UK Coaching Hero: Lucas Capalbo, PhD

Bloomsbury Football’s supremely talented Brazilian Lucas Capalbo made a special appearance on Tuesday on BBC Radio London as he’s one of 75 coaches shortlisted for the UK Coaching Hero Awards!

The UK Coaching Awards is a unique opportunity for the sport and physical activity industry to honour and reward the work of #GreatCoaching across all levels in the UK, and our very own Lucas Capalbo has been recognised for his positive impact during times which were anything but.

During the pandemic, Lucas connected young people through football, psychology and mental health activities. He developed online lessons to empower young athletes to better deal with psychological issues on and off the pitch. In these online sessions, kids had the opportunity to learn about coping mechanisms in a positive environment by helping Bear (a cartoon character) resolve their mental limitations about exercising, exploring fear and anxiety, for example. The sessions helped 7–15 year-old girls and boys stay motivated and keep active during lockdown and inspired the children to continue with physical activity during lockdown. His knowledge in Sports Psychology helped them understand reasons behind feeling unmotivated and the passion for his line of work and encouragement to keep active, empowered the children’s perseverance through challenging times. To supplement this further, Lucas also posted videos on YouTube with the key points of each topic so other kids could engage and learn.

Lucas’ innovative lessons explored concepts that are often overlooked in sports. Mental health is inherent in every aspect of our lives, and has become increasingly prevalent during the lockdowns, and so it’s imperative that a platform is provided for open discussion about beliefs and emotions. Lucas’ work had a positive impact on participants’ mental health and activity levels as described by feedback from parents. This then prompted Lucas to implement a sustainable group providing girls access to mental health support from female coaches to continue discussions post-lockdown. A Player and Staff Care initiative was also developed to ensure necessary mental health support was received during the transition to normality.

We’re unbelievably blessed to have Lucas as part of our team and representing Bloomsbury Football, he’s a wonderful example of all that Bloomsbury stand for and we urge the Bloomsbury family to vote for Lucas to make sure he takes home the crown of UK Coaching Hero!