Overwhelmed by the situation: Mats Hummels after the defeat against Mainz in May 2023, which sealed Dortmund’s hope of the title at the time. Image: picture alliance/dpa
In an interview, mental trainer Julia David talks about resilience and pressure in professional sports, working with Bundesliga professionals and athletes’ fear of being seen as weak.
Julia David is the founder of “Julia David Consulting & Coaching” in Frankfurt. The 43-year-old originally comes from an entrepreneurial family and initially worked in sales and product management. Since 2009, David has been working as a consultant, mental and personality coach – for top athletes, entrepreneurs, teams and entrepreneurial families, among others. Your customers include athletes from the Bundesliga football, motorsport, tennis and triathlon sectors.
Mental training is becoming increasingly important in professional sports and for some athletes it now plays just as important a role as physiotherapy or nutrition plans. How did you become a mental coach?