Welcome to EPG Psychology
We provide specialist sport psychology support for youth and adults, helping athletes build the psychological foundations to thrive in both sport and everyday life through mindset development and emotional wellbeing
About EPG Psychology
Who We Are
EPG Psychology is a specialist sport psychology practice founded by Elliott Goddard (SEPiT) in 2024. We exist to make sport psychology more accessible, relatable and visible across all levels of sport.
Our work is grounded in the belief that psychological support should be a natural part of an athlete’s journey, not something reserved for moments of struggle. We are committed to supporting athletes as people first, recognising that wellbeing, self-understanding and performance are deeply connected.
What We Do
At EPG Psychology, we provide personalised sport psychology support for youth and adult athletes through one-to-one sessions, team support and educational workshops.
Our work is grounded in strong, trusting relationships and a supportive space where athletes feel understood and able to explore their experiences openly. Through this process, individuals develop greater self-awareness, learn effective ways of responding to challenges, and build psychological foundations that support both performance and life beyond sport.
Whether an athlete is pursuing competitive goals or simply looking to enjoy their sport more, our role is to guide self-exploration and support meaningful, sustainable development.
Our Approach
Personalised and Athlete-Centred: Every athlete brings their own story, strengths and challenges. Our approach is guided by your experiences, not a pre-set model, allowing us to tailor support in ways that feel genuine, relevant and meaningful to you.
Holistic and Human: We look beyond performance alone. Wellbeing, identity, emotions and life outside of sport all influence how athletes train and compete. Our work creates space to understand these experiences so development remains healthy, balanced and sustainable.
Evidence-Based and Practical: Our support draws on evidence-based sport psychology, humanistic principles and modern approaches to mindset development. We translate psychological ideas into simple, meaningful tools that can be applied both in and out of sport.
Collaborative and Empowering: We work with you, not on you. Through open conversation, reflection and shared exploration, we support understanding, confidence and autonomy so you feel equipped to navigate challenges independently.
Growth-Focused and Strength-Based: We hold an optimistic view of each athlete’s potential. By recognising strengths and understanding individual ways of thinking, we support the development of self-awareness, confidence and skills that enable growth both in sport and beyond.
About Me
My name is Elliott Goddard, and I’m a trainee sport psychologist dedicated to supporting athletes through the mental and emotional side of their sporting journey. My passion for this work comes from a lifelong connection to sport - both as a participant and as someone who has always been fascinated by what truly drives performance, confidence and wellbeing.
Growing up, sport was where I felt most alive and most myself. Whether spending weekends at Mapperley Golf Club with my grandparents or competing across multiple sports during my school years, sport gave me a strong sense of identity, purpose and belonging. These early experiences taught me the joy of challenge, the importance of support, and the emotions that come with caring deeply about something.
As I became involved in different sports, my curiosity about the mental side of performance grew. Reading The Champion’s Mind was a key moment that opened the door to sport psychology, prompting deeper reflection on how mindset influences performance, pressure and wellbeing - both in sport and in life.
That discovery shaped the path I’m on today. Through EPG Psychology, I bring together academic training, lived experience and a genuine passion for athlete development to create a supportive, human and relatable space for athletes of all ages. My goal is to help athletes understand their minds, feel supported in their experiences, and grow in ways that matter to them - both in sport and beyond it.
Experience
I have worked with athletes, coaches and support staff across a range of sporting environments, from grassroots to national pathways. My applied experience includes supporting squads at Burton Albion F.C. Academy and contributing to the England National Talent Squad at British Canoeing, delivering workshops, profiling and psychological skills training for developing athletes.
Alongside this, I currently serve as Lead Sport Psychologist for Team Derby at the University of Derby, working within a multidisciplinary team to support scholar athletes across multiple sports. This role has strengthened my experience in MDT collaboration, athlete wellbeing support and preparation for competition within BUCS and high-performance university environments.
My one-to-one consultancy work spans youth and adult athletes from age 10 upwards, across sports including figure skating, tennis, rock climbing, trampolining, gymnastics and golf. This has included working with international athletes, as well as supporting athletes competing on global stages.
