Footballer training with a ballTennis player in action

Ervita, d.o.o., Jadranska cesta 25, 2000 Maribor

MB Athlete Support™

Holistic athlete support on the path to peak potential

Body. Recovery. Mind. Psychosomatics. Balance.

mag. Matej Bezgovšek, naturopath and hypnotherapist

Peak performance is not the result of talent and training alone.

It happens when an athlete can connect their physical abilities, recovery, nutrition, mental strength and inner stability — and express them when the result matters most.

MB Athlete Support™ is an individually designed system of holistic support for young talents, competitive and professional athletes.

It does not interfere with the coach’s work.

It supports the athlete in areas that significantly influence their ability to train, compete, recover and develop their potential over the long term.

Footballer training with a ballTennis player in action

“I know I can do more, but I don’t know what is holding me back.”

This is exactly where my work begins.

The 5 pillars of MB Athlete Support™

01

BODY

  • Body and nutrition
  • Naturopathy
  • Nutrition
  • Micronutrients
  • Natural support
02

RECOVERY

  • Recovery and energy
  • Sleep
  • Training load
  • Hydration
  • Recovery strategies
03

MIND

  • Mental preparation
  • Focus
  • Confidence
  • Visualisation
  • Competition routines
04

PSYCHOSOMATICS

  • Psychosomatics and stress
  • Physical responses to stress
  • Emotional strain
  • Behavioural patterns
  • External pressure
05

BALANCE

  • Inner balance
  • Breathing
  • Relaxation
  • Mind–body practices
  • Frequency-based support

Five areas. One athlete. One goal.

Creating conditions in which the athlete can turn their potential into peak performance.

In elite sport, the whole picture matters

The differences between the best are often small.

When athletes perform at a very high level, the differences between them are often small. Technique is excellent. Fitness is high. Training is systematic.

But then comes an important point. An important match. A decisive moment. A mistake. Pressure.

And that is when the difference can show. That is why I also look at what the result does not reveal.

When can my support be particularly valuable?

When an athlete:

  • shows more in training than in matches
  • loses confidence after mistakes
  • struggles to play under pressure
  • feels stuck
  • struggles to bounce back after a difficult period
  • has recurring difficulties
  • struggles to balance training and recovery
  • feels they still have untapped potential
  • wants to improve mental readiness
  • wants more holistic support throughout the season

It is not enough to have the ability.

An athlete must be able to show it when it matters most.

Many athletes show more in training than in competition. Why?

Because competition brings something that training often cannot fully simulate:

expectations • results • pressure • fear of mistakes • opponents • spectators • the importance of the moment • self-talk

That is why MB Athlete Support™ looks beyond the athlete’s body alone.

The central question is:
What enables — and what prevents — an athlete from accessing their best abilities at the decisive moment?

Tennis balls during training
01BODY

Body and nutritional support

The body must be able to withstand what sport demands of it.

Intensive training, competitions, travel and a long season place considerable demands on the body.

A naturopathic approach considers the athlete more broadly and individually.

Key areas

nutrition • hydration • micronutrients • energy • digestion • muscles and joints • recovery • support for the body

Depending on the athlete’s needs, I may include:

  • individual naturopathic advice,
  • nutrition optimisation,
  • nutritional strategies before, during and after physical exertion,
  • vitamins, minerals and trace elements,
  • phytotherapy and gemmotherapy,
  • individually selected nutritional supplements,
  • support during periods of increased training load.

We do not look for as many supplements as possible. We look for the support each athlete actually needs.

Young footballer during training
02RECOVERY

Recovery and energy

Training provides the stimulus. Recovery makes adaptation possible.

If an athlete cannot match their training load with adequate recovery, training quality, energy and consistency may begin to decline.

That is why we monitor:

sleep • daily energy • fatigue • hydration • nutrition • recovery habits • competition schedule • travel • perceived response to training load

We also teach athletes to understand their own bodies:

When can I increase the load?

When do I need recovery?

What drains my energy?

What restores it?

The goal is the long-term ability to:

Train → Recover → Improve → Compete

Tennis player serving on court
03MIND

High-performance mental preparation

Train your mind as you train your body.

High-performance mental preparation is not just motivation or positive thinking.

It is the athlete’s ability to direct attention, regulate their inner state, trust their abilities and perform the task even under pressure. Mental training therefore becomes an integral part of preparation.

8 areas of mental preparation

  1. 1

    Focus

    The ability to direct and refocus attention on what matters in the present moment.

    Not the previous mistake. Not the final result. The next point. The next move. The next decision.

  2. 2

    Confidence

    Developing stable sporting confidence that does not depend solely on the last win or defeat.

    The athlete builds trust in their abilities, preparation and process.

