Performance Anxiety

Most athlete's nervous system is in constant fight or flight mode. The inner battle never stops and emotional ups and downs can cause overthinking. Breathing is the mirror of your inner state and dramitically influences your abilty to recover during sleep and build mental toughness and resilience.

"Silly" Mistakes

Many players waste 5–7 minutes to get fully focused and locked in at the start of a game. This slow mental start often leads to avoidable "silly" mistakes. With the right mental training and breathwork protocol, focus and concentration can become a powerful advantage and a key driver of your peak performance.

"Gassing Out" too Early

87.5% of athletes breathe dysfunctionally. When your breathing muscles are not fit for high performance they steal oxygen-rich blood from your legs, leaving you feeling heavy, slow, burned out and breathless. You don't just feel tired, your body language also shows tired. 

1 - Soccer Breathwork

It all starts with the breath. Specific soccer breathing techniques help to reduce stress, improve recovery and even boost repeated sprint abilty by up to 64%. Scientifically proven methods regulate the autonomic nervous system and help you getting out of the constant fight and flight state, when you need to.

2 - Mental Training

Focus and concentration is what follows naturally and the base for mental training, visualization, self talk techniques etc. Cognitive restructuring of the subconscious mind can help to overcome annoying blockages. Only then athletes build real and lasting mental strength and resilience needed for high-pressure situations.

3 - Performance Habits

Creating a longterm vision & setting goals beyond just winning games on the pitch is the final part based on your own motivational drivers and personality type. Together we build your unique high-performance habit protocols, so you can perform and enjoy no matter the circumstances. 

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HI, I AM 

STEFAN PETER

I’m a certified Breathwork Trainer with a Master’s in Sports, Health, and Leadership, along with advanced certifications in High-Performance Sports Psychology and Athlete Development from FC Barcelona.
As a sports performance coach, I’ve worked with over 500 individuals, athletes, coaches, and teams since 2011 including elite players like Mak Whitham (youngest pro in NWSL history), Samantha Rosette, Michelle Betos, Maitane Lopez, Emiliano Marcondes and more. Players I work with compete at top-tier clubs such as FC Bayern Munich, Gotham FC, Austria Wien, New York Red Bulls and others.
In my opinion high performance is no longer just about grinding harder, it’s about learning how to regulate physically, mentally and emotionally, balancing the nervous system, shifting mindset to activate flow states, and recovering better for more performance joy and a more fulfilling career, even beyond the sport.
"Your breath is the remote control to your mind. Quiet the inner noise to break the outer performance blocks - and unlock your full potential. True performance starts here." – Stefan Peter

Where It Begins:

Mental strength requires strong and functional breathing. The first step is to help you understand how your breath directly impacts your focus, energy, and confidence. Through my specific soccer breathwork training protocol, we improve your biochemistry, biomechanics, and nervous system regulation. This is the foundation for effective mental training for athletes, especially in high-pressure moments where performance anxiety often shows up.

Where We're Going:

Together, we build mental toughness, clarity, and the ability to stay calm and sharp during games. Whether you're a young talent or seasoned pro, I give you practical tools rooted in soccer psychology and mental preparation for soccer to boost your concentration, consistency, and emotional control on and off the pitch.

How to Start:

Your breath is the mirror of your mindset. Start with the BOLT test (see video above) to check your current state. Then book a free 30-minute call with me. I’ll walk you through real, proven techniques from my EMOTIONSET METHOD - used by dozens of top players to help you break through mental blocks and create lasting habits for high performance and mental health. No fluff. No monk stuff. Just what works. Looking forward meeting you.

Soccer Mental Coaching
Dylan Maes
U23 RWANDA INTERNATIONAL

"I managed to identify the fears and negative belief that have been holding me back a lot. I have been doing the breathing exercises and it helped me a lot with my performance also. The fear meditation is something I also do daily, it helped me to decrease my anxiety and stress"

Soccer Mental Training New York Red Bulls
Roberto Guzman
SOCCER COACH NEW YORK RED BULLS

"My consistency was always hitting a peak and then I would hit this rock bottom emotionally, spiritually and physically. The Emotionset Method helped me to push myself back up and I can highly recommend it to any coach or player." 

  • Stefan is very knowledgeable in his field and he was very easy to open up to. He was able to help me reflect on my playing career and how it will help me transition into the next phase of my life - which is coaching. He was able to provide valuable tools an techniques to help shift my mindset and view things from a different perspective. These tools and techniques are integral for the mental side of sports, both as a player and a coach.
  • “Stefan offered expertise and insight during our conversations. He has a defined process to help athletes improve the mental side of their game, which could be tailored to the individual needs of the athlete.”
  • As a collegiate athlete the mental side of sport is just as difficult as the physical aspect so when Stefan reached out offering his knowledge I took the opportunity. The best thing about Stefan was how personal he was, he delved in about my story before getting into the logistics of psychology. I’ve struggled a lot with recent injuries which takes a big toll of one’s mental health. He helped me identify and overcome difficulties I never knew I had.
  • I had a great conversation with Stefan where we talked about some very important aspects on the mental side of sports performance. We went through a few exercises which really helped me to think of new ways to improve my performance from the mental side. I’m excited to learn more and apply these techniques in the future!
  • In one call with Stefan he helped improve my understanding of psychology and emotional intelligence. He passed on some really useful tips to help with my own individual development. In the modern world, it is an aspect of sport that is becoming increasingly important for individuals and athletes to be aware of.
  • Stefan knows how to relate to and reach his clients in order to help them identify and overcome destructive patterns. A true enthusiast of the game, he understands the psychological importance of performance and has the educational knowledge to take his clients to the next level.
  • The coaching has fully changed my perspective of myself as an athlete. Even only after a first session I have already thought of my career differently. I’m looking forward to my next few games to use the techniques and strategies given to me.
  • Stefan shared key insights into the world of emotional development and mindset that I had initially looked over. We spoke about my specific targets, and he was patient and attentive to all my questions regarding the implementation of my mindset strategies. The call was overall an amazing reflection tool and a clear introduction to a service that can help young coaches like myself gain a fast track to advanced emotional intelligence.
  • The clear and simple questions in the workbook helped me to perform better quickly. I was able to identify and change beliefs that blocked my performance. It was the first time I answered questions that I would usually avoid asking myself. But i was surprised how easy it is to change my subconscious limiting beliefs, once I experienced it consciously. I can finally work on a completely new vision. I also feel that I am more relaxed now when I play tennis and I am able to perform better.
  • As a personal coach and Ironman athlete I know how important good mindset is. This 4-week course was the first time I also realized how my emotions and my thoughts are interconnected. Even me as a coach myself I appreciate being coached from time to time. I can highly recommend this program if you feel stuck or don´t know how to overcome negative emotions yourself. In addition I also booked 1:1 coaching with Stefan Peter because I wanted to speed up this process and I am glad I did.

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