I have also provided sponsored psychological support for a professional boxer in the build-up to his debut fight. These varied experiences allow me to work with athletes at different stages of development, tailoring support to individual needs, pressures and ambitions. This diversity informs the way I practice today - offering tailored, relational and psychologically grounded support that respects the individual behind the athlete.
Qualifications
- CASES SEPAR training (ongoing)
- TASS Accredited Practitioner (University of Derby)
- Safeguarding in Sport
- MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology (Loughborough University)
- MSc Psychology (Nottingham Trent University)
- BSc International Business (Sheffield Hallam University)
How We Support Youth and Adult Athletes
Emotional Awareness and Regulation
Focus, Composure and Decision Making
Emotional Awareness and Regulation
Developing the ability to recognise and manage emotions such as nerves, pressure, frustration and fear of letting people down. We help athletes respond more calmly and confidently during challenging moments.
Confidence and Self-Belief
Focus, Composure and Decision Making
Emotional Awareness and Regulation
Helping athletes understand the roots of doubt and build genuine, lasting confidence. We support them in trusting themselves and expressing who they are in both training and competition.
Focus, Composure and Decision Making
Focus, Composure and Decision Making
Focus, Composure and Decision Making
Supporting athletes to stay grounded, focused and clear-headed when it matters most. This includes handling distractions, regulating intensity and making confident decisions under pressure.
Motivation and Personal Drive
Support Through Change and Challenge
Focus, Composure and Decision Making
Exploring what truly motivates athletes and helping them connect with their goals in a meaningful, sustainable way. This supports healthy habits, commitment and enjoyment throughout the ups and downs of sport.
Support Through Change and Challenge
Support Through Change and Challenge
Support Through Change and Challenge
Providing guidance during injuries, transitions, setbacks and uncertain periods. We help athletes adapt, recover and grow through these experiences with resilience and confidence.
Youth Athlete Development and Support
Helping Young Athletes Build Psychological Foundations
I support young athletes (typically aged 10–18) to develop the psychological skills they need to perform confidently in sport and thrive beyond it. My work focuses on helping young people understand themselves, respond effectively to challenge, and grow through their sporting experiences.
Why Youth Mental Development Matters
Adolescence is a crucial stage in an athlete’s development. Alongside physical and technical skills, young athletes are forming their identity, self-belief, emotional awareness and coping strategies.
Sport can be a powerful environment for this growth, but it also presents challenges. Young athletes often experience pressure, comparison, fear of mistakes, nerves, perfectionism and fluctuating confidence. Without the right support, these experiences can become overwhelming. With the right psychological guidance, however, they can become opportunities for learning, resilience and personal development.
Sport psychology at this stage is not about 'fixing problems'. It is about helping young athletes build strong psychological foundations early, so they are better equipped to cope with both sporting and life challenges as they grow.
What Young Athletes Develop Through This Work
The focus of youth support is not on short-term results, but on long-term development. Through this work, young athletes commonly develop:
- Greater self-awareness and emotional understanding
- Confidence and belief in their abilities
- Healthier responses to mistakes, pressure and setbacks
- Improved focus and consistency in sport
- Psychological skills that transfer into school, relationships and everyday life
These foundations support performance, but they are also valuable well beyond sport.
My Approach to Working With Young Athletes
My role is not to push, pressure or 'fix' young athletes. Instead, I work collaboratively to help them understand themselves better and develop psychological skills in a way that feels safe, supportive and authentic.
Sessions are calm, reflective and development-focused. I use sport as the natural starting point for conversations, as it is often where young athletes feel most comfortable opening up about their experiences. Through sport, we explore topics such as confidence, mistakes, pressure and expectations - allowing meaningful psychological work to take place in a way that feels accessible and non-clinical.
The skills developed in sessions are designed to empower young athletes to take ownership of their growth, both in sport and beyond it.
Why Sport is Such a Powerful Context for Youth Development
Sport provides a unique and effective entry point for psychological development in young people. It is an environment they care deeply about, feel motivated within, and are emotionally invested in.
Young athletes may find it difficult to talk openly about topics such as self-worth or anxiety in other settings. However, they will often speak freely about missing a chance, feeling nervous before a game, or worrying about letting teammates down. These experiences allow important psychological work to happen in a way that feels natural and safe.
Sport also offers real-life opportunities to practice skills such as focus, emotional regulation and acceptance in live performance environments, making learning practical, relevant and transferable.
