You walk out onto the pitch… and for the first time in ages, you’re calm.
No tension, no fear, no voice in your head whispering, “don’t mess up.”
You check in with yourself.
The usual dread, gone.
The need to prove something, gone.
The joy of playing, back.
You’re not avoiding mistakes anymore, you’re welcoming them.
You’re not fearing judgement, you’re heading straight towards it.
Football doesn’t feel like a job today.
It feels like freedom.
Like those kickabouts at the park when you were a kid.
No pressure, just instinct, just joy.
Somewhere along the line, when you turned pro, that feeling disappeared.
But now, it’s back, and you’re dangerous.
You’re not overthinking.
You’re just playing, fast, fearless, and free.
And when you play like that…
Anything is possible this season.
⚠️ Pro footballers, if this sounds like the version of you that’s trying to come out, I’ve built something for you:
A brand new Masterclass designed only for professionals who want to feel confident, consistent, and completely unshakable this season.
✅ DM me ‘masterclass’ and I’ll send it to you.
You’ll also get:
a free 1:1 strategy call with me
access to my Goal Setting GPT that builds your roadmap for the season
The best season of your life doesn’t happen by chance.
It starts with how you feel when you step onto the pitch.
Let’s go 👊🏼
You don’t need more gym work 🏋🏻♀️
You don’t need more extras 🏃🏻♂️
You don’t need more motivational clips 🗣️
What you do need…
Is to finally sort your mindset 🧠
Because deep down, you know this:
You overthink everything
You beat yourself up when you make a mistake
You’re chasing perfection and it’s killing your confidence
And you still think you have to do it all alone
But the best don’t suffer in silence
They get help
Real help
The kind that actually shifts the way you think and play
That’s what I do
I’ve worked with top pros
Keepers, captains, players fighting for contracts and managers
Players coming back from rock bottom
And every single one of them says the same thing:
“I wish I started this sooner”
You don’t need a therapist
You need a performance partner
Who knows football
Who speaks your language, swears a little and doesn’t use confusing words
Who gets what it feels like when you’re under pressure and doubting yourself
If you’re ready to go to new levels this season
And if you’re ready to step up
DM me “doc” and I’ll send you all the details of the hats involved working with me (it’s a little bit different)
and a free masterclass that will help have your best season ever!
Let’s go 👊🏼
4 days in Portugal with professional goalkeepers.
Elite-level goalkeeper coaching.
Mindset work.
Recovery.
Golf.
Conversations that actually move your career forward.
This isn’t a holiday.
And it isn’t another generic camp.
This is for goalkeepers who want to sharpen every part of their game around other top pros.
You’ll work closely with:
• Me
• KP
• Martin Brennan — one of the best goalkeeper coaches we’ve ever worked with
Over the 4 days, we’ll go deep into:
• Handling pressure
• Confidence and consistency
• Decision-making
• Resetting after mistakes
• Communication and leadership
• Performing when it matters most
You’ll also get:
• Professional-level goalkeeper sessions
• Golf and downtime with the lads
• Real conversations around the game
• 30 days working with me and KP after the camp finishes
Most camps finish when you leave.
This is where you only just get started.
The 30 days afterwards are designed to help you actually implement what you learn into your football and your life.
We’ve got 3 spaces left.
If you’re interested, send me a DM and I’ll send you the full details.
@lukeonien - From Smarter Not Harder
27 May 2019
Charlton score in the 94th minute of the League One play-
off final.
I drop to my knees, head bandaged, tears falling.
I can still hear the roar, see the red flares, feel the pain.
In that moment, I thought my dream was over.
25 May 2025
Tommy Watson scores in the 95th minute of the Championship
play-off final.
This time my arm’s in a sling, tears falling again, but for
a different reason.
Joy. Relief. Pride.
Because now, my dream isn’t ending… it’s only just
beginning.
If you’d told the 2014 version of me, the kid sat on
the bench in the Ryman Premier, six divisions below the
Championship, desperate just to get a game, that I’d one
day be walking out at Wembley three times, playing in the
Premier League, I’d have laughed.
The journey has been nothing short of incredible, for
me and for my family.
And the question I always get asked is:
‘How did you do it?’
Parents come up to me all the time:
‘What’s the blueprint?
Should I get my kid a strength coach?
Do I need a nutritionist?
An agent?
When should they join an academy?’
Players ask similar things:
‘How many hours do you train?
Do you even have a day off?
How much extras do you do?
Do you lift weights?’
Every question comes from a good place, from people
who want to make it. But for years, my honest answer
missed something.
Because I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
I could talk about hard work, sacrifice, discipline. I could
show you my training schedules, my recovery routines, my
gym work. I did it all.
But after a while, I noticed something strange.
I was working harder than ever… yet getting stuck.
Same player. Same results.
It was like Groundhog Day.
The harder I pushed, the worse I played.
I overthought everything.
The joy disappeared.
Football was supposed to get easier with experience –
but it was getting harder.
Then I met Rob…
We have news, next season me and @lukeonien are joining together to work together with a select number of players.
Giving them the tools, techniques and systems to chance everything for them.
If you want to know more.
DM us ‘elite’ and we will send you the details.
He’s a cheat…
No he’s working smarter, not harder!
If you want to work smarter and not harder and you’re a pro message me ‘training’ and I’ll send you a 17 minute training that will change the way you think.
#football #footballmindset #professionalfootball
How do you deal with pressure?
Do you thrive under it, or do you just try and survive?
It's getting to the business end of the season now, and the ones who are best prepared mentally will see pressure as an opportunity to perform.
The ones who aren't will struggle and they go into their shell and just try and survive.
If you want to handle pressure better,
I've recorded a 10-minute podcast that will help you deal with pressure better today.
Comment ‘daily’ below and I'll send it to your inbox.
Hard work is great until it isn't. I've worked with so many players, and they've all got an unbelievable work ethic because that's what they've been told all their life: "Work hard, work hard, work hard."
Working hard only works until it doesn't, because this is when most players start working harder and harder and harder again, but they get worse and worse and worse, and then they start overthinking and then they get stuck in their own head.
When most players come to me and they say, "I've been working really hard and things aren't changing," I say, "Of course they're not. If you keep doing the same things, you keep getting the same results." That's when I start talking to them about ten times, thinking "working smarter not harder" and "less is more." When they put that into practise, things start happening for them.
They start playing free from fear, and clubs start noticing, and that's all down to changing the way you be and changing your strategies and systems.
If you want to know more, I've created a 17-minute training, "Beginner Training," and I'll send it to you.
Here. We. Go. 💩
Skip the scroll. Comment “Box” and we’ll DM you a link straight to the episode - live NOW on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube 🍿🎧
#podcast #goalkeeping #goalkeepermindset #football
I have noticed and I do notice so many players who tell their selves stories they create a narrative that’s killing their game.
‘When I play at a certain ground, I never play well’
'The manager's been talking about me behind my back’
‘I can't recover from making a mistake early'
These stories that you're telling yourself are killing you, and they're not even true.
If you change your story, you change your game.
Because the story you're telling yourself so far is keeping you stuck.
If you want to know how to change it and you're a professional footballer, DM me ‘training’ and I'll send you a 17-minute training that will massively help you.
Most pros aren’t struggling because they’re not good enough.
They’re struggling because their mind is loud.
Overthinking.
Over-analysing.
Underperforming when it matters most.
Why?
Because when things go wrong (and they always do in football)…
they don’t have the tools to deal with it.
So they fall back on the only thing they’ve ever been taught:
“Work harder.”
Bad game? Work harder.
Low confidence? Work harder.
Overthinking? Work harder.
But here’s the problem…
Working harder doesn’t fix a noisy mind.
It just makes you more tired, more frustrated…
and even worse on the pitch.
So you start thinking:
“What’s the point?”
If that hit a nerve, you’re not alone.
I’ve seen this over and over again with pro footballers…
far more than people realise.
But here’s the truth most players never hear:
You don’t need to work harder.
You need a better system.
A way to stay clear, confident, and in control, even when things aren’t going your way.
I’ve put together a 17-minute training that shows you exactly how to do that.
No fluff.
Just what actually works at the top level.
If you want it, DM me “training”
and I’ll send it straight over.
What I’ve learned working with 100+ goalkeepers from 17 different countries:
I’ve been lucky to work with several goalkeepers who have started from the bottom and have gone on to earn millions of pounds from the game
When they came to me for help, nearly all of them said they needed to:
“Work harder”
“Do more”
“Double down on training”
After working together, they soon realised that more reps and more gym sessions was never the answer to pushing them towards their goals
The real answer:
Learning how to consistently access flow and deliver consistent performances
Now you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to realise that more reps and gym sessions don’t help you get there
Understanding yourself and what you are like on the pitch when at your best does.
Now this isn’t for everyone. The reason why professional goalkeepers are elite is because they are unique human beings.
They look for the 1%’s that most people overlook. Mindset is one of those 1%’s.
Coaches talk about confidence. Manager’s talk about ‘big game goalkeepers’
But how do you train those things?
Motivational videos? No,
Reps on the training pitch? No.
You train those things through strategies and techniques.
That’s what we’re going to give you.
On Sunday 10th May, we’re hosting an event for goalkeepers that is going to revolutionize the way you look at goalkeeping.
We’re going to give you the techniques, strategies and tools you need to deliver your best performances, week in-week out.
If you want to be part of an exclusive group of goalkeepers, comment ‘summit’ and I’ll send you the information.
Time on your career is ticking…take action.
#goalkeeper #goalkeepertraining #goalkeepermindset #premierleague #goalkeepermotivation
I was scrolling the Gram as you do, and then I come across a video, "Old Man Tests It".
It was a therapist putting on one shoe and tying it up, and I thought, "You know what, it can't be that hard. I'll give it a go."
Is it really easy, or am I just an outlier who has unbelievable balance from my football days? 😂
P.S. It skews the socks, and I know I'm going to get killed by my missus for not cleaning up the floor before I did this video. I apologise in advance, Jeni
