As a former football player, Yuri Cornelisse knows what it is like to experience performance pressure. He sees many players struggling with mental problems and the 48-year-old Alkmaarder helps with that. “I stand for a positive approach, because I notice that there is already enough negativity,” says Cornelisse, who has been taking his first steps as head coach at vv Bergen women’s 1 since this summer.
Cornelisse has also been working as a mental coach at FC Utrecht since coach Ron Jans took office. There he talks to football players two days a week. In those one-on-one conversations he tries to talk about various situations that football players encounter. “If you are wrong, or if you have little self-confidence.”
Thanks to his acquired knowledge and studies, Cornelisse now has considerable expertise in the field of mental well-being. He also includes his experiences with the police in his approach. He also regularly talks to people who are in a reintegration process. “I also have a coach that I go to. You often cannot look at yourself from the outside.”
As a novice trainer, he logically opts for a personal approach. At vv Bergen he tries to help the players by giving them responsibility and allowing them to participate in the process. You won’t easily see him ranting on the sidelines. “Only when I feel it,” says Cornelisse after his team had to deal with a clear 1-6 defeat against RKHVV.