Therapy and Mental Skills for Athletes and Performers

Noah Merl, LCSW

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Professional portrait of Noah Merl from shoulders up. Fair skin, red hair, middle aged. Wearing light blue dress shirt in front of dark green foliage.

About Noah

- UC Berkeley Soccer 2001-2004, Captain '02 - '04
- Drafted by San Jose Earthquakes while injured
- Seattle Sounders (2006-2008), won USL championship 2007
- 2007 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup USA team member
- De La Salle High School Athletic Hall of Fame inductee 2021
- BA UC Berkeley 2005
- MSW University of Maryland at Baltimore 2011
- Therapist at Johns Hopkins, UCSF, Kaiser Permanente, & Performance Psychology Center
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (#74059)

Full Bio

The Mission

At Athletic Acumen I provide psychotherapy services and mental skills training to athletes and performers, serving individuals from my home community of the East Bay and throughout California through telehealth (virtual) appointments. I am available to consult with teams, coaches, and organizations as well on a case-by-case basis.

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"My ultimate goal is to help performers reach their personal performance goals and live a higher quality of life."
- Terry Orlick, PhD

"So for me, it's that much more special because it's athlete to athlete, like I understand what they just put their body through to get here, and so there's so much mutual respect and admiration."
- Kobe Bryant, 'Redeem Team'

Blog Posts

Action shot of Noah Merl playing for Seattle Sounders

Therapist for Athletes

...as a player, I tried to do things the right way. I was a hard worker, wanted it more, put the team first. I think I was a positive influence on my teammates, but I was often my own worst enemy mentally. I was mentally tough, but I was NOT mentally trained...

The Only Way Past It, Is Through It

...we all have hooks from our past that create patterns of reactions and behaviors that are often unhelpful in the present circumstance, and can greatly affect how we show up and how we perform. So the important question becomes: what are we doing with our negative emotions?
Graphic of both Cal and Stanford logos combined into one image

Cal and Stanford - Stronger Together

...everything I've heard throughout this process has started with "Cal and Stanford will be together," and the rest I care less and less about. Cal and Stanford are going to be navigating this process together. That makes me proud.