Optimise performance
Build mental skills that hold up when it matters most: focus, activation, routines and dealing with mistakes.
Performance is a process.
Sport psychology for peak performance.
Support grounded in current research for athletes, coaches and parents.
- free, 20 minutes
- Salzburg and online
- MSc Psychology, Sport Psychologist (asp-certified)
Three core goals in sport psychology
Want to play with more clarity and intensity, deliver your strengths when it counts and create real change? That’s exactly where we start.
Support wellbeing
Balance stress and recovery so you approach training and competition with the same joy and energy.
Strengthen the person
Develop confidence, self-efficacy and resilience that carry over beyond sport.
Performing under pressure is a trainable skill.
My services are aimed not only at individual athletes, but also at teams, their coaches and athletes’ parents.
Athletes
Everything clicks in training, but your performance drops in competition? You keep thinking about everything that could go wrong? Your mind goes in circles after you make a mistake? Self-doubt is holding you back?
Whether you’re a youth athlete, amateur or pro: we work on the gap between your training and your competition performance, so you can deliver when it counts.
Coach the Coach
Coaches shape their athletes’ mental environment more than you might think. Coaching behaviour, relationship quality and the climate a coach creates have a major impact on athletes’ well-being, perceived stress and positive development (Senel, 2024; Felton, 2013; Gosai, 2021).
Possible topics for coaches and coaching staff:
- Develop a leadership style that suits you
- Communicate more clearly and resolve conflicts constructively
- Don’t just endure your own stress, actively manage it
- Guide your athletes mentally too
Parents
Parents play a key role in their child’s athletic development. How much encouragement helps? When does support turn into pressure? How do I support my child through defeats? Together, we look at your role in your child’s everyday sporting life and how you can offer support without becoming another source of performance pressure. Because sometimes the most valuable thing is simply being allowed to be a parent.
How I support you.
In my sessions, you and your concerns are at the centre. You set the framework and the topics. Building on your experiences, we develop solutions and strategies together that support your mental growth.
1:1 Coaching
In one-on-one sessions, we take time for whatever matters most right now. We start by getting to know each other, clarify your goals and develop strategies step by step that fit you and your everyday life.
Workshops
Interactive sessions for teams, clubs and schools, with exercises you can take straight into training.
Talks
Practical insights on mental strength and health in competitive sports.
What we work on.
Maybe you’ve already asked yourself similar questions about the following topics? Or maybe you’re coming with a specific concern already? Together, we’ll take a closer look at the answers and solutions.
How do I stay motivated? How do I go into my next training session feeling motivated?
How do I set goals that drive me forward instead of holding me back?
How do I find my optimal state for training and competition? When am I in a flow state? How can I learn to relax?
How do I maintain my concentration? How do I get back into focus after a mistake?
How do I phrase thoughts that boost my performance? Which inner voice is holding me back?
How do I use visualisation techniques effectively? How should I mentally picture movements and techniques?
What can I do when I can’t get back into the game after a mistake?
How do I deal with overthinking and negative thoughts?
How can I better manage my emotions?
How can I trust myself more in difficult situations?
How do I build a useful routine, and when should I use it?
How can I support my rehab mentally and prepare for my comeback? How do I cope with standstill and setbacks while I’m in rehab?
How can I mentally prepare for my next competition or the upcoming season? When do I feel ready?
How can I use my nervousness and anxiety as a source of energy? How do I handle performance pressure?
Which strategies help me recover better? How do I learn to "switch off"?
I’m facing a difficult situation and don’t know what to decide (changing clubs, ending my career, coming back from an injury, …).
Motivation
How do I stay motivated? How do I go into my next training session feeling motivated?
Simone Staffel
I am a sport psychologist, mental performance expert and passionate powerlifter. Through my own competition experience in strength sports, I know the mental side of sport and how important mental skills are to get the most out of yourself. I know what it feels like when doubts creep in before a competition, when your concentration starts to slip, or when your thoughts start spinning after a mistake. And I know the wish to simply have a clear head.
Alongside my private practice, I work with young athletes in the Schulsportmodell Salzburg (SSM), a school-based programme for young athletes in Salzburg, and I also work in rehabilitation psychology.
Completed qualifications
- 2026Prevention and SafeguardingPreventing sexualised violence in sport (100% Sport)
- 2025Sport psychologist (asp-curriculum, ÖBS)Center of Mental Excellence
- 2025MSc PsychologyUniversity of Salzburg, sport and gerontopsychology
Professional Career
- since Oct 2026Clinical Psychologist (in training)Rehaklinik Bad Reichenhall, Germany
- since 2025Sport psychologistfreelance & Salzburg school sports model (SSM)
- 2025 - 2026GerontopsychologyHilfswerk Salzburg, AT
Current training
- since Sept 2026Clinical Psychology trainingAAP
From the first call to training.
Intro call
A short phone or video call. You describe your situation and we see whether and how I can support you.
Initial consultation
We take a closer look at your goals and challenges, go through your season planning and set an initial focus.
Sport psychology training
Regular sessions with exercises for the time in between. At set intervals, we review what’s working and adjust.
Follow me on instagram
Let us start with 20 minutes.
Send me a short message about what’s on your mind. I usually get back to you within two working days with suggested times for a free introductory call.
Partners & networks
Where to find me
or online
The map loads from OpenStreetMap only after the click; your browser then sends data there.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License
Frohnburgweg 5
5020 Salzburg
AUSTRIA