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Sport lead

M.S. Katerina Vejvodova

"We can achieve anything, if we set our mind for it."


Thanks to her successful career as a tennis player, Katka received a full scholarship to study and play tennis at Kansas State University in the United States, where she started in August 2005. After four years, she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and also in Spanish. After graduating with a red diploma, she was accepted to Florida State University in the United States in Tallahassee, where she completed a single-subject study in sports psychology. She graduated in April 2011 by defending a diploma thesis on the topic of mental resilience, relaxation activities and sleep in athletes of various levels (recreational, university, professional). In the years 2009 - 2011, she presented at many conferences, including the world's largest conference of applied psychology (APA) in Washington.

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While studying in Florida, she worked with a number of athletes to improve their athletic and school performance. Her consulting services have been used by many teams and individuals of various ages and sports levels (e.g. tennis players, rugby players, football players, softball players, gymnasts, etc.). She also gained extensive experience in coaching - she spent two years training alongside the best junior coach of 2011 in Florida, Nick Crowel. She spent four years working at a tennis camp in New York, where she was named the best coach in 2011.

In August 2011, she returned to the Czech Republic and in 2013 she opened her own practice as a sports psychologist. Since then, she has collaborated with a number of great athletes - individuals and teams (e.g. Bara and Maki, Rytiri Kladno, HC Sparta Praha, Motor Ceske Budejovice…). She is also engaged in lecturing activities and with growing demand she also lectures in the non-sports sphere.

"I really enjoy my job! It's my passion. Every client is different and I enjoy looking for new ways and approaches to connect sports psychology techniques with performance. It's amazing to watch clients turn into confident athletes, who transfer their satisfaction and fulfillment from sports into the other parts of their life. I usually see clients first in the office, but as our cooperation moves on, we also move to the field (trainings, competitions)".

Education

  • Academy of Coaching Excellence, Czech Republic
  • International coaching license accredited by International Coaching Federation (ICF) and European Mentoring and Couching Council (EMCC)
  • Durham University, Great Britain, Sport psychology research of performance strategies used by golfers
  • Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, Master of Science in Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Major: Sport Psychology
  • Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Major: Psychology

Work experience

  • Sports psychologist, mental coach, private practice since 2013
  • Mental coach of the world number 1 couple in beach volleyball Marketa Slukova and Bara Hermannova
  • Mental coach of the world champion and winner of the paralympics in archery David Drahoninsky
  • Mental coach of the GAPP System - Kolofix mountain bike team
  • Mental preparation of many athletes and teams for the Olympic Games, World Championships etc.
  • Sports Psychologist, FSU, Tallahassee, USA, 2010 - 2011
  • Sports psychologist for tennis players, rugby teams and a number of university athletes and teams

Internships

  • Tennis coach, FSU High Performance, FSU Tallahassee, USA
  • Tennis Advisor, Future Stars Tennis Camp, New York, USA

Projects and presentations

  • Presentation at the APA (Applied Psychology Association) Convention Conference, Washington, DC, Addressing Cultural Diversity in Sports Psychology
    Presentation at the “Performance Psychology Education Outreach Conference”, University of West Florida, Relaxation and Deep Breathing Techniques
  • Presentations for Czech floorball, Czech athletic association, Czech archery association, Czech karate association, Slovak floorball association, ice hockey clubs…

Publications

  • Thesis: Mental resilience, relaxation activities and sleep in athletes at different skill levels
  • Becoming a Professional in the Psychology of Sport, Exercise and Performance: A Global Perspective, Chapter on how to change the mind of a tennis player in 6 months
  • Articles related to sports psychology in many professional journals