After two insightful summits in 2019 and 2020, VASPS has built its foundation in the landscape of further education for applied sport psychology professionals. In 2021, VASPS will continue to include new approaches for sharing knowledge and experiences, improve the ability to learn from and interact with each other and invite even more well known and highly regarded sport psychology professionals. Everything VASPS offers is directed towards helping you to learn from other successful sport psychology professionals and ultimately deliver the highest quality of work to your athletes, teams and coaches.
What a great experience. I don’t know if there has ever been a comparable source of this kind of high quality content in talks and discussions in such an easy accessable online set up. For me, the VASPS 2020 was definitely a huge win. It brings the best out there right into your home. Thank you Christian for bringing these great minds together.
VASPS offers an incredible amount of rich, useful information given by top professionals in sports psychology in just a matter of a few days. It’s been half a year since the conference and I still find myself frequently going back and checking on my notes or watching the videos. It is also a great way to connect with professionals who are all very open and ready to help.
VASPS offers effortless access to highly valuable knowledge in the field of sport psychology. This is unique and remarkable! I really appreciated Christian addressing sensitive topics and treating them with great care!!
Listening to the stories of the athletes and the inputs of the professionals made me feel the importance of sport psychology and inspired me to make this field more accepted and popular!
I enjoy (re-)listening to VASPS whenever and wherever I want to, while doing sports or sitting on the balcony enjoying the sun!:)
I can’t wait for VASPS 2021 to keep improving my work quality as a sport psychologist! Thanks!
VASPS helped me get better insight in numerous sports psychology topics. You can see that there’s a lot of quality and passion in this whole event! Great speakers, great on- and offline content and a great community.
I was a little skeptical about attending VASPS2019 because I had never attended a virtual seminar before. The incredible speaker line-up put together was a deciding factor for me to give it a go, and I was not disappointed! It was a great experience from the first session itself. The speakers were engaging and the discussions (from the comfort of my home) were a brilliant learning experience. I did not have to worry about missing a session because of work! The topics covered were relevant and allowed me to broaden both my perspective and knowledge. The seminar also gave me an opportunity to network with qualified sport psychologists from all around the world. It has proved to be a continuous learning experience for me, being able to stay in touch with most of them.
VASPS offers the opportunity and space for practitioners to come together and update their knowledge in a way that traditional conferences do not. I love that it allows for relevant and much needed conversations in the field while also providing resources that you can play with in your own time.
By organizing VASPS Christian Zepp provides extremely well organized summits and the exceptional opportunity to learn from the very best in the field. I highly appreciate that the speakers share their invaluable experience of applying various methods and techniques in their practice. These summits help to take one’s own practice to the next level not only by being provided with outstanding high quality content and additional great learning and reading recommendations from the speakers but also by getting access to a platform for connecting and exchanging experiences with other sports psychologists from around the world. Thank you Christian Zepp for these great Summits!
As sport psychologist you should always strive to gain more knowledge and develop your skills. VASPS is a great way to do exactly that and learn from sport psych practitioners from all over the globe. I particularly appreciated the fact that a vast number of different subjects has been addressed during VASPS 2019 & 2020.
VASPS was an enriching experience. The new topics and also the anecdotes presented related to sports psychology left much learning. I think virtual congresses like this allow us to connect regardless of where we are and share our experiences from all around the world.
I attended each edition so far and always found exciting and helpful content. It is a go-to for both novices and more experienced experts. Highly recommend!
VASPS 2019 was the first international event that I attended in my life. The experience was sensational! The Summit had renowned professionals and was formatted in a model where we are not only listeners, but also invited to share our questions and learnings. In addition, what caught my attention was the availability of Christian Zepp before, during and after the event, being always present, concerned with our learning and constantly reinforcing our motivation. Delighted by the experience, I attended VASPS 2020 again, where new positive points were added to the event. Highlight for the factor of addressing issues related to discrimination in sport. I am a mild autistic person, and my goal as a Sports Psychologist is “to make high-income those who, many times, society deems to be low-income” and, since the beginning, I have been able to count on all the attention, respect and, mainly , incentive, by Christian Zepp. In summary, VASPS is a rich, dynamic event, where several subjects of high importance in the scope of Sport Psychology are treated, with the participation of several excellent professionals and, mainly, with an organizer who is always present, and concerned with our best experience. I hope, God willing, to be again at VASPS 2021. Cesar
Learn from SOME OF the World’s Best SPORT PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSIONALSInvaluable knowledge – and experiences
All of the invited speakers are renowned in their profession for delivering high quality work to some of the best athletes from around the world. In addition to invited speakers other sport psychology professionals also share their best practices, methods and experiences with us so that we all can learn from each other.
