{"id":29948,"date":"2025-04-10T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=29948"},"modified":"2026-03-05T13:56:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T13:56:03","slug":"psychological-services-at-the-fc-bayern-campus-we-always-worked-together-but-now-our-efforts-are-integrated","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/psychological-services-at-the-fc-bayern-campus-we-always-worked-together-but-now-our-efforts-are-integrated\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychological Services at the FC Bayern Campus: \u2018We Always Worked Together, but Now our Efforts Are Integrated\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 10 Apr 2025 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Psychological Services at the FC Bayern Campus: \u2018We Always Worked Together, but Now our Efforts Are Integrated\u2019<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Head of Learning & Development Christian Luthardt discusses the psychosocial work of his new department.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch<\/h6>\n
The Leaders Performance Institute\u2019s forthcoming trends report reveals that nearly a quarter of the coaches and practitioners surveyed believe that psychology presents the biggest performance opportunity of the next five years \u2013 more than twice the figure that cited AI.<\/h6>\n

Yet 43 per cent also believe psychology to be the most under-served area of human performance.<\/p>\n

There is a nagging sense in the sports performance community that while psychology has been in sport for decades, team have never fully integrated psychological services as part of their performance offering.<\/p>\n

A desire for such integration lies at the heart FC Bayern Munich\u2019s Department for Learning & Development, which was established for youth players at the FC Bayern Campus in July 2024.<\/p>\n

The department\u2019s first Head of Learning & Development, Christian Luthardt, is a psychologist by trade who now oversees areas including education, safeguarding and sports psychology at the 30-hectare site in north Munich.<\/p>\n

His department is one of three (the other two are the Department of Football and the Department of Administration) that answer to Bayern\u2019s Director of Youth Development, Jochen Sauer.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, we were all working together before July, there was a lot of mutual support, but hopefully are efforts are now integrated,\u201d says Luthardt, who was the Campus\u2019 only psychologist when he joined at its inception in 2017. Today he leads a team of two full-time and two part-time psychologists.<\/p>\n

The work of the collective is informed by the club\u2019s mission, which, as Luthardt explains, is \u201cto create autonomous, resilient and \u2018switched-on\u2019 players who are open to new experiences, who are learners, intrinsically motivated, and who enjoy their journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

In delivering on their mission, Bayern have three areas of focus. The Department of Learning & Development will feed into each:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. The player\u2019s journey<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Luthardt and his department are on hand from the moment a player is approached. \u201cWe try to psychologically inform the process of scouting,\u201d says Luthardt. The club talks to players and parents, and when they are interested in recruiting the youngster, they will conduct a psychosocial interview. Campus staff members will travel to \u201csee the family and get a feel for the player\u2019s environment and the challenges that will accompany their transition if they move into our residence\u201d. When players leave, they are not instantly discarded. \u201cWe have an off-boarding and aftercare process too,\u201d says Luthardt. \u201cIt is about putting the human being first.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    1. The creation of a learning environment<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u201cLearning environments need to be psychologically safe and healthy,\u201d says Luthardt. Much of the work in this area is done by the team\u2019s psychologists in conjunction with the coaches. \u201cWe are fortunate that we have a really good coaching group that want to support the players and reflect on the way they relate to the players and the kind of climate they create within their training environment.\u201d As Luthardt explains, that might mean starting with feedback or it may mean giving the player a question on which to self-reflect. The aim is to \u201chelp players to feel that they are totally appreciated and accepted independently of their sporting performances, where they feel a sense of belonging.\u201d Luthardt and his colleagues ultimately want the Campus to feel like a home from home. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult, but we want to create a family atmosphere within the walls of our building.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Such are the demands on the players\u2019 time that Luthardt\u2019s department has also created digital learning resources that enable players to learn on their own time in an autonomous fashion that complements their technical, tactical and physical development.<\/p>\n

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      1. Life skills<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        From Under-11 to Under-15, Luthardt and his colleagues will deliver 30-minute workshops every two or three weeks rooted in \u201csocial projects\u201d. He says: \u201cEvery team has a different kind of social project where they go and get some experience outside the football bubble.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Schedules can be tight, but Bayern want players that are \u201cnot just not mentally ill, but actually flourishing and enjoying their journey\u201d. The club wants to see \u201cyoung people who, wherever they go, will be curious to learn and to also not see themselves just as football players.\u201d<\/p>\n

        \u2018We now know our priorities\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

        One of Luthardt\u2019s colleagues, a sports psychologist, joined the Campus from the world of aviation. \u201cHe came with some principles from aviation and one of which is \u2018take off is optional but landing is mandatory\u2019,\u201d says Luthardt. \u201cPreviously, we had a lot of initiatives and projects and sometimes we wouldn\u2019t land them properly because priorities changed.\u201d Now, \u201cthere is a clear objective of what \u2018done\u2019 looks like at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Long gone are the days where three different practitioners would ask a coach to find time for a workshop in the same week because they hadn\u2019t spoken to each other first. \u201cWe are now clear on what we are doing and with what age group, what are focus should be and where we will place our priorities.\u201d At Under-12, for example, the focus may be on safeguarding topics or education around social media. It will be differ depending on the cohort and different people will take the lead.<\/p>\n

        \u201cIt will always be a question of \u2018can we work together on this?\u2019 Before July there were some processes where five people felt responsible and the project would not advance because no-one felt fully accountable for that process.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Now, the Department of Learning & Development, as a multidisciplinary team, know who leads what. \u201cWe know where our priorities are, who needs to be consulted [in other departments], who needs to be informed, and who needs to be part of the project.<\/p>\n

        \u201cEvery person in our department knows, say, the five areas for which they have responsibility and this<\/em> is what \u2018done\u2019 looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Catch Christian Luthardt speaking on 24 April at…<\/strong><\/p>\n

        <\/p>\n

        Leaders Meet: The Talent Journey<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n