Bennion Kearny publishes sport psychology books for athletes, coaches, sport psychologists and officials, from complete beginners to experienced practitioners. They are written by leading sport psychologists, including Dan Abrahams, Dr Martin Turner, Dr Jamie Barker, Dr Matt Slater and Dr Paul McCarthy, and between them they cover football, golf, cricket, cycling, tennis, badminton and more.
Below you will find a short introduction to what sport psychology is, a guide to where to start, and our books grouped by sport and by reader. Titles from our sister imprint, Hawksmoor Publishing, are included too.
What is sport psychology?
Sport psychology is the study and practice of the mental side of performance. Applied sport psychologists work with athletes to help them reach their performance goals, most often by improving concentration, motivation, self-confidence and mental preparation for competition.
Four techniques are so widely used that they are often called the ‘canon’ of applied sport psychology:
- Goal setting
- Self-talk
- Imagery
- Relaxation
Each technique follows general principles, but the most effective versions are tailored to the individual athlete. As with physical and technical skills, mental skills only improve through systematic, deliberate and repeated practice: there is no short cut to mental toughness. A good sport psychologist will also review whether a programme is working, and the working relationship between athlete and psychologist often matters as much as the techniques themselves.
Where to start
- Any athlete, any sport: Tipping The Balance or Compete
- Footballers: Soccer Tough
- Football coaches: Soccer Brain or Developing The 5Cs
- Golfers: Golf Tough or The Successful Golfer
- Athlete wellbeing: Perform & Thrive
- Stories from elite performers: Performing Under Pressure
Mental skills for any athlete
Practical, evidence-based books for athletes in any sport who want to perform under pressure, and for the coaches and psychologists who support them.
Compete: Developing a Mental Playbook for Performance Under Pressure in Sport
Author: Dan Abrahams | Published May 2026 | 212 pages
Dan Abrahams’ newest book shows athletes, step by step, how to build a personal Mental Playbook for their best performances under pressure. Drawing on more than 20 years with elite sport, it covers the three mental skills that most influence performance, how the best players focus, his Elite Competitor Model, an in-game persona for confidence, and fast-acting self-control techniques. Written mainly for team sports, but just as useful for individual athletes.
Performing Under Pressure: Conversations With Those That Know
Author: Dr Paul Mansell and Prof Matt Slater | Published 30 October 2026 | 324 pages
Drawn from more than 80 hours of interviews for their acclaimed podcast, sport and performance psychologists Paul Mansell and Matt Slater distil conversations with footballers, Olympians, coaches and psychologists into 17 core themes, from mindset, preparation and belief to self-compassion, leadership, teamwork and recovery. Contributors include Kate Richardson-Walsh and Conor Coady, and each chapter ends with practical exercises to try.
Tipping The Balance: The Mental Skills Handbook For Athletes
Author: Dr Martin Turner and Dr Jamie Barker | Published November 2014
Two of the UK’s leading sport psychologists set out evidence-based strategies that help athletes of every sport and level perform with freedom under pressure: dealing with distractions, regulating emotions, maintaining confidence and trusting the body to deliver. It introduces the MAPP (Map to Achieving Peak Performance) and includes practical exercises throughout.
ACT in Sport: Improve Performance through Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Commitment
Author: Dr James Hegarty and Christoph Huelsmann | Published November 2020
A practical workbook on Acceptance and Commitment Training, the increasingly popular approach built on values, mindfulness, acceptance and defusion. With more than 20 exercises and a free downloadable workbook, it helps athletes deal with performance anxiety, overthinking and choking. Foreword by ACT co-founder Steven C. Hayes and Patrick Smith.
Perform & Thrive: A Sportsperson’s Guide to Mental Health and Wellbeing
Author: Sarah Broadhead | Published November 2022 | 182 pages
Chartered Psychologist Sarah Broadhead explains why good mental health and wellbeing underpin lasting success in sport and life. Treating wellbeing as a continuum rather than a fixed state, it covers self-understanding, sporting culture, relationships, stress and the right support, with research and athletes’ stories. For athletes, coaches and administrators. Foreword by Jade Jones OBE.
Football psychology
Dan Abrahams’ bestselling books and more, for footballers who want to be mentally tougher and for coaches who want to build that toughness in their players.
Soccer Tough and Soccer Tough 2
Author: Dan Abrahams
Dan Abrahams’ international bestsellers give players practical techniques – body language, mental scripts, self-talk and imagery – to develop focus, energy and confidence and play consistently under pressure. Soccer Tough 2 adds more advanced tools. Both are also available together in one volume.
Soccer Brain: The 4C Coaching Model for Developing World Class Player Mindsets and a Winning Football Team
Author: Dan Abrahams | Published June 2013 | 198 pages
Written for coaches rather than players, Soccer Brain focuses on the two sides of coaching that most books overlook – player mindset and team culture – and shows how the environment and relationships a coach creates underpin performance.
Coaching Psychological Skills in Youth Football: Developing The 5Cs
Author: Chris Harwood and Richard Anderson | Published March 2015 | 218 pages
A practical framework for coaching commitment, communication, concentration, control and confidence in players aged 5 to 16, including a complete 12-month development plan and sample exercises.
