Mental Strength Partnership Announced
In honor of Mental Health Awareness month, it’s timely for National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NISOA) to proudly announce our newest partnership with AthMindset as our dedicated Mental Strength partner to serve our nationwide membership of roughly 5,000 match officials.
This partnership will be innovative in its approach, focused on the whole human behind the officiating jersey. This collaboration will focus on building our mental strength and toughness as individuals and an organization. It will provide tools and resources to grow our skillsets and build upon our resilience and confidence to help us perform at our best despite the obstacles and pressures we face as match officials.
“We hope this partnership will give our match officials a psychological edge to persevere through the challenges, stress, and adversity of being a modern official. We’re working hard at NISOA to build a culture of inclusivity, focused on the whole referee and proving access to resources so our officials can reach their greatest potential.”
— Jude Carr, President of NISOA
AthMindset® was founded in 2021 by Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CMPC (Certified Mental Performance Consultant®) and licensed mental health clinician, with 23 years of experience and well-versed in the challenges we face as match officials. She was the first-ever Mental Performance Coach at the Oakland Roots, and a former professional player herself who works with athletes and officials on maximizing their potential.
"We are honored to partner with NISOA as their official Mental Strength provider. At AthMindset®, we believe mental health and the ability to mentally perform as an official - are essential for excellence, especially in high-stakes environments like officiating. This partnership reflects our commitment to empowering officials with the tools they need to strengthen their mental game, enhance focus, manage stress, build resilience, and thrive—on and off the field."
— Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CMPC, Founder & CEO of AthMindset®
You may have watched Lisa’s webinars with NISOA last year which received high regards from our membership. You can find them here:
We’re looking forward to building upon our success with Lisa and her team of experts to provide greater resources for our officials. Partnering with AthMindset® will give our officials access to mental strength coaches, the most up to date strategies for athlete performance through consistent sharing of resources and a complete schedule of webinars and workshops. NISOA officials will be on the cutting edge of learning new approaches to deal with the increased pressures and challenges of today's modern game. Thus, ensuring our members are at their best when the whistle blows.
We look forward to future similar announcements with partners in the areas of Fitness and Nutrition in the near future. If you have any questions, please contact us at communications@nisoa.com or visit us at NISOA.com.
