Sports Psychologist and former University of Leeds student, Natasha Williams, talks about her new role with Bolton Wanderers FC.
Natasha Williams has confidently stepped into her new position as Player Care Officer at Bolton Wanderers Football Club, a role that seems tailor-made for her.
Sport has been a constant throughout Natasha’s life, with football being her passion. Growing up in Prestwich, where she still lives, Natasha played football for Bury FC from age nine to 16, whereupon she joined Wythenshawe Amateur Ladies and participated in the Maccabiah Games. After playing for Maccabi GB and being one of the only Mancunians in the squad, Natasha wanted to give Jewish girls in Manchester more opportunities to play football. It was after this that she began coaching, which would lead to her working for professional football clubs and eventually moving into the field of player care.
Following these early sporting experiences, Natasha moved to Leeds to attend university, where she signed for Harrogate Town Ladies and became known to the community while coaching at Leeds Maccabi Juniors.
Despite her love of the sport and her athletic ability, going professional was never Natasha’s motivation: “I’ve played and coached various sports, but football is where my heart is. I’ve played at quite a high level – including at academies in America and for high-level grassroots teams – I never saw myself becoming a professional player, but I always knew I wanted to stay involved in sport in some capacity.”
Pursuing her academic career, first with her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Leeds, and then completing her masters in Sports Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, Natasha found a way to balance and fuse her dual passions: “When I studied at Leeds, I began working at Leeds United and I partnered with the club while working on my final dissertation which covered nutrition, health psychology, and sports psychology. Quite early on in my degree, I knew I wanted to go into this field and the experience of being in the professional football world just made me want to stay in it. I realised that sports psychology would be a perfect way to combine my two interests – I could remain in football while using my psychology skills and knowledge in that environment.”
Though people often focus on the physical aspects of sport and athleticism, there’s growing awareness of the psychological element: “Sports psychology focuses on two main areas,” Natasha explains. “First is player wellbeing – making sure that athletes in any sport are mentally healthy and dealing with anything that might impact their performance. It’s about ensuring they’re seen as a whole person, not just an athlete. The second aspect is the performance side – using mental skills to help athletes achieve their best performance and perform optimally at the highest level.”
Attention to mental wellbeing is especially important in elite sport where external factors compound pressure and nerves among myriad different elements that need to be processed to minimise stress and anxiety. Thus, the role of sports psychologist is becoming more valued.
Does Natasha think the discipline is more established in particular sports, or is it gaining traction across the board?
“It’s more common in football, as it’s obviously one of the biggest sports in the world, and they’re the leaders in this area,” she says. “But I also provide sports psychology for GB climbing and sports like England squash. It’s really growing at the national level. At lower levels, it’s not as established yet, but there’s definitely a push to increase it across all sports.”
Natasha appreciates the variety that her new role provides, pointing out a holistic approach that involves more than one might expect: “There’s a lot of life skills work – organising workshops for athletes so that when they come out of the academy, it’s not just about becoming a better footballer, but developing as a person and being able to transition into other fields if football doesn’t work out for them.
“There’s also lots of one-to-one support for players who might be struggling with things in their personal lives or dealing with injuries. I do a lot of work with parents and spend time observing training sessions. It’s quite broad, with many different responsibilities.”
Natasha is excited about applying her knowledge and expertise in her new position in an expansive way – supporting athletes and various processes – while also using the coaching experience she’s gained over the years. Thankfully, Natasha’s new role is flexible enough to allow plenty of time for her to enjoy participating in sports; she regularly runs, goes bouldering, swims, and plays squash.
A core part of her professional life is about thinking beyond physicality and engaging with the humanity that lies at the heart of sporting and cultural pursuits. As such, diversity and representation are values Natasha holds especially dear: “A message I really want to put out there is that you can be a Jewish woman in professional elite sport. It’s a space for everyone, and my advice would be to get as much experience as you can and go for it.”