Find out more about Coaching Psychological Skills in Youth Football
The Future Coach: Creating Tomorrow’s Soccer Players Today
Author: Tom Bates | Published December 2017
Tom Bates explores how the most successful coaches build high-performance cultures by focusing on mindset, human development and behaviour, preparing players to perform under pressure.
Golf psychology
Golf is played as much in the mind as on the course. These three books tackle the mental game from different angles.
Golf Tough: Practice, Prepare, Perform and Progress
Author: Dan Abrahams | Published March 2014 | 180 pages
Dan Abrahams, Lead Psychologist for England Golf and a former touring professional, argues that lower scores come from how you practise, prepare and think rather than from ever-better technique. It offers a practical blueprint for consistent performance, with input from leading coaches and statisticians.
The Successful Golfer: Practical Fixes for the Mental Game of Golf
Author: Dr Paul McCarthy and Prof Marc Jones | Published July 2013 | 192 pages
Fifty of the most common mental faults in golf, from first-tee nerves and missed short putts to throwing away a winning position, each with a practical fix. It also summarises research from 30 studies and explains techniques such as building a pre-shot routine.
A Round In My Mind: The Golfer and The Sport Psychologist on The Jubilee Course at St Andrews
Author: Dr Paul McCarthy and Mark Wilson | Published May 2015 | 112 pages
A 4-handicap golfer plays the Jubilee Course at St Andrews with a sport psychologist at his side. Hole by hole, this story-led book tackles emotional control, decision-making, ego and self-imposed limits. Co-written by the first resident sport psychologist at St Andrews Links.
Cricket, cycling, tennis and badminton
Sport-specific psychology books for players and coaches in individual and racquet sports.
The Psychology of Cricket: Developing Mental Toughness
Author: Dr Stewart Cotterill | Published March 2013 | 232 pages
Whether batting, bowling or fielding, mental strength often separates the best cricketers from the rest. This book helps players and coaches at every level develop confidence, motivation, concentration and emotional control, with mental skills for both practice and matches.
The Hidden Motor: The Psychology of Cycling
Author: Martijn Veltkamp | 180 pages
What separates race winners from the rest when riders are physically so alike? Dutch sport psychologist Martijn Veltkamp explores the mental engine behind professional cycling, from grand tours to time trials, in an accessible book for riders and fans alike.
Momentum: The Winning Edge in Tennis
Author: Alistair Higham and Dr Ana Soares | Published June 2026 | 266 pages
Why do tennis matches swing so suddenly, with nothing changing technically? A former LTA National Coach and a sport psychologist give players and coaches a framework for managing match flow: the phases of a match, how the scoring system creates pressure, turning points, and tactical game management.
The Winning Edge in Badminton: Momentum, Match Flow, and the Art of Competing
Author: Andy Wood and Alistair Higham | Published October 2022 | 170 pages, full colour
Matches are often won by how players handle momentum rather than by skill alone. Drawing on experience at the highest international level, including Olympic examples, the authors explain the mental and tactical battles of competitive badminton, with case studies, colour photos and illustrations.
Coaches, teams and team building
For coaches and leaders who want to build confident individuals and close-knit teams.
Togetherness: How to Build a Winning Team
Author: Dr Matt Slater | Published May 2019
A concise, practical guide from a world authority on team togetherness. It shows coaches how to harness their players’ group memberships to build a shared identity that drives both performance and wellbeing. Matt Slater is also co-author of Performing Under Pressure.
Coaching For The Zone: A Practitioner’s Guide to Coaching for Business and Sport
Author: Ted Garratt | Published October 2014 | 192 pages
Many people think The Zone is luck. Coach and trainer Ted Garratt shows that it can be planned for and coached, guiding practitioners through the process of helping clients in sport and business reach, and repeat, their best performances.
Referees and officials
The psychology of officiating, for referees and umpires and for those who train them.
Blowing The Whistle: The Psychology of Football Refereeing
Author: Stuart Carrington | Published October 2019
A thoroughly researched look at the questions every referee faces: crowd influence, home advantage, big-name players, mental health, and how to prepare psychologically for a match.
The Sports Official’s Journal
Author: Stuart Carrington | Published May 2026 | 100 pages
A structured reflective journal for referees and umpires in any sport, built on research into confidence, resilience, motivation and decision-making, with exercises and reflection sheets to review each performance.
Sport psychology beyond sport
The techniques elite athletes use apply just as well at work.
What Business Can Learn From Sport Psychology: Ten Lessons for Peak Professional Performance
Author: Dr Martin Turner and Dr Jamie Barker | Published July 2014 | 264 pages
The authors of Tipping The Balance apply the lessons of elite sport to professional performance, with chapters on overthinking, choking, confidence and leadership, practical exercises, and the MAPP for Success.
Find out more about What Business Can Learn From Sport Psychology
More from Bennion Kearny
For the mental side of football coaching in context, see our guide to football and soccer coaching books. You can also browse every title in the sport psychology category, or read free extracts in our articles.
Write for Bennion Kearny
Are you a sport psychologist, coach or researcher with an idea for a practical book? We would like to hear from you. Find out how to submit a proposal.