You will learn about problems and challenges sport psychologists face, how they improve their practice, methodological approaches they apply, how they work in youth and team sports and what they do to reduce the stigma around mental health.
Learn and attend on your scheduleSave time – and money
No traveling fees, no accommodation costs, no expensive restaurants, no waiting time at the airport. Looking for a cheap flight or, decent accommodation, traveling alone, waiting in lounges, standing in overbooked trains, or buying new clothes in a foreign city because the airline lost your luggage… We’ve all been there!
Just sit back on the couch in your pajamas, cook your lunch or enjoy all the presentations, talks, and interviews as .mp3s while running or driving to your next appointment. Once you’re done listening, join the community and discuss the content and methods shared, or have others learn from your experiences.
Less travel – less carbon dioxide
We love our planet and because our environmentally friendly communication method does not need any travel or printing batches, certificates, outlines etc. we don’t increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment. Moreover, VASPS is a proud member of 1% for the Planet, meaning that we donate at least 1% of all earnings to non-profit organizations that work for our wonderful planet.
Dan is a sport psychologist working alongside individuals, teams, coaches and organisations globally. He is known for his passion to de-mystify sport psychology and for creating simple to use performance techniques. He has held senior positions in several sports including Lead Psychologist for England Golf and for England Rugby, and is the author of four best-selling sport psychology books. Dan is also the founder of both the Dan Abrahams Soccer Academy and The Sport Psych Show podcast. A former professional golfer and PGA qualified, Dan has a First Class Honours degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in Sport Psychology. He is registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Ray, CEO, LMHC, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor and an expert telemental health consultant/founder of the Telehealth Certification Institute (TCI). A master trainer, Ray has released over 50 high-quality courses for thousands of clinicians and healthcare providers and trained 1,919+ organizations in telehealth. In a profession known for regulatory pressures, Ray emphasizes ethical telehealth delivery across the board. He continues to see a limited number of private practice clients and rigorously reviews telehealth developments to ensure his courses are up to date and meet industry-best standards. Ray is committed to cultivating a compassionate, person-centered organization that supports clinicians, patients, and the greater healthcare community.
Kristoffer is a professor at the Institute of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark and head of the research unit LET’S – Learning and Talent in Sport. His research mainly looks at social relations and their influence on athlete development and performance with an emphasis on successful sporting environments. Since 2008 his employment has included a specialized function as a sport psychology practitioner in Team Denmark. In this function he has worked to develop high performance cultures in national teams and mentally strong athletes and coaches. He has worked in several sports, but mainly in orienteering and Olympic sailing. He has supported athletes and teams during several World Championships and during the London, Rio and Tokyo Olympic Games.
Jack is originally from the U.K. but emigrated to Perth, Australia, where he completed his Undergraduate degree and Honours in Psychology at The University of Western Australia. I then completed my Master of Psychology (Sport and Exercise) at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Currently, he is working as a Performance Psychologist at The Mind Room, a health, well-being, and performance psychology practice in Melbourne, Australia. Jack works for example with clients from professional soccer, athletics, and tactical response unit personnel. Currently he is the Performance Psychologist for Cricket Tasmania’s male senior team and Equine Pathways Australia.
Ian is the Co-Founder of Restoic, a platform focused on empowering athletes and coaches with the tools to increase confidence, decrease anxiety, and optimize mental wellness by leveraging app-based technology. Beginning his career with Nike, Ian went on to spend over a decade in Silicon Valley startups helping to establish the permanent trend of wearable technology and digital health apps. Today he is actively working to lead the evolution of mental skills training for athletes – providing pathways toward optimal athletic performance and to becoming the best version of yourself.
Emma is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Psychology and Coaching Sciences at Bournemouth University. Emma’s research has focused on understanding abuse in face-to-face and virtual sporting environments, articulating the duty of care and enhancing safeguarding in sporting spaces. She has published research articles in the area of abuse in sport, managing abuse in sport and understanding inequalities related to race, gender and sexualities. She is currently part of a number of international research networks which have a clear vision to enhance the climate and environment in which high-performance athletes function. In her applied work she has prepared athletes and teams for, and attended major sporting events such as Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games.