Examples of Work With Young Athletes
Multi-sport athlete (early adolescence) - Supported a young athlete to develop greater emotional awareness, confidence and consistency across multiple sports. Over time, they learned effective strategies to reset after mistakes, manage frustration and stay composed under pressure, alongside emerging leadership and reflective behaviours.
Individual sport athlete (mid-adolescence): Supported a young athlete to develop emotional control, confidence and a healthier relationship with competition. Sessions focused on understanding nerves, coping with disappointment, shifting attention from outcomes to controllable processes, and building consistent preparation routines.
Individual sport athlete (late adolescence): Supported a young athlete to develop a more consistent competition mindset while balancing the demands of high-level training and education. The work focused on reducing overthinking, trusting preparation and responding calmly to mistakes, while supporting reflective, balanced choices that enhanced both performance and long-term development.
Working With Parents
I recognise the important role parents play in supporting a young athlete’s development, both in sport and beyond. While sessions are centred around the athlete, I view parental involvement as an integral part of creating a supportive and consistent environment around them.
Following sessions, I provide brief session summaries, sharing key themes and areas of focus while always maintaining the athlete’s confidentiality. This ensures that the young person has a safe space to speak openly, while parents remain informed and able to support the process in a positive and constructive way.
This collaborative approach allows parents to reinforce learning in developmentally appropriate ways at home and within sporting environments. The overall aim is to work together to ensure the young athlete feels supported, understood and confident - not only within sessions, but across their wider sporting and home environment.
Next Steps
If you are a parent of a young athlete and would like to explore whether psychological support could be beneficial, please feel free to get in touch. I’m always happy to answer questions and talk through options with no pressure or obligation.
Further details about the services and support packages available can be found below.
Our Services
Individual Sessions (Personalised psychological support for athletes of all ages)
Individual Sessions (Personalised psychological support for athletes of all ages)
Individual Sessions (Personalised psychological support for athletes of all ages)
We offer flexible one-to-one sessions, online or in person, tailored to each athlete’s needs, challenges and goals.
These sessions provide a supportive space to explore experiences, develop self-awareness, build confidence and strengthen the mental skills that support both wellbeing and performance.
Group Workshops (Interactive workshops for teams and clubs)
Individual Sessions (Personalised psychological support for athletes of all ages)
Individual Sessions (Personalised psychological support for athletes of all ages)
We deliver interactive sessions that help athletes and coaches understand the mental side of sport, improve communication, strengthen team culture and build the psychological skills needed to thrive together.
Workshops can be delivered in person or online and customised to your environment.
Psychology Packages (Consistent support for long-term development)
Individual Sessions (Personalised psychological support for athletes of all ages)
Psychology Packages (Consistent support for long-term development)
Our psychology packages offer consistent, in-depth support across a block of sessions.
We provide regular check-ins, between-session support and collaborative goal-setting.
Packages are available in blocks of 5 or 10 sessions.
Testimonials
Adult Athlete (Canoeing)
"Elliott has helped me massively with things I have never had an opportunity to look at. He has helped my confidence leading into races and my ability to manage anxiety. I am now able to cope with pressure so much better and understand how I can control it."
Adult Athlete (Figure Skating)
"I've been working with Elliott for several months now and have found his input to be really helpful. I started working with him during a very difficult time in my sporting career and he helped me to reflect on my experiences and understand how they were affecting me. My confidence has improved so much, and I feel happier in my sport again now. I'm now looking forward to returning to competition!"
Youth Athlete (Football)
"Elliott is so helpful, he comforts me when I’m stressing about things and helps me to see that things can improve. When I’ve been feeling low about my football he’s made me see there are lots of things to be positive about and makes me feel better about myself. I enjoy talking to him about lots of things - school, family and especially my team - he listens to what I have to say. I feel I can talk to him about anything."
Parent of Youth Athlete
"Elliott has had such a positive impact on our boy, not only on the field but in everyday life. He’s made him see and look for positives in all he does and offers a form of support that we, as parents, needed too. He communicates brilliantly with all of us and it’s amazing to see how our son's mood is lifted after a session with Elliott. His ability to relate to issues and never be judgemental is a great attribute and we will always be grateful for the support and guidance he’s offered."