Founder and Licensed sports psychologist
mag. psych. | Founder and owner of Mentalni Trening | Licensed sports psychologist with a special permit from the Chamber of Psychology
Beginning:
Luka studied in two places because one wasn’t enough for him. Bachelor degree at the Department of Psychology in Zadar, graduate degree at the Department of Psychology in Zagreb. Even during his studies, he knew he wanted to work with people. But not in a nursing home, where he did his internship. He wanted sports.
Six months after deciding to pursue sports psychology, the owner of the nursing home where he worked offered him the position of director: top salary, great conditions. Luka said – “No”. He chose the uncertainty of sports psychology, a field that was almost uncharted territory in Croatia at the time.
Today, Luka is a member of the professional class of sports psychology at the Croatian Psychological Chamber, vice president of the sports psychologists section, and a lecturer at specialist study courses for the education of future sports psychologists.
Upbuilding:
The first years were challenging. Athletes were unfamiliar with the concept of mental preparation, sports psychology, and the general purpose of psychology in sports. The stigma of being a psychologist in sports was strong. Luka gave free lectures, free workshops, lots of education – and slowly built trust.
Through this work, he noticed something that shaped the company’s name: athletes are much more open to the idea of going “to mental training” than “to a psychologist.” He founded the company in 2014 and called it Mentalni Trening.
Successes:
Luka deliberately started with the youngest athletes – in order to learn how to work with those at the top, he had to understand the challenges of the youngest. The strategy worked. Today, he has some of the most famous names in Croatian and regional sports in his portfolio.
Topics: stress management and motivation.
Guest on numerous podcasts:
net.hr
“I turned down a job with a top salary”
Karijera nakon karijere, net.hr, February 2026
Srednja.hr
“Watching penalties is like a horror movie”
Match stress and penalties, World Cup 2022, srednja.hr, December 2022
Spoginovosti
“The Corona crisis and isolation are an opportunity for everyone”
Interview, mental health of athletes, 2022 World Cup, spoginovosti.wordpress.com, April 2020
Medjimurski.hr
GYMdeLUX podcast #25: mental health of children and youth
medjimurski.hr, November 2021
Superhuman Life Podcast
“Mindset Secrets of Elite Athletes”
Spotify, creators.spotify.com
Futsal Dinamo
“Dinamo’s expert staff consists of a duo of sports psychologists”
futsal-dinamo.hr, January 2019
If you are considering mental preparation for yourself, your child, or your club, the first step is a short, informative introductory conversation in which we assess together how our work can help you.
We’ll get back to you soon.