Anastasiya was born in Ukraine (Donetsk), she got her masters and PhD degrees in the Czech Republic (Palacky University in Olomouc), and currently, she works as a senior lecturer at the University of Brighton in the UK. Her research focuses on culturally diverse sport teams, as well as, more recently, on coach-athlete relationships in combat sports (with particular focus on safeguarding aspects). Anastasiya sits on England Boxing Safeguarding Review Panel, and she is currently a member of the managing council of FEPSAC (European Federation of Sport Psychology).
Elena-Madalina is a Performance & Sport Psychology Consultant currently based in Romania, working with tennis coaches, players and parents across all levels of performance, as well as student-athletes. She completed both her MSc in Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology (Bangor University, Wales) and BASES Supervised Experience (Worcester University) in the UK, being accredited as sport and exercise scientist between 2016-2021. Elena has been involved with various sports from grassroots to elite level. She regularly takes part in national and international conferences delivering applied practice workshops or presentations. Since 2019 she is European Network of Young Specialists in Sport Psychology (ENYSSP) country representative for Romania. Moreover, she is actively involved in facilitating continuous professional development nationally by running two peer review groups, one for seasoned practitioners and another one for students.
Silke is a former national team basketball player from Germany. She worked for the National Basketball Association (NBA) and currently serves as chief executive for the 41Campus and the Dirk Nowitzki foundation. Based on her extensive experiences in professional sports she is coaching and consulting individuals and teams in various contexts. Together with others she developed the GameChangers education at the 41Campus, improving the coaches education in basketball, using various sport psychological approaches.
Jeannine is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Psychology at the German Sport University Cologne. She works as a sport psychologist with athletes, but also in the area of further education with coaches and sport psychologists. Jeannine’s research evolves around sexual and interpersonal violence in sport, personality development, and group processes. Due to her extensive knowledge about maltreatment in sport she is developing and conducting several intervention programs for athletes, coaches, sport psychology professionals, clubs and federations on a national and international level.
Mustafa is an Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. His research focuses on individual, team, and organisational resilience in elite sport and other high performance domains (e.g., business). As well as publishing research in this area, Mustafa works closely with various teams and organisations to develop resilience, including the Premier League and the United States and Netherlands Olympic Committees.
Matt is an Associate Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University, U.K., and a British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Psychologist. Matt’s expertise focuses on the psychology of group dynamics and leadership. For over 10 years, Matt has drawn on the social identity approach to both understand and promote teamwork and leadership excellence. Matt has published 40+ peer-reviewed research papers, various book chapters, and a book titled ‘Togetherness: How to build a winning team’, in 2019. As a practitioner, Matt has applied his expertise on group dynamics and leadership in sport, exercise settings, the military, and across public and private sector organisations.
Ashley is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream and the Vice-Dean of Academic Affairs in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto. She is known internationally for her research on athlete maltreatment and safeguarding in sport. Her scholarship was recognized in 2009 by the European College of Sport Science with its Young Investigator Award, and by the Canadian Heritage Sport Participation Research Initiative Award. Applying her research to practice, she has developed and evaluated national coach education initiatives for the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity.
Marjolein is a Dutch sport psychologist. She has developed a special interest in group dynamics and team development in sports. In the past years she has coached numerous teams in businesses and in a variety of sports and levels. She has written two books for sports coaches; one about self-regulation and one about developing adaptive team expertise. Her third book about team building in sports will be published at the end of this summer.
Svenja is currently a junior research group leader in Sport Psychology and Coaching at the Institute of Sports Science of the University of Tuebingen, Germany. Her research focuses on psychosocial processes within talent development and coaching in sport. She previously graduated from the European Master’s Program in Sport and Exercise Psychology and subsequently completely her PhD at Loughborough University investigating experiences of interpersonal conflict within sport relationships. Within that realm, Svenja developed a particular interest in potentially destructive interpersonal interactions which may contribute to the manifestation of dysfunctional sport performance environments. Besides her academic work, Svenja has gained a range of experiences in the work with coaches, athletes, and support staff. Currently, Svenja works as a sport psychology consultant within a national Paralympic team and is regularly involved within coach education and development programs.
Grzegorz graduated from the EMSEP program at University of Jyväskylä and since 2013, he has worked full-time as one of the few applied sport psychologists in Poland. Currently, he serves clients including the Polish national wheelchair rugby team, football and handball academies as well as a range of individual athletes representing different sports. In search of finding best avenues to turn theory into practice, he also lectures at various universities, publishes and translates sport psychology related material. He has been involved with European Network of Young Specialists in Sport Psychology (ENYSSP) since 2011 and served one term as an applied department representative (2015 – 2019). Today, Grzegorz is the current president of ENYSSP.