  3. 3

    Self-talk

    Recognising how an athlete talks to themselves. Negative self-talk can increase doubt and tension.

    The aim is to develop inner communication that guides and stabilises the athlete and brings them back to performance.

  4. 4

    Visualisation

    Mentally rehearsing movement, situations, competition and optimal responses in challenging moments.

    The athlete also prepares mentally for situations that may arise during competition.

  5. 5

    Managing pressure

    Working with nerves, expectations, pressure to achieve results and fear of mistakes or failure.

    The goal is not to remove all tension. The goal is to stop tension from taking control of performance.

  6. 6

    Competition routines

    Developing individual routines: before competition • immediately before performing • during competition • during breaks • after competition.

    A routine gives the athlete structure and helps them focus on what they can control.

  7. 7

    Mental reset

    Mistakes are part of sport. The key ability is how quickly an athlete recovers afterwards.

    Mistake → acceptance → calming down → refocusing → next task. We develop the ability to close the previous situation and mentally return to the next point, serve, shot, move or decision.

  8. 8

    Mental resilience

    How does the athlete respond to: defeat • stagnation • injury • tough training • competition • criticism • a change of coach • a period of poorer results?

    The path to elite sport is not linear. Mental resilience means persevering, adapting, learning and continuing even when development does not go to plan.

Hypnotherapy and mental training

Where appropriate, I complement mental preparation with hypnotherapeutic techniques.

Individual work may include:

deep relaxation • visualisation • concentration • confidence • competition preparation • work on limiting patterns • mental routines • regulation before performing

The goal is not to remove pressure from the athlete. It is to develop the ability to perform well even when pressure is present.

Optimal competitive state

Find the state in which you can show your best.

Not every athlete performs best in the same state before an important competition. Some need activation, others calm. Some need silence, others a clearly structured routine.

That is why we seek the athlete’s individually optimal competitive state.

With the help of:

breathing + focus + mental routines + visualisation + relaxation + activation

we develop a process that helps the athlete approach the state in which they can best express their abilities before competing.

Footballer training in a stadium
04PSYCHOSOMATICS

When pressure goes beyond the mind

Body and mind do not work separately.

Competitions, expectations, family, coaches, school, selection, injuries, results and fear of failure can place significant burdens on an athlete.

Stress can also show through changes in:

sleep • muscle tension • digestion • appetite • energy • concentration • wellbeing • recovery

That is why I also want to understand: what is happening in the athlete’s life off the pitch or court?

Together with the athlete, we identify connections:

Situation → Experience → Emotional response → Physical response → Behaviour → Sporting performance

Particularly important areas are:

  • fear of failure,
  • excessive expectations,
  • perfectionism,
  • attitude towards mistakes,
  • pressure from parents or others,
  • the relationship with the coach,
  • changing clubs or environments,
  • injury and returning to sport,
  • loss of confidence,
  • stagnating results,
  • balance between sport, school and private life.

Sometimes an athlete’s greatest untapped reserve is not in their muscles. It lies in the burden they bring onto the pitch or court.

Tennis racket and balls on court
05BALANCE

Breathing • Relaxation • Mobility • Inner stability

An elite athlete needs the ability to activate. But they also need the ability to calm down.

The fifth pillar therefore combines techniques that help develop a better connection between body and mind:

breathing techniques • relaxation • meditative techniques • mindfulness • mobility • elements of yoga • body awareness

Where needed, I can also complement holistic support with individual frequency-based approaches.

The aim is to give athletes practical tools they can also use independently:

before training • after training • before competition • during competition • after competition • before sleep

The MB Athlete Support™ model

We identify what limits the athlete. We look for the next untapped reserve.

Every athlete enters the system at a different point. MB Athlete Support™ is therefore not a ready-made universal programme. It is based on an individual process:

  1. 01

    Initial holistic assessment

    Where is the athlete today?

    An initial review of five areas:

    BODY • RECOVERY • MIND • PSYCHOSOMATICS • BALANCE

    next
  2. 02

    Setting priorities

    What matters most right now?

    We do not change 100 things at once. We identify the areas where the athlete currently has the greatest needs and untapped potential.

    next
  3. 03

    Individual support plan

    What exactly will we do?

    Based on the initial assessment, I prepare an individual support plan tailored to the athlete’s age, sport, training load, competition calendar and goals.

    next
  4. 04

    Implementation

    We bring the plan into the athlete’s everyday life: nutrition, recovery, mental routines, hypnotherapy, breathing, naturopathic support and psychosomatic work.

    We do not include everything. We include what the athlete needs.

    next
  5. 05

    Monitoring and adaptation

    We monitor. We adapt. We develop. The athlete changes throughout the season. Training, loads, competitions, results and goals change too.

