The Story Behind Beyond The Pitch
Who We Are
Beyond The Pitch is transition and mentoring support for young footballers, focusing on the Under 18 age group where one of two paths is taken. A release. Or a step up into a first team dressing room as a pro. Both scenarios require an extremely strong mindset and one that isn’t spoken about enough.
The majority of the support programmes provided by the PFA and LFE stop after 18 as these lads are thrown into the deep end, whichever path they take. Whether it’s an identity crisis when the thing you've built your whole life around suddenly disappears, or it’s wanting to enhance your performance when starting on the next journey as a pro.
Struggling mentally or ready to kick on, Beyond The Pitch is here to help you deal with and improve the psychological side of your game. It was founded by Sam Lavelle, a current professional footballer, who was also released twice before he was 21 and beat a gambling addiction with professional help along the way. He has also seen the second path of making a career in professional football with over 300 EFL appearances and representing Scotland at U19.
That's the difference here. This support comes from someone who's genuinely been through it. And it's been designed, so that more young players get reached by people who've stood exactly where they're standing.
Beyond The Pitch doesn’t stop there. It has also been proven to help footballers of all levels, and athletes of different sports.
Founder Sam is a Level 3 Counsellor and has a Postgraduate Certificate in Psychology, Emotional Intelligence & Leadership. He combines these qualifications with his vast experience to guide and mentor players improving their mindset and improving their performance on and off the pitch.
The majority of the support programmes provided by the PFA and LFE stop after 18 as these lads are thrown into the deep end, whichever path they take. Whether it’s an identity crisis when the thing you've built your whole life around suddenly disappears, or it’s wanting to enhance your performance when starting on the next journey as a pro.
Struggling mentally or ready to kick on, Beyond The Pitch is here to help you deal with and improve the psychological side of your game. It was founded by Sam Lavelle, a current professional footballer, who was also released twice before he was 21 and beat a gambling addiction with professional help along the way. He has also seen the second path of making a career in professional football with over 300 EFL appearances and representing Scotland at U19.
That's the difference here. This support comes from someone who's genuinely been through it. And it's been designed, so that more young players get reached by people who've stood exactly where they're standing.
Beyond The Pitch doesn’t stop there. It has also been proven to help footballers of all levels, and athletes of different sports.
Founder Sam is a Level 3 Counsellor and has a Postgraduate Certificate in Psychology, Emotional Intelligence & Leadership. He combines these qualifications with his vast experience to guide and mentor players improving their mindset and improving their performance on and off the pitch.
EFL APPEARANCES ACROSS SIX PRO CLUBS
300+
CLUBS CAPTAINED, THROUGH HIGHS AND LOWS
2
PROMOTION AT WEMBLEY, AS CAPTAIN
2021
WHY WE EXIST
Sam's Journey
Each achievement reflects our commitment to excellence and growth.
2016
Released by Blackburn at 19.
Twelve years in the academy, then let go. Told I wasn't good enough before I'd really started and left chasing a contract on trial.
Twelve years in the academy, then let go. Told I wasn't good enough before I'd really started and left chasing a contract on trial.
2017
Released again, and at my lowest point. A second release in a year, this time from Bolton Wanderers. I was hiding a gambling addiction and spiralling. Rock bottom - and, in time, the start of getting real help.
2021
Promotion at Wembley, as captain. Going from low confidence to leading Morecambe to the first League One promotion in their history, under the arch at Wembley. Proof that it can turn around.
2026
Over 300 games later and wanting to better others on a similar path, Beyond The Pitch was born. The mission is to inspire, educate and raise awareness of the sides of football that too often get overlooked - and to become the person I needed back at 19.
Testimonials
"Sam has been part of the education team at Sporting Chance for a couple of years, delivering workshops to players on coping mechanisms and addiction, hitting home to scholars that what they do away from the club can have a significant impact on their wellbeing and also their chances of progressing. Sam is a rare find in our world - emotionally literate, empathetic, a fantastic communicator, always looking to soak up information and ideas and weave this into his delivery. I cannot speak highly enough of him, someone who understands the pitfalls of academy and first team football and gets this across to young players in a way few others can.."
"As a player at the club, Sam was in a unique position to identify and support some of our young players who had long term injuries. The lads now had someone who they could relate to, not because he was telling them that things would be Ok, but he was the evidence that they would. Sam brought his lived experience to reassure and offer some guidance to our young players. He understood the role he played in communicating across departments and kept everyone in the loop. Quietly enabling players to develop their own strategies to cope with what faced them.."
.jpeg)
"Sam’s enthusiasm and dedication to ensuring the next generation of young footballers have a positive role model was clearly evident to me upon our first meeting. As club captain at Carlisle, Sam actively sought out an opportunity to give up a number of afternoons to assist my delivery of the Personal Development sessions I lead with the youth team squad at the club. Having Sam’s presence in the room clearly amplified the learning environment amongst the youth team players who were not only grateful but also inspired to have the club captain take such a keen interest in their development and share anecdotes from his own career. I have no doubt Sam’s experience, knowledge and above all, desire to make a difference to young players, will only be of a benefit to the future of the game. .”
.jpeg)
"Sam's helped me view my injury from a different perspective and has helped me focus on the things I can control rather than the negatives that aren’t. Sam gave me simple but effective tools which I have already been using for several weeks, one of them being to make list of things in my life that make me feel positive. From this, I’ve already started my new hobby of cooking and realised that simply spending time with my friends & family helps me to detach my thoughts from football in a positive way. I’m much more hopeful for the future whatever happens over the next few years and I can only thank Sam for this. I’d definitely recommend Beyond The Pitch to any player.”
.jpeg)
Let's have a conversation.
Player, parent, club or school - the first chat is free, private, and comes with no pressure. Tell me what's going on and I'll come back to you personally.