Shameema has a diverse transnational background as a sport and performance psychologist, and clinical mental health counsellor. She operates a practice in UK and Zimbabwe with former engagement with Zimbabwean Olympic Committee, professional football club Brighton Hove Albion FC and several programs in performance wellbeing. Her work extends to advocacy, and diversity and inclusion transnationally, and has published work in this space. Shameema was a contributing author to International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) ethics code. She has featured on world media channels, and was recognised on the Muslim Women’s in Sport Powerlist (2020) for her esteemed contribution to sport. As a leader, Shameema serves on several international organisation committees and is a supervisor for early career practitioners.
Christian studied sport sciences at the German Sport University Cologne. After working as the national team coach for Standing Volleyball in Cambodia and working with Formula 1 as well as Rallye race car drivers he came back to the German Sport University Cologne to earn his doctoral degree in the field of sport psychology. Today he is working as a senior lecturer at the Institute of Psychology at the German Sport University and coaches and counsels national and international athletes, teams, coaches and federations as a sport psychology professional.
Your All-Access Pass includes all on-demand and live sessions PLUS summaries, a comprehensive ebook from the Virtual Applied Sport Psychology Summit 2021 and a three month membership to VSP+:
€188
Do I have to sit in front of my computer all day long for the summit?
No! Once the summit starts, you can go online and attend the talks and presentations whenever you are ready – not when the talks start! You will also be able to download all the expert material to have life time access. So you can revisit the material as many times as you like!
What if I can't make it to the talks and presentations?
No need to worry. VASPS was created because we are all busy and have a lot of things to do. Once the summit started, you can go online and attend the talks and presentations whenever you are ready – not when the talks start! All talks are recorded and will be available to you forever, so you can revisit the material as many times as you wish!
What type of people is VASPS2021 best for?
VASPS2021 is ideally for people who are already working or who want to work in the field of sport psychology. No matter if you are experienced or just starting out; no matter if you’re working with local athletes or Olympians; no matter if you’re working in traditional sports or in esports: VASPS2021 has content and knowledge ready for you. VASPS2021 is for people who are working with athletes and coaches, and who are interested in becoming better at what they do and how they do it.
VASPS2021 is NOT for athletes who want to learn certain techniques or strategies about for example how to perform better, cope with stress or improve their self-talk.
Do I need to have a background in sport psychology?
You absolutely do NOT need to have a strong background in sport psychology. If you are simply interested – let’s say as a coach – in how sport psychology works, how it can help clients in different settings and what you can learn from other sport psychologists: please grab a seat.
At some point it might be helpful if you have heard about sport psychology before and the struggles athletes face. But if you’re open minded you simply want to broaden your horizon although you haven’t studied sports psychology you are more than welcome to join the talks and presentations.
Will I receive a certificate once VASP2021 is over?
Yes, you will receive a certificate. Moreover, I try to get proof from as many sport psychology organizations worldwide that they accept VASPS2021 certificates as part of their re-accreditation processes for their members. Thus, if you want your national organization to accept VASPS2021 certificates, just drop me a short email which national organization I should contact. As always, I’m here to serve you.
What will I need to participate in VASPS?
Great question with a simple answer. All you’ll need to participate in VASPS is an internet connection and a connected device. You can attend the summit anywhere in the world. In a hammock on the Bahamas, or on your couch in your pajamas, from wherever, no dramas 😉
Do I need a specific software to attend the summit?
No, you don’t need a certain software. I try to keep it as simple as possible for you.
Will the videos of the summit also be available elsewhere on the internet?
No, most definitely NOT! The videos and all the other expert material will be accessible for VASPS2021 participants only! We will promote the summit with small interview snippets – but the general content will only be exclusively accessible to the summit’s participants on Vimeo.
Do you have special discounts available?
Yes, I offer discounts for sport psychology professionals (or those who strive to become one in the near future) from developing or emerging countries and for students. If you are a student or from an emerging country and want to participate in the summit, please contact me via email (mail@christianzepp.com) or just use the chat on the right side of this website. My goal is to help all sport psychology professionals from around the world learn more about sport psychology and to improve the services they are providing. Thus, I’m more than happy to offer a discount to those who are unable to pay the full registration fee.
Will there be someone I can contact during the summit if I have any questions or trouble?
Yes! The summit will be held online, but without robots involved. VASPS is organized by real people and I am more than happy to answer all of your questions before, during, and after the summit. Just send an email to christian@virtualsportpsych.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
I have a question about something not covered here or I need some help, who can I ask?
Again, you can send every question you might have to christian@virtualsportpsych.com and I will take care of all of your questions!
