inside excellent life
Funny enough, today on Instagram, Sofia Goggia, to remind everyone of her goal to win the gold medal at the upcoming Cortina Olympics, posted a picture of herself with an old goal-setting sheet she filled out more than 20 years ago, in which she wrote that this was exactly the dream of her athletic career — and that this sheet comes from my 1987 book titled “Mental Training.”
As coaches and psychologists, we know from both theory and experience that people are naturally built to learn. Learning starts with trying and ends with developing real skills.
Think about walking: every child begins by crawling, then learns to walk after many falls. But no child ever gave up on walking just because they kept falling. This shows us something simple—when you repeat the same activity over time, you create lasting changes. And those changes make new learning possible, like moving from walking to running.
That’s the idea behind Calcio e Basket Insieme, a project we’ve been running for 10 years. We’ve trained and played soccer with more than 500 kids ages 6 to 12, plus teens over 14. Our goal isn’t just to teach sports, but also to help them spend time with friends, enjoy the outdoors, and share the joy of playing together.
From this experience, we published the first book on autism and soccer to share our approach. very soon we will publish the English version of it.
There are several reasons why many coaches today still focus almost exclusively on the technical side of their work, without fully recognizing the educational and mental dimension of their role:
In short: the main reasons are a combination of limited technical training, external pressure for results, and low educational awareness.
Educazione fisica nella scuola in ospedale
Mario Cistulli, Mario Bellucci, Rita Casella
“Physical Education in the Hospital School” is a unique book in the Italian educational landscape, designed for teachers, educators, and healthcare professionals working with students hospitalized in pediatric and hospital facilities. The text is the result of over twenty years of experience in the departments of Oncohematology, Child Neuropsychiatry, Eating Disorders, Cystic Fibrosis, and Pediatrics, with the aim of ensuring educational continuity and promoting the psychophysical well-being of students undergoing treatment.
The volume provides practical and methodological tools for planning physical and motor education activities adapted to conditions of fragility, supporting school reintegration and fostering the emotional and relational balance of children and adolescents involved.
A replicable model for mainstream schools
Born from the collaboration between teachers, doctors, therapists, and psychologists, the book presents a holistic and biopsychosocial pedagogical model, based on the integration of mind and body, also drawing on yoga practice as taught by T.K.V. Desikachar.
The educational principles developed prove effective not only in hospital settings, but also in mainstream schools, offering innovative insights into inclusive teaching, personalization, and experimentation.
An ethical and scientific contribution
The book is also a concrete example of integration between school and hospital, showing how motor activity can become an integral part of the therapeutic process. It stands as a reference text for those working with children and adolescents in complex situations who wish to bring together education, care, and educational innovation.
Sorry, this entry is only available in Italiano.
This Blog supports
International Society of Sport Psychology 16th World Congress
31 May 2025 - Early bird registration closing
30 Jun 2025 – Abstract submission closing
31 Jul 2025 – Notification of acceptance
15 Aug 2025 – Abstract re-upload (if required)
30 Sep 2025 – Standard registration closing
My latest book has just been released and it’s dedicated to football. It’s not a sports psychology manual, but rather a story told through four themes: training, champions, coaches, and the number 10 – the magical jersey of football.
It’s a book designed not only for football professionals but for all football enthusiasts, offering insights into why the coach is called “mister” or “manager” and how the myth of the number 10 was born, starting with Pelé. It also presents the psychological profiles of some great coaches to understand how different personalities can still produce top-level professionals. And it explores who the first professional footballers were and those who revolutionized the game – from Cruyff to many other football innovators.
From Maurizio Crosetti’s introduction: “Alberto Cei has been a sports psychologist his whole life – a life certainly well spent. His latest work focuses on football, training, motivation, and concentration. These are sacred words, unfortunately somewhat forgotten today, as the football vocabulary seems increasingly filled with terms like ‘inverted full-backs’, ‘building from the back’, and ‘wing-backs’…
This book, on the other hand, starts from scratch – it’s an ABC of core ideas. Because it’s easy to talk about training: but who trains the trainers? Who teaches the teachers?
Team spirit, the true meaning of being a team, and constant improvement as real objectives: these are the matches that must be won. And you don’t get there by just lining up a series of drills – that’s what machines do, not people. On the surface, Alberto Cei has written an accessible essay on psychology applied to football. In reality, it’s a treatise on education, learning, and the harmonious development of the human being. Motivation and concentration therefore become two of the most important words in this book – and in the life, not just the sporting life, that it portrays.”
For a long time, it was believed that team sports were not suitable for young people with autism due to motor difficulties, low body awareness, hypersensitivity to stimuli, and challenges in team dynamics. However, recent experiences show the opposite: with the right approach, soccer can become an important opportunity for growth and well-being.
Unlike school or therapeutic activities, which are often structured and predictable, soccer takes place in a dynamic outdoor environment with ever-changing stimuli. Facing movement, interaction with teammates, and unexpected situations can initially be challenging, but with the support of coaches and psychologists, these young athletes learn to better manage their emotions and develop motor and social skills.
Child neuropsychiatrist Roberto Rossi highlights how, thanks to sports, many young people have made remarkable progress not only physically but also in communication and social relationships. Soccer provides them with a space for fun and fulfillment, fostering positive integration with peers and improving their quality of life.
Based on these principles, the Integrated Soccer Academy has been active for the past ten years, developing an innovative soccer teaching system for young people with autism. This approach is now documented in the book Autism and Soccer, edited by Alberto Cei and Daniela Sepio, with contributions from coaches, psychologists, speech therapists, and medical professionals.
