MOVE - The Sports & Exercise Medicine Centre

15/11/2025

14/11/2025

MOVE was honored to join the panel at the “Level the Playing Field: Women, Talent and Sport” event organised by SHE: Social Hub Entrepreneurs and the European Parliament Liaison Office at the The Mediterranean College of Sport

Jasmine Borg, health psychologist and sport psychology practitioner, contributed insightfully to the panel discussions at the “Level the Playing Field: Women, Talent and Sport” event. Key topics included the high dropout rates during O-level sports, the essential need for diversity in sports offerings, and empowering more female athletes and coaches. The panel also addressed concerns about media portrayal of women’s sports and emphasized the importance of female athletes as role models. Importantly, there was growing recognition of sport psychology’s role in supporting athletes’ mental health and reducing stigma.

14/11/2025

A huge congratulations to Matthew Portelli on completing his Master’s in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Staffordshire. We’re so happy to have him begin his professional journey with MOVE.

Matthew joins us as a Sport Psychology Practitioner, and we couldn’t be more excited to have his expertise supporting our athletes and teams.


Matthew Portelli

12/11/2025

Great coaches don’t just train the body, they train the mind.

Mental performance is what separates consistency from chaos.
The best coaches know how to manage emotions, build trust, and shape the mindset their athletes need to thrive.

Over the next few weeks, MOVE will be sharing practical tools and insights on mental toughness, focus, and the psychology of coaching.

💡 Ready to train your athletes’ minds as well as their bodies?
If you’re a coach who wants to build a winning team, get in touch. Let’s help you take performance to the next level.

A new study co-authored by Binghamton University School of Management’s Chou-Yu (Joey) Tsai shows how coaches can become better leaders and improve an athlete’s mental toughness.

10/11/2025

Mental toughness isn’t about pushing harder it’s about staying focused when things get hard.

True mental strength means:
💭 Knowing when to rest
🔄 Recovering with purpose
🧠 Redirecting negative thoughts mid-session
You can’t build strength without recovery.... and that includes your mind.

https://www.drip-hiit.com/en/hyrox-preparation

Optimise your preparation for Hyrox with proven strategies. Improve your performance and achieve your goals.

07/11/2025

Race-day mindset: switch on your brain between stations.
You’ve trained for months.
You’ve planned your pace.
But on race day, your mind must go to work.

✅ Use these 3 mental reset cues between stations:
1️⃣ Breathe & reset (1 deep breath before every new station)
2️⃣ Anchor phrase (“Strong and steady” or “One more rep”)
3️⃣ Visualise completion before each station begins

The brain doesn’t need silence. It needs structure.

A discussion with George Anderson, a well-being and performance coach, about the mental side of competing in HYROX events.

05/11/2025

Mental fatigue = slower transitions, poor pacing, early burnout

You’ve trained your muscles, but have you trained your mind’s endurance?

Research shows that mental fatigue can reduce physical performance by up to 15%.
In Hyrox, that’s the difference between pacing and burning out.

Learn how to manage focus and recover mentally between race stations.

A look into the link between mental fatigue and endurance. How to recognise the signs of a fatigued mind, and tips for mental resilience.

03/11/2025

Train your mind like you train your body

Physical training gets you to the start line.
Mental training gets you to the finish line.
The athletes who train their focus, emotional control, and composure perform better under fatigue.
🧩 Build your mental toolkit:
1️⃣ Self-talk you can rely on under stress
2️⃣ Visualisation before transitions
3️⃣ Focus drills between sets
4️⃣ Pre-performance routines for consistency
Want to know what separates elite Hyrox athletes? It’s not muscle, it’s mindset.

🔗 Read: The Nine Mental Skills of Successful Athletes – sportpsych.org

You don’t have to be a professional athlete or an Olympic champion to be a successful athlete. Nor do you have to have a room full of trophies, win a state championship, or make the front page of the sports section. Successful athletes that I’ve worked with include an eleven year-old figure skat...

02/11/2025

Huge congratulations to the Camilleri brothers, Nigel and Ian who both smashed their times at the IRONMAN 70.3 in Türkiye this morning.

Ian finished with an outstanding 4:18:46. He was the first Maltese athlete to cross the line, placing 2nd in his age group, 42nd overall, and qualifying for the World Championships. 🇲🇹🔥

Nigel also achieved a personal best, shaving 4 minutes off his previous time. Proof that commitment and mindset truly drive performance.

Both brothers showed the same focus and discipline we see every day in the athletes we work with.

At MOVE, we believe strength starts in the mind, and this is what that looks like in action. 💪 Enjoy the celebrations guys, both well deserved.

31/10/2025

Today, 2 professionals from MOVE delivered two engaging COPE Session for P.E. teachers from across the country at St Clare’s College, Pembroke Secondary School, focusing on two key areas in sports psychology: managing stress and performance anxiety, and mastering self and emotional regulation.

🧠 Matthew Portelli led an insightful talk on “Managing Stress and Performance Anxiety,” exploring practical tools to help athletes—and educators—recognize pressure, manage their responses, and perform at their best even in high-stakes situations.

💪 Matthew Debattista followed with a powerful session on “Self and Emotional Regulation,” offering evidence-based strategies for maintaining balance, focus, and motivation both on and off the field.

Both talks highlighted how the principles of sports psychology can be applied not only to athletic performance but also to teaching, learning, and personal well-being.

A big thank you to all the educators who attended and contributed to such an interactive and inspiring session! 👏