If Louisville City FC pulls off a win Monday in the biggest game in club history, one man will have predicted it from the start.

He doesn't sit on the sidelines, or even in the stands. His role requires him to melt into the background, but don't get the wrong idea — he is very much a part of the team's success.

Sports psychologist L. Kevin Chapman has been along for the ride as Louisville City FC broke barrier after barrier this season. Now, as the club prepares to host Monday night's United Soccer League Cup final, Chapman believes he knows what comes next.

"I've told guys on the team individually, 'Look, the writing's on the wall,'" Chapman said. "The thing is, I've seen this movie. If they follow their process, which they all have bought into, the outcome will follow. And Monday will be no exception to that."

Chapman, a former Centre College track athlete, has worked locally as a licensed psychologist since 2006. At the beginning of the 2017 season, Louisville City FC coach James O'Connor asked club chaplain Garrett Bates to find the team a sports psychologist. Bates found Chapman.

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O'Connor, described by Chapman as "one of the most psychologically minded coaches I've ever encountered," often repeats the mantra "control what we can control" and has championed mental preparedness since his own playing career. While playing for second-tier English side Burnley in the mid-2000s, O'Connor became close friends with sports psychologist Richard Nugent.

"I think for me it opened my eyes to the mental side of the game, the importance of a strong mentality," O'Connor said. "Equally, I think it needs to be on a trust level. So what I've said to Kevin is that I don't necessarily want to know the ins and outs."

Chapman is an extension of the Louisville City FC coaching staff and available to players for individual, confidential appointments.

"Mental skills are something we all have as athletes; it's just a matter of how you use those mental skills," Chapman said. "I'm part of a team that is giving you resources to make you a full athlete: mind, body and spirit."

Sports psychologists, while always common in sports like tennis and track, have gradually become more prevalent in collegiate and professional team sports over the past few decades. Many Louisville City FC players previously interacted with sports psychologists while playing college soccer, a trend Chapman said he believes is increasing as the stigma surrounding mental health in soccer fades.

Goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh had never worked with a sports psychologist before meeting Chapman, but his skepticism was quickly erased.

"To be honest, at first I was a little bit of a doubter," Ranjitsingh said, chuckling. "When