Lara Mossman
Lara Mossman is currently working towards her PhD in wellbeing and positive psychology in football at La Trobe University in Melbourne. As well as being a regular contributor to PDP, Lara teaches positive psychology at The University of Melbourne.
Articles by Lara Mossman
Have you had a conversation with your players about why they play football? What is it that motivates them to turn up to training, sometimes three or more times a week, no matter what the conditions? In this article, resident positive psychology expert Lara Mossman looks at the ways in which coaches can empower players to become self-motivated. It’s likely that across your team there will be a variety of different reasons why players turn up. Some may not want to be there at all…
Resident positive psychology expert, Lara Mossman discusses how to create positive sports environments for developing players. In this challenging article Lara discusses what role coaches can play in trying to apply positive psychology to their approach and whether traditional coach education has done enough to arm coaches with the right skills to do so. Does positive youth development have a place in football coaching? From coaching, parenting and players there is a growing interest in bringing learnings from positive psychology to the sports field. Before…
In this article, resident positive psychology expert Lara Mossman looks at good character through a strengths lens, focussing specifically on two strengths, courage and caution, and looking at how these can be overused or underused in coaching. We often hear calls for good character in our young football players, but what about our coaches? After all, coaches influence their players in a multitude of ways (Lorimer & Jowett, 2014). Viewed positively, they can be great role models for their players and leave a lasting legacy….
How can you make your environment as positive as possible? In this Masterclass Discussion, Positive Psychology expert, Lara Mossman joins PDP Editor, Dave Wright for an in-depth discussion on positive psychology in coaching. Lara is one of Player Development Project’s founding contributors and is a world-class expert in the area of positive psychology in coaching. Dave and Lara tackle some common misconceptions around psychology, discuss what positive psychology is and how coaches can apply it. The conversation also covers what an autonomy supportive environment actually…
In this Live Webinar replay PhD Candidate & Researcher, Lara Mossman joins Player Development Project for a Masterclass on Positive Psychology in Coaching. Lara is a regular magazine and blog contributor to PDP and an expert in her field, currently advising on a number of football related projects for Football Federation Victoria & Football Federation Australia. Join PDP Editor, Dave Wright & PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan as they discuss the concepts of positive psychology with Lara, examining it’s impact and how to apply it to…
Old school player development tells us, ‘winning is everything.’ The problem with focusing on performance outcomes though, is where does that leave us when we fail? What happens when we lose a match, a tournament or face rejection from a squad? How can we bounce back? Professor Carol Dweck from Stanford University has extensively researched success and discovered that our mindset matters. Players with a growth mindset are more likely to achieve in the long run because they embrace challenges, persist through obstacles, believe they…
Creativity involves putting ideas together in new and useful ways. Lara Mossman, Positive Psychology Researcher, football player, and mother of three, offers a refreshing and practical view on creativity. What is it, and how can we prime our young players to become more creative? Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, inventor of the ‘Cruyff Turn’ and the man behind the ‘phantom goal’, epitomised the creative footballer in the 1970s, as does today’s global superstar Lionel Messi. Cruyff was a king of improvisation, throwing out the rulebook on positioning and producing…
In a time when self promotion and self celebration seem to be the focus of an entire generation, Lara Mossman explains why teamwork is still the most effective game plan of all. Nick Levett, FA National Development Manager, says that first and foremost we should be building good character in young people. It is sound advice for players developing their dream style of play because character plays an important role in goal achievement. The field of positive psychology has identified 24 character strengths that can enable…
People who know their values are often happier; they’re more focused, and live a more meaningful life. This month Lara Mossman met with AHPRA endorsed sports psychologist Michael Inglis to discuss values and the important role they play in youth development. Inglis, who has a Masters in sports and exercise psychology, supports a holistic approach to sports medicine and is an advocate of values in sport. LM: Can you a tell me a bit about your experience working with athletes? MI: I work with a range of…
Interest in women’s football is at an all-time high and on the surface it appears to be flourishing. Coverage of the Women’s World Canada 2015 is a testament to this. However, as a parent of both male and female youth players, it is evident that the gap between the women’s and men’s game is huge; a gap that exists from grassroots right through to the top level. At youth level, I see coaches with higher qualifications assigned to boys’ teams and parent coaches allocated to…