a d v i c e
Mark Bowden
Mental
Performance Coach
T
OP players are queuing up to engage the services of a mental performance coach who puts his history of nailing organised crime gangs into turning them into better players. Mark Bowden spent his early career working undercover with police targeting some of the most highly skilled and dangerous criminals in the country. But now footballers of all levels in the professional game are knocking on his door looking for help on how they can get rid of the shackles in their minds to produce their best on the pitch.
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Bowden says the techniques employed by special branch officers are exactly what players need to use to make the most of their careers.
“The crossover there looks a big change but it’s not really because when you know how the brain works, it doesn’t really matter what the stimulus to the stress is.
He said: “I was a covert operative with the serious organised crime agency, up in London. I spent 10 years working on various operations teams.
“At the end of the day, when I would be deployed in the field and leading operations about some of the biggest criminal networks in the UK, when you’re out there, you’re performing to the best you can possibly perform in a very highly stressful situation.
