In the world of football that is full of uncertainty, pressure and the need to adapt to change, it is essential that coaches foster a culture of learning where a challenging environment is created to develop competitive players. Maria Ruiz de Ona, a psychologist with 21 years of experience at Athletic Club Bilbao, where she was responsible for the Psychology and Learning Education for coaches and players. This was the beginning of a new learning step for the Club and was in conjunction with her studies and research in Psychology from the University of Deusto. Founding member of AIPAF (International Association of Psychology Applied to Football), currently, Maria is working in Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar as the Lead Psychologist for the Football Development & Performance Department. Her main activity in this role is the mentoring-training of the coaches in a project with a philosophy focused on the development of the player while also educating coaches and players on what it is to develop a competitive player in high performance football. Maria, promotes vital learning to achieve a harmonious, integral and balanced development of the person and the teams through self-knowledge, listening, understanding the words we use, sensitivity, intuition and promoting the valuable learning gained from educating and understanding the gaze through psychology. Her speciality is in group learning as an agent of change and innovation for football clubs and other organisations. In more than 20 years of her experience, Maria has managed to collaborate professionally with some of the following Clubs and Federations: America de Mexico, Bayer Leverkusen, Rubin Kazan, Villareal, New York City, Premier League, Chilean Football Federation, Italian Federation of Football and Zenit of Saint Petersburg. Maria has also collaborated in the development of professionals from the management world: Global Zurich, Euskaltel, Forum Manager, Expo Coaching, European University of Madrid, Florida University of Valencia and Victory University (Australia) among others. Maria, understands that many times 'Everybody wants to change everybody, but they don't want to change themselves, and that change must first happen in ourselves'.
