ABOUT THE PROJECT

GameMind – building mental strength in sport

— about

GameMind is an Erasmus+ project dedicated to strengthening the mental resilience of young female athletes and improving the capacity of sports clubs in the field of mental health.
Throughout the 2026–2027 project period, GameMind will integrate mental preparation into everyday training through workshops, individual consultations, and coach training sessions.
The project promotes psychological safety, inclusion, and the creation of healthy, supportive sports environments.
The project brings together partners from Serbia, Italy, Spain, France, and North Macedonia, with all activities implemented in parallel across clubs in all partner countries, ensuring strong transnational cooperation and knowledge exchange.

Project Objectives

— What We Aim to Achieve

Resilience

Equip female athletes with effective mental preparation skills to enhance emotional regulation, focus, stress management, and self-motivation through structured bi-monthly workshops and post-match consultations.

Guidance

Train coaches and staff in gender-sensitive mental health support, focusing on communication, emotional support, and stress management strategies.

Tools

Create and implement practical, evidence-based tools — including the MindSprint Toolkit, MindCoach Playbook, Post-match Framework, and MindSprint Board Game — to support mental preparation and resilience in sports settings.

Impact

Ensure broad adoption of the project’s tools beyond the consortium through dissemination, training, and partnerships with sports federations and external organizations, promoting inclusive and supportive mental health practices in sport.

Key Project Activities

— TIMELINE

December 2025

Kick-off meeting

To establish a shared understanding of the project’s objectives, structure and implementation plan, ensuring effective coordination among partners and alignment on roles, responsibilities, communication procedures and timelines for successful project delivery.

January – February 2026

Needs assessment (focus group & survey)

Aims to establish a strong foundation for the project by collecting detailed information on the current state of mental preparation and psychological support in sports clubs.

August 2026 – April 2027

Mental preparation workshops

held twice a month throughout the 2026–2027 sports season, these workshops are designed to help female athletes strengthen their mental resilience through structured and practical sessions led by a sports psychologist/mental coach.

August 2026 – April 2027

Post-match consultations

Between the coach and the sports psychologist/mental coach during the 2026–2027 season – to monitor the team’s psychological progress and adjust the content of future workshops. These consultations serve to: analyze how the team reacts and progresses in relation to the topics and techniques covered in the mental preparation workshops; identify psychological patterns, challenges, or shifts in behavior and communication within the team.

October 2026

Mid-term meeting

Serves as a key milestone to review the project’s progress, evaluate completed activities and deliverables, and discuss any adjustments needed to ensure the project stays on track toward achieving its goals

August 2026, December 2026, April 2027

Capacity building training for coaches and staff

This activity focuses on equipping coaches and staff with practical skills to integrate mental health and resilience strategies into daily training.

October 2027

Final meeting & conference

This activity brings together all project partners and stakeholders to review the project’s achievements, adoption of tools, and overall impact.

The project methodology is based on three pillars

— METHODOLOGY

• Scientific foundation

Tools and content are developed with the support of sports psychologists and based on proven approaches.

• Practical application

Workshops and post-match consultations enable the direct application of learned techniques in real sports situations.

• Knowledge transfer and sustainability

Coaches and staff gain the skills to independently implement the program with the support of developed tools and manuals.