    Their support must change with them.

Holistic athlete profile

I do not view an athlete solely through their results.

I am interested in the bigger picture:

How do they train?

How do they recover?

How do they eat?

How do they sleep?

How do they think?

How do they respond under pressure?

What happens after a mistake?

What happens after a defeat?

How do they feel before an important competition?

What weighs on them?

What gives them energy?

Where are they losing their potential?

When we understand the bigger picture, we can direct support to where the athlete needs it most.

I do not replace the coach. I support the athlete.

The coach leads sporting, technical and tactical development.

MB Athlete Support™ is an independent system of holistic support in areas beyond the athlete’s sport-specific training.

body + recovery + nutrition + mental preparation + inner balance

This allows me to work with athletes regardless of their club, coach or country.

The coach develops their game.

MB Athlete Support™ supports the body and mind of the person who has to deliver that game under pressure.

Who is MB Athlete Support™ for?

Young talents

Young athletes for whom we want to build foundations for long-term development alongside current results.

Competitive athletes

Athletes who want to improve recovery, nutritional support, mental preparation and areas beyond their direct sporting training.

Professional athletes

Athletes for whom details in preparation, recovery and mental state can significantly affect their ability to perform at their best.

Talent opens the door.

Preparation determines what you do with it.

Elite sport demands more than training. It requires the ability to connect:

Body × Recovery × Mind × Psychosomatics × Balance

into one individually tailored system with one goal:

Peak performance.

mag. Matej Bezgovšek, naturopath and hypnotherapist

mag. Matej Bezgovšek, naturopath and hypnotherapist

MB Athlete Support™

Holistic athlete support on the path to peak potential.

For young talents, competitive and professional athletes who want to make more of their abilities.

My vision

I want to create a holistic support method that helps the athlete to:

  • understand themselves
  • recognise their untapped reserves
  • identify areas that limit them
  • develop their abilities
  • strengthen confidence
  • improve their relationship with pressure
  • take better care of recovery

Above all: to show what they are truly capable of in the decisive moment.

Tennis & football

Sports I know from the inside — other sports also welcome.

I played football for many years. Today, through my children’s involvement in football and tennis, I follow young athletes’ journeys every day: training, matches, selection and competitive challenges. I know the difference between what an athlete shows in training and what they manage in competition — and those moments when fatigue, doubt or too much pressure lie behind a weaker performance. This experience helps me direct support to where it genuinely adds value for the athlete. Because a holistic approach follows the person, not the sport, I can also adapt it to other sports on request.

Matej Bezgovšek’s Jean Monnet Bruxelles diploma
Jean Monnet Bruxelles — Naturopathie Psychosomatique et Relation d’Aide
Matej Bezgovšek’s Dave Elman Hypnosis Institute certificate
Dave Elman Hypnosis Institute — Certified Hypnotist

Initial holistic assessment

The first step towards individualized athlete support.

Every athlete has a unique background, goals, strengths and challenges. That is why MB ATHLETE SUPPORT™ begins with a comprehensive understanding of the individual athlete.

Through an initial assessment questionnaire and a professional consultation, we explore five key pillars: BODY, RECOVERY, MIND, PSYCHOSOMATICS and BALANCE.

The purpose of the initial assessment is to identify strengths, areas for development and current needs, and to determine together which type and level of support would be most appropriate.

What does the initial holistic assessment include?

  • Initial holistic assessment questionnaire
  • Individual professional consultation
  • Comprehensive review of the five key pillars
  • Identification of strengths and areas for development
  • Identification of key priorities
  • Recommendations regarding possible future collaboration

Individual approach – no obligation to continue

The scope of the initial holistic assessment is tailored to each athlete's individual needs, goals and level of performance.

The initial holistic assessment is a paid professional service. Its scope and price will be clearly communicated before the assessment begins.

Based on the findings, we jointly determine whether further collaboration would be beneficial and what level of support would be most appropriate.

The initial assessment does not create any obligation to participate in an ongoing support program.

Need a different form of support?

In addition to the initial holistic assessment, other forms of individual naturopathic counselling and holistic support are available, tailored to the needs of each athlete.

Not sure which session would suit you best?

Contact me. Together we will look at your current needs and work out which form of support makes the most sense right now.

mag. Matej Bezgovšek

Naturopath and hypnotherapist

+386 70 680 851matej@ervita.si

More about my naturopathic counselling:

naturopat-matej-bezgovsek.com
Footballer training with a ballTennis player in action

Ready for the next level?

Holistic support tailored to the athlete.

The first step is an individual initial assessment. Based on this, we identify key priorities and prepare the athlete’s individual support plan.

“I know I can do more, but I don’t know what is holding me back.”

This is exactly where my work begins.