Mental health and psychological preparation: How to meet the new requirements in Switzerland?
- Benoît Zwick
- Aug 5
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 6
As coaches, you've surely noticed: your profession is evolving at breakneck speed. Today, you're no longer just asked to manage tactics or physical preparation...
The Swiss sports authorities (Swiss Olympic, OFSPO and Swiss Sport Integrity) have changed the rules of the game.
Nowadays, the mental health and psychological preparation of your athletes have become strict obligations.
Why this change of course?
The figures speak for themselves. Young athletes (particularly during the pivotal transition between 17 and 21 years old) are subjected to immense pressure: sudden increase in training load, management of the dual project (school/sport), fear of injury or of not being selected.
The risk of mental exhaustion, mood disorders or problems related to energy deficit (the infamous RED-S syndrome) has never been so closely monitored.
Today, in order to obtain quality labels, funding or to be recognized as performance centers (via the FTEM model), clubs and academies must prove that they actively protect their athletes.
The real challenge for coaches
Let's be honest: you are first and foremost experts in the field and in sports performance, not clinical psychologists. Asking you to manage the mental workload and emotional state of 20 or 25 athletes on a daily basis, while also preparing the weekend match strategy, is an extremely complex task without the right tools.
The major risk? It's your own professional burnout in the face of this new responsibility.
The concrete solution: The NEXOO infrastructure
As a mental preparation expert, I see many clubs searching for solutions to these guidelines. It is precisely to address this need on the ground that the Swiss technological platform NEXOO was designed.
This digital solution simplifies, automates and democratizes mental preparation for everyone.
What NEXOO concretely brings to the individual athlete:
A clear diagnosis (The Mental Scan): Upon registering on the application, the athlete evaluates their profile on 7 pillars (concentration, emotion management, resilience, etc.) to identify their strengths and areas of vulnerability.
Preventing overtraining: In less than 60 seconds a day, athletes assess their sleep, stress, and motivation. The system instantly calculates their level of nervous fatigue.
Solutions at your fingertips: If the athlete is struggling, the app immediately suggests a short 10- to 15-minute exercise (heart coherence, visualization, stress management) from over 300 protocols. A dedicated artificial intelligence is even available 24/7 to answer any questions.
What NEXOO offers to coaches and clubs:
A team dashboard: You have access to an overview of your group's fatigue, motivation and stress levels, all in an anonymized manner to respect medical confidentiality.
Intelligent alerts: If a player is in a danger zone (for example, poor sleep combined with high stress over 3 consecutive days), you are alerted. This allows you to adapt your training (switching to an active recovery session) without having to improvise a psychological intervention.
An affordable cost: With group licenses designed for academies, professional mental engineering is no longer a luxury reserved for the wealthiest clubs, but a standard accessible to all.
In summary
Mental health in sport is no longer taboo; it's a driver of performance and a mandatory institutional standard. Equipping yourself with a structured solution like NEXOO means protecting your athletes, freeing yourself from an enormous mental burden as a coach, and ensuring your club's compliance with the new Swiss requirements.
And you, what actions will you put in place this season to integrate mental preparation into your schedules?
See you next Thursday for a new article.