Sports psychology isn't just about analyzing and understanding the psychological factors that influence an athlete's performance. In Flamengo's youth psychology department, psychologist Carlos Eduardo Brito applies the "Five Pillars" methodology, which provides training to enhance mental skills.

Active with the club's youth academy since February of this year, Carlos Eduardo, the team coordinator, works alongside Fernando Gonçalves, responsible for professional football work, psychologist Aline Brito, and intern Leonardo Matias. Using the "Five Pillars," psychologists can not only strengthen athletes' self-awareness, but also identify behavioral characteristics and analyze potential off-field issues.

The "Five Pillars" method consists of mapping and training the following concepts: increased self-awareness/self-knowledge, self-discipline/self-motivation, self-confidence, self-control, and mindfulness. The concept of mental training isn't just for vulnerable athletes. The "Five Pillars" are part of players' daily lives, as are physical and tactical training.

"The methodology's principle is to make the strongest athletes even stronger and to make the most fragile athletes safer," says psychologist Carlos Eduardo, who has 35 years of experience in the field.

Initially, the model was applied to juniors, and today, after nine months of work, it is being expanded to the youth and children's categories. Mental training begins with a ten-hour course with the coaching staff to identify the five elements of the methodology. After the course, the coaching staff creates an individual map of each player from their perspective.

Training for the athletes begins with a lecture introducing the model. Each athlete then completes a self-assessment based on the "Five Pillars." Using data gathered from the coaching staff and players, the psychology department develops a psychodiagnosis, providing an individual profile for each athlete. Once psychologically mapped and identified, the players undergo ten sessions of psychological strengthening training.

Another resource used by the psychology department is BiofeedBack – cutting-edge neuroscience equipment responsible for developing self-regulation capabilities. The high-tech device assists professionals with immediate feedback—through electronic sensors—on the boys' physiological processes, such as heart rate, peripheral temperature, anxiety control, respiration, muscle tension, and blood pressure. This analysis is performed by attaching the equipment to the athlete's head when they are exposed to analytical situations. In the case of players, it's when they're watching a game.

In their daily routine, the team attends training sessions and games and frequently holds meetings with the coaching staff to analyze specific behaviors.

"Talent alone doesn't keep an athlete at their peak. It takes psychological resilience to sustain it. It's difficult to talk about excellence and high performance without mentioning mental training. Therefore, it should be considered in the same way as physical and tactical training," concludes the psychologist.

In the coming weeks we will present the departments:

- Doctor;
- Social Service;
- Technical Committees;
- Intelligence and Market Center;

Read the previous articles in the series:

Flamengo's Silver: Learn how Flamengo's youth teams work

Flamengo's Silver Medals: Pedagogy in Off-Field Discipline

Flamengo's Silver Medalists: Physiology as a Support in Physical Preparation

Flamengo's Silver: Nutrition in favor of sport