Mind coach who guided Socceroos in Qatar points to dangerous distractions the Matildas must avoid to run for World Cup title

The mind coach who helped the Socceroos players keep their cool in Qatar is now working with the Matildas as they dive deep into the Women’s World Cup – and he has a warning for Sam Kerr and her teammates.

Mike Conway is founder and CEO of XVenture and an emotional agility and mind coach for elite athletes and teams, including both the Socceroos and the Matildas.

He joined the Socceroos at the 2018 World Cup and was there to show off his skills as Australia achieved their best ever result in the group stage before challenging the might of eventual winners Argentina.

Some of the Matildas players are new to the level of hype and attention they are getting, including playing to a crowd of 75,000 in last night’s 2-0 win over Denmark.

Part of Conway’s role is to keep those expectations in check and help players focus on the task at hand.

He warns that the Matildas should steer clear of “technoference” – his term for the distraction that social media provides.

Conway has warned the Matildas not to be distracted by outside noises from social media

Conway (pictured right with Socceroo Jackson Irvine and coach Graham Arnold) helped the Socceroos and Matildas bounce back from disappointing World Cups in 2018 and ’19

“After the last Women’s World Cup, there was a lot of learning and humility that had to come from past losses. The staff and players have to reset after facing judgments and perceptions that they are not good enough,” said Conway.

“They have done the preparation and the practice and they have a clear goal. They want to win – and they have a good chance.’

“In Qatar we spent a lot of time together, took care of each other, there was a great atmosphere and what helped was that we didn’t read into the hype and social media,” he said.

“The Matildas have an extraordinary team identity, they have quality and they have very good players.

“This is such an exciting time for women’s sport and an exciting time for Australia.”

The Matildas experience a wave of success, but with it comes new pressures and challenges that Conway helps to overcome

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Earlier, Conway said he developed new strategies to help both the Socceroos and Matildas after they crashed out of their respective World Cups.

The Socceroos failed to escape the group stage in Russia with their only points coming from a draw against Denmark, while the Matildas were knocked out of the round of 16 at the 2019 World Cup in a shock loss to Norway.

Since then, Conway has worked with the players individually and collectively to overcome those daunting defeats.

“It’s not uncommon to get into a negative headspace where your fear of the outcome also becomes negative,” he said.

Lately I’ve been providing new visualization and fast-track mindfulness techniques so players can still practice off the ball and get into a calm mindset quickly.

‘And also building new on-field communication programs. Anything to give us that extra percent.’

Conway will be a keynote speaker at #CapTech2023, one of Australia’s largest business and capital events. The event will take place in Sydney from October 24-27, culminating in a global summit at ICC Sydney on October 25.