Photo: Romain Vicat ©

They are no longer the preserve of top athletes. Mental coaches also support entrepreneurs subject to the same performance goals, as well as a more ordinary public. Mental coaching expert Romain Vicat shares with us a few unsuspected keys to the transformative power of the mind.

By Sabah Kaddouri

Some periods, such as the start of the year or the quest for the “Summer body” in spring, come with good sporting resolutions… which run out of steam over time. Is mindset the key?

Romain Vicat : These are indeed two periods that see a peak in gyms, which then gradually empty out… This is where the mind plays an important role. Today, it is unanimously recognized that there is a link between physical and mental aspects, each feeding off the other. Optimizing these two components is the key to lasting, and that is how I work in my practice.

How can we draw inspiration from champions to boost our mindset?

Romain Vicat : Most champions, if not all of them, have a strategy in which the mind plays a part. In a recent interview, Teddy Riner (the most decorated judoka of all time) explained the importance of this lever in his success, even estimating it as responsible for 65-70% of his performances. And he is not the only one to talk about the importance of mental preparation. Every elite athlete has their own method developed alongside their coaches, so understanding it makes it possible to effectively combine mental preparation with performance. This discipline directly impacts the other factors in an athlete’s preparation, such as technique, tactics and physical condition.

What mechanisms do you work on as a mental coach?

Romain Vicat : The mental coach works on optimizing mental skills. These are numerous, such as the ability to concentrate, stress management, emotion management… As far as I am concerned, my method consists of prompting the athlete to question themselves in order to awaken a certain level of awareness, a prerequisite for finding a tailor-made method. Indeed, every athlete is different, so there is not just one approach but rather a set of tools to be activated. In each situation, the athlete uses them in a relevant way. 

Share with us two before/after transformations thanks to your method

Romain Vicat : I have supported many people of different ages and from different sports. If I must mention just two, I would start with a 10-year-old autistic boy for whom playing rugby was not easy. His father was a former rugby player and there were expectations around him. We first did a lot of coordination work in physical preparation, linked to work on self-confidence using mental preparation techniques. A few months later, he was not the same child on the pitch anymore: he was tackling, scoring and, above all, enjoying himself. His relationship with others also improved enormously.
A second case would be that of a judoka preparing for the world championships. He had contacted me because he did not know why, before major competitions, he would lose his means, preventing him from expressing his full potential. Once again, mental preparation proved key. It helped him understand how he functioned and what was blocking him, and with personalized tools, I carried out training in certain mental skills. He was able to make sporting progress. So much is decided in the mind.

Performance is also the lot of entrepreneurs; what do you observe about these profiles?

Romain Vicat : I also spend time with this audience and am aware of their reality. Entrepreneurs face challenges that are very similar to those of top-level athletes. Stress management, thought management, concentration, goal-setting… these are all mental skills that are essential to master in the world of entrepreneurship if one wants to perform.

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