The mind behind the performance

Behind every athlete is a fierce thirst to get better.

To run faster. Read the game earlier. Win the next contest. Make the starting lineup. Be the best version of yourself.

For athletes with a disability, none of that is different.

The pressure of high-performance sport doesn't disappear because an athlete has cerebral palsy or another neurological condition. Neither does disappointment, frustration, nerves, confidence, motivation or the hundred other things going through an athlete's head before they step onto the pitch.

What can make a difference is knowing how to manage them.

Argentine sports psychologist Karina Maturano has spent years helping athletes do exactly that, including through her work with members of Argentina's men's wheelchair basketball team.

“Athletes with disabilities pursue demanding goals, manage pressure, and enjoy the process with the same level of commitment as any athlete focused on their development,” Maturano says.

It sounds obvious. Perhaps it should be.

But conversations about mental health and disability can too easily begin from a place of vulnerability rather than performance.

Maturano sees another side.

“They stand out for a remarkable tolerance for frustration — a distinctive trait that adds fundamental value to their mental strength.”

Her role isn't to remove frustration or pressure from an athlete's experience. Those things are part of sport. Instead, she works with athletes to understand them, prepare for them and, where possible, turn that preparation into an advantage.

“I support athletes in training and consolidating their mental toughness, transforming psychological preparation into a key advantage to optimise their performance,” she says.

That distinction matters.

Sports psychology isn't only something to reach for when an athlete is in crisis. In the same way athletes train their speed, strength, technique and tactical awareness, psychological skills can be worked on long before something goes wrong.

“Seeking mental health tools does not mean you are ‘struggling’,” Maturano says. “It is about prevention, building resilience, and acquiring strategies to manage stress, frustration and motivation — both in sports and in everyday life.”

Chris Lynch brings another perspective to that conversation.

As the former Wellbeing Manager for the Pararoos, Australia's men’s national CP Football team, Lynch worked inside a high-performance environment where athlete wellbeing wasn't an abstract concept. It was part of everyday life: camps, selection, competition, injury, travel, disappointment and the relationships that develop within a team over time.

“It was fiercely competitive when the prep is being done and when the whistle went,” Lynch explains.

“Once the game finished, there was this sense of mission and purpose around creating a sport and environments that are inclusive, competitive and genuinely enjoyable to be a part of.”

His experience also points to something broader: supporting wellbeing is not the responsibility of one psychologist, wellbeing manager or medical professional.

Coaches, teammates, administrators and the culture surrounding an athlete all play a part.

“When you see what they put into representing their country, you can only try to match that commitment with the level of support you provide them.

“You ask them, ‘what do you want to achieve?’ Then, ‘what do you need from me to help you achieve that?’

“You keep coming back to those questions.”

It is why conversations like these belong in football.

Not because athletes with disabilities are inherently more fragile.

Because they are athletes.

They experience pressure. They have bad games. They lose selection. They get injured. They worry about what comes next. They chase enormous goals and occasionally doubt whether they can reach them.

And, like any athlete, having the right people and the right tools around them can help.

Maturano will explore these ideas further at Monday's IFCPF Americas seminar, Building Healthy Environments for Better Performance.

Her message going into it is a simple one.

“I see athletes as individuals who challenge themselves every step of the way, regardless of their condition.”

CP Football, like any other variation of football, is a results-driven business. Yet, it’s so much more.

The work does not stop when the final whistle sounds. The work is not in vain if when it blows, the other team is the one celebrating.

The work never stops. Lynch has seen that firsthand.

“When you see someone overcome obstacles that most people could not fathom to get to the starting line, and they achieve something they have worked towards, it is incredibly powerful.

“It is not always about winning. It might be getting selected, making a first international appearance, or simply doing something they were not sure was possible.

“That is the power of sport. It becomes a vehicle for people of all abilities to navigate their world, build confidence, find belonging and discover what they are really capable of.”

There is no denying the skill and talent on display on CP Football pitches around the world. Records on the pitch are shattering, highlights are created every time a match takes place, and it illustrates the game is experiencing an upward trajectory.

Lynch knows that is not the only way to measure growth, and that more can be done when the limelight is switched off.

“The mental health and wellbeing support has to grow with the sport.

“If we are asking players to make enormous sacrifices financially, socially, professionally and personally to represent their country, then we have a responsibility to make sure the support around them recognises that.

“That matters for performance. You cannot separate wellbeing from major performance when someone is worrying about whether they can afford to take time off work, how their family is managing while they are away, or what returning home after a major competition means for them.”

Lynch’s job when working with athletes with a disability is to do what he can to allow them to flourish.

Give them the confidence they need to believe and perform. Then, do the talking when everyone is watching.

“The role of a practitioner is not to put limits on someone’s ambition because of the obstacles we can see. It is to understand what might get in the way, and then help create the conditions for them to pursue it.

“I have always believed, particularly when working with athletes who have significant obstacles in their lives, is that we should not decide what someone’s ceiling should be for them.”