ENGLAND star Ollie Watkins has revealed he has regular therapy with a life coach before and after games to get his worries off his chest.
The Three Lions bigwig’s career has taken off since he started talking to the guru – alleviating all his problems.
O attackeron Gareth Southgate Euros team, praised his new life counselor for clearing his mind of everything except hitting the net.
Although he bravely admitted that he was still shaken by doubt, he learned to trick his brain into ignoring any nagging doubts.
The £80m-rated striker, whose 27 goals and 13 assists last season took Aston Villa to the Champions League, also sees a performance therapist twice a week.
Ollie said: “Just working on my mentality and making sure that coming into the game I got everything off my chest.
“I talk to a life coach. Since I started working with him, he has definitely helped me.
“If there’s something I’m holding on to, anything I need to get off my chest, maybe before I go to the game, so I can focus on that and put that aside.
“Just to do my best and bring the best version of myself that day.
“I feel like it was the best investment I made, investing in myself, investing in my mindset has definitely made me a better player.”
Ollie, 28, who has two children, Amara, two, and Marley, 13 months, with his long-term partner Ellie Alderson, first turned to the life coach in October 2022.
He said: “If he hasn’t scored or if he’s scored three goals, I’ll still talk to him.
“I still talk to him before and after games, to make sure I talk about everything and then I can move on to the next game. And since he arrived, it has helped me a lot.”
The star told the High Performance podcast “Sometimes I just need to call him for a chat and just to check in and sometimes ask him what he thinks about things.
“I never feel like reaching out just when I need something.
“He’s very, he’s very direct. I remember I scored a hat-trick after Brighton and he said ‘well done, but that doesn’t mean anything’.
“And he’s right. It doesn’t happen because I still have the next game to play. You need to move on to the next one.
I feel like it was the best investment I made, investing in myself, investing in my mindset has definitely made me a better player
Ollie Watkins
“But also when I had a bad game, but that doesn’t mean anything.
“He says ‘you’ve got the next game to fix’.
“I think the mind is probably the most powerful thing. People train physically every day in the gym, but it takes a lot to change your mindset.”
Ollie has learned to overcome the self-doubt that held him back early in his career.
He said: “Belief was one thing that was perhaps holding me back.
“You need to have a bit of arrogance, you know that self-confidence that no one is going to stop you.
“I would say mentality is the most important thing. Your brain can tell you many things. You can kind of trick your brain into believing different things.
“It hindered my performance, but I feel like it got me to where I am today. I put pressure on myself, but not as much as before.”
Ollie said of the Euros: “I’m ready. I had one of my best seasons, without a doubt my best, and I feel like I’m confident in myself and my abilities and there’s no better time to go to a tournament.”
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