The mental edge most athletes never train.
Athletes & sporting teams
Dr Ben Robbins is a Clinical and Performance Psychologist with ten seasons as a player in the AFL and over a decade leading mental health and wellbeing initiatives inside professional football. He works with elite athletes, sporting teams and young athletes who want to perform at their best when it counts most.
I'm looking for
1:1 coaching for an elite or developing athlete
A mental skills program for my team or club
The young athletes online program (ages 12–20)
A school or academy sport program
10 seasons
AFL player
PhD
Clinical Psychology
15+ years
Working in professional sport (AFL mental health & wellbeing lead)
He doesn't just understand performance pressure. He's felt it.
Why athletes choose Ben
Ben played ten seasons of professional AFL football. He knows what it feels like to prepare for a final, to come back from injury, to perform in front of a packed stadium.
That lived experience is what creates immediate trust with athletes. He's not theorising about pressure, he's navigated it at the highest level of Australian sport, and then spent over a decade studying and applying the science behind it.
Ben has worked across a wide range of sports including current and former Olympians, AFL and AFLW players, state cricket players, basketballers, golfers and soccer players.
He also has two young adult children who play sport, which provides an even deeper understanding of the young athlete experience is personal as well as professional.
Three ways to work with Ben depending on where you are.
How Ben works with athletes
Whether you're an elite athlete, a club looking to build team mental skills, or a young athlete just starting out.
COACHING
High performance coaching for elite & developing athletes
Individual coaching for athletes serious about the mental side of performance. Structured, evidence-based program for consistent performance under pressure.
Includes
—Performance anxiety and pressure management
—Focus and concentration under competition
—Resilience, returning well from setbacks and injury
—Pre-performance routines and mental preparation
—Confidence and self-belief
—Values-based goal setting
—Managing transition out of elite sport
Format: Fortnightly or monthly. Fully confidential
Has worked with: Olympians · AFL/AFLW · State cricketers · Basketballers · Golfers · Soccer players · Local footballers
TEAM PROGRAMS
Mental skills programs for sporting teams and clubs
Group programs building shared mental fitness
across a team or squad.
Includes
—Team cohesion, trust and communication
—Pre-game and in-game mental preparation
—Dealing with pressure, scrutiny and expectations
—Managing performance slumps and adversity
—Leadership and culture for senior players
—Coach education
—Presentations and workshops
Format: Multi-session or one-off · On-site · Elite to community level
Has worked with: AFL/AFLW clubs · Coates Talent League · State league · Local clubs · Sporting academies · School sport
ONLINE PROGRAM
Young athletes mental fitness program
Online mental fitness course for young athletes aged 12–20. Psychological tools built by someone who played elite AFL and holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Includes
—Understanding the performance mindset
—Managing nerves and performance anxiety
—Building focus and concentration skills
—Resilience, bouncing back from mistakes
—Confidence, self-talk and inner voice
—Pre-performance routines
—Mindfulness for athletes
Format: Self-paced online · Video modules · Practical exercises · Available now
Suits: Young athletes 12–20 · Parents or clubs · All sports
Athletes & teams
From Olympians to local clubs.
Ben works across the full performance spectrum, elite international athletes through to school sport squads.
Most young athletes train their bodies relentlessly. Very few understand how to train their mind, so they can respond when experiencing pressure.
This online program gives young athletes aged 12–20 the same psychological tools used by elite athletes, delivered in a format that's practical, accessible and built for how young people actually learn. No jargon. No theory overload. Skills they can use at training, on game day and in life.
Most importantly, the beauty of developing these mental skills is they will help bring the enjoyment and fun back to their sport
Built by Dr Ben Robbins, someone who played ten seasons of elite AFL football and holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
The Young Athletes Mental Fitness Program.
Available now — enrol today
What's covered — program topics
01 The performance mindset and how to enjoy sport
What elite sport teaches us about the mind and how to train it deliberately
02 Managing nerves and pressure
The science of performance anxiety and the tools to turn it from threat to opportunity
03 Focus & concentration
Attention control skills, staying present on the field when everything is pulling you away
04 Resilience & bouncing back
How to respond to mistakes, setbacks and bad games in a way that makes you stronger
05 Confidence & self-talk
Understanding the inner voice and learning to make it work for you, not against you
06 Pre-performance routines
Building consistent mental preparation rituals that prime performance on game day
07 Mindfulness for athletes
Practical mindfulness tools that work for athletes
Ages 12–20 All sports, all levels
Self-paced Online, on demand
Video modules With practical exercises
Available now Enrol today
Built for young athletes, clubs, parents and schools.
WHO THE PROGRAM IS FOR
The Young Athletes Mental Fitness Program can be purchased individually or in bulk.
Young athletes (ages 12–20)
Any sport, any level. The mental tools are universal.
Schools & PE departments
An add-on for school sport, health and PE classes, or student wellbeing initiatives.
Parents of young athletes
Giving your child the tools to manage the pressure and anxiety that performance often brings. Help them enjoy playing sport.
Athletes managing performance anxiety
Specifically useful for young athletes who experience anxiety under pressure or find the mental side of sport harder than the physical.
Clubs & sporting academies
Bulk enrolment for squads, academies or development programs. Complements your physical and skills coaching.
Athletes building foundations early
The best time to build mental fitness is before pressure becomes a problem. This gives 12–20 year olds the psychological foundations most athletes don't get until much later.
There are a lot of mental performance resources out there. Here’s why this one is worth your time.
WHY THIS PROGRAM IS DIFFERENT
01
Built by someone who played
at the top
Built with young athletes needs in mind.
02
Clinically rigorous, not motivational fluff
All the programs are based upon the latest psychological research.
03
Practical tools, not concepts to think about
Every module ends with something an athlete can use at the next training session or on game day.
04
Skills that transfer beyond
sport
The focus, resilience, self-regulation and mindfulness skills here are the same ones young people need at school, in relationships and in life
Over a decade at the highest level of Australian football.
AFL & ELITE SPORT
Ben played ten seasons of professional AFL. He then transitioned into psychology, then a player leadership role at North Melbourne.
For over a decade since, he has been at the centre of AFL mental health and wellbeing — leading programs at St Kilda and Essendon FC heading psychology and wellbeing .
He has worked directly with hundreds of professional athletes, coaches and high performance staff.
What people say after working with Ben.
Participant feedback
Feedback from program participants and professional peers. In line with AHPRA guidelines, individual client testimonials are not displayed.
Ben has a great ability to make complicated concepts understandable and relatable. He introduced a number of strategies to our team that made us better equipped to perform to our potential under pressure.
AFL COACH
I would like to thank Dr Ben Robbins for his captivating presentation on mental health and mindfulness. His insights on being present and attentive to reach one's full potential were thought-provoking. Our students left with a renewed curiosity and a desire to learn more.
SCOTCH COLLEGE PERTH- ASSISTANT HEAD OF SPORT
Dr Robbins' presentation served as a reminder that mental health is equally important as physical health. We appreciate your ongoing commitment to supporting the education and development of young minds.
POST- SESSION FEEDBACK - SENIOR FOOTBALL SQUAD