I've learned about a lot of elite players, like David Raya who I interviewed last week is that they do the work early.

They do the mindset work with a psychologist or a performance coach before they need the mindset work.

They get help when they're in a good place, not when they're in a bad place.

So when the bad place comes (and it will, because it's football), you will make mistakes. You will be out of the team. You'll have a time when you're not at a club. You'll be injured. You'll be out of form.

You've got the tools to deal with it.

If you do want to take your game to the next level, then come and work with me and in the .xi.

We're already working with 20 pros who are taking their game to the next level.

If you want to know what's involved, click the link in our bio or send us a DM and we can have a chat.

29/08/2026

I’ve got a new microphone so I’m using it!

Sometimes when I do podcasts or trainings or talks, I have the perfect plan of how it's going to go, but sometimes it doesn't go the way I want it to.

People ask questions. Conversations change, but you have to adapt to it.

If you expect things to go a certain way, they hardly ever do.

And this is a mistake I've seen players make in this week.

They're trying to control outcomes to control outcomes. Good luck.

It's impossible to control outcomes. You can only control processes.

The game's not going to go the way you want it to accept it.

Adapt.

I've had players contact me recently, and they're losing their heads when the game doesn't go the way they want it to or expect it to.

They're expecting certainty in an uncertain game.

Again, good luck!

There is no certainty.

Accepting this will massively help you. In today's game, accept that things aren't going to go the way you expect or want them to.

Trying to control the outcome isn't going to help you in any way.

If you want help with this, come and join me and Luke in the Elite XI.

5 LESSONS FROM 2 HOURS WITH DAVID RAYAI’m fortunate enough to speak to some unreal people in football, but sometimes I f...
27/08/2026

5 LESSONS FROM 2 HOURS WITH DAVID RAYA

I’m fortunate enough to speak to some unreal people in football, but sometimes I forget just how lucky I am to spend time with people who are world class at what they do.

Here are 5 things I took from two hours with David Raya:

1. Do the work before you need the work.

Most players work on their mentality when confidence has gone, they’re out of the team or they’re struggling.

Raya does the work while things are going well.

Before his baby was born, he spent months changing his sleep routine so when the baby arrived during the title run-in, he was already prepared.

2. Deliberately seek discomfort.

Moving countries without speaking the language. Dropping into National League football because U21 football had become comfortable. Ice baths first thing in the morning simply because he doesn’t want to do them.

He doesn’t tolerate discomfort. He goes looking for it.

Pressure isn’t something that suddenly happens on a Saturday. He practises being uncomfortable.

3. Mistakes don’t change his identity.

He made a mistake in the play-off final for Brentford from being aggressive off his line.

The easy response? Become safer.

Instead, Thomas Frank told him to play even higher the following season.

He learned from the mistake without becoming fearful because mistakes are feedback, not failures.

4. He interprets pressure differently.

Where someone else says nerves, he says excitement.

Where someone sees uncertainty as threatening, he sees it as part of why he loves football.

Same situation. Completely different story.

5. His ability to spin the story is elite.

People told him he was too short to be a goalkeeper.

His story?

Being shorter is my advantage. I’m quicker, more explosive and more powerful.

That borders on delusional optimism, which he basically admits himself 😂

But at the highest level, that story serves him.

And despite everything he’s achieved, he was unbelievably humble.

I offered him my book afterwards and he’d only take it if I signed and dedicated it to him.

Top-class guy.

Even if he does play for Arsenal. 😂

26/08/2026

Here’s some of my best bits of advice for pro footballers in just one minute

25/08/2026

The best of advice has ever received…

21/08/2026

I work with a lot of good players, and what separates them a lot of the time isn't their ability, but it's their ability to deal with mistakes.

Is how quick they respond to them.

They understand that mistakes are a part of the game. If you're a creative player, you're gonna make mistakes because you want to make things happen.

But what I see time and time again when players first come to me is they're trying to avoid mistakes.

Instead of taking the game by the scruff of the neck and dictating the game, like they know they can...

They are looking just to survive the game.

The thought being, if I just get through this game without making a big mistake, I've done well.

Is that how you wanna play?

Is that what you did when you were a kid?

What frustrates me is when I speak to a lot of players. I say, "What do you do?" and then they respond and they say, "I play football."

And I asked them, "When was football last play?"

And the answer is usually years ago.

Why? Because they're so scared, so scared of the judgement, so scared of criticism, so it's easier just to play safe.

We can change this. I want you to thrive in football, not just survive.

I want you to start taking the game by the scruff of the neck again.

And this is nothing to do with your physical talent. It's always been there. It's to do with your mentality and your thinking.

It's to do with the feelings that you have inside your body.

And when you change this, everything changes, but most players are too frightened to reach out to ask for help.

So if you're ready to change your game and to start leading, apply to work with me and in the Elite XI.

Send me a DM and I'll send you the link to apply.

Give me 17 minutes and this might just change everything for you.Slide into my DM’s and I’ll send you the training.
11/08/2026

Give me 17 minutes and this might just change everything for you.

Slide into my DM’s and I’ll send you the training.

09/08/2026

This question could change everything for you...

P.S.

If you want to work with me and personally this season click the link in my bio.

Or go to www.elitexiapply.com

If you're a pro, we're making this offer to just the players. Fill in the form. We can have a chat, and I'll tell you about it.

I’ve been trying to get Sophia to ride her bike on the pavement for ages.Every time she’d get on it, she’d freeze.“I don...
06/08/2026

I’ve been trying to get Sophia to ride her bike on the pavement for ages.

Every time she’d get on it, she’d freeze.

“I don’t want to fall, hold me, hold me"

So I stopped trying to force her.

Instead, I took her onto a field, it's softer to fall on.

I put knee pads and elbow pads on her, even let her fall off a couple of times.

“Did that hurt?”

“No.”

She laughed.

Then I gave her a little push…

Off she went.

No fear.

No hesitation.

Then we went back onto the pavement…

And the fear came straight back.

Why?

Because in her mind, the consequence had changed.

On the grass, falling felt safe.

On the pavement, falling felt dangerous, it would hurt.

So I changed her focus.

“If you ride from here to there, we’ll go to Smyths and you can choose a toy.”

Her attention moved from what if I fall? to how do I get there?

Within minutes, she was riding.

Jen’s neighbour Kate, tried exactly the same thing with her little boy.

He’d refused to ride for months.

Even though he could use a balance bike easily and he’s only 3.

I told them how I got Sophia to do it.

First time on the grass today.

Off he went, first time.

This is exactly what happens in football.

The pass isn’t difficult.

The shot isn’t difficult.

The problem isn’t the action.

The problem is the story you’re telling yourself about what happens if it goes wrong.

“What will the manager think?”

“What will my teammates think?”

“What will the fans say?”

The fear, the fear of judgement and failure.

So you stay safe.

You stop expressing yourself.

You stop trusting your instincts.

And you call it a confidence problem.

It isn’t.

It’s a fear problem, a courage problem.

The best players aren’t fearless.

They feel fear but they do it anyway.

They’ve just stopped making mistakes mean something about who they are.

Because the moment you let the handbrake off.

You start expressing yourself.

You start being free from the shackles that you’ve put on yourself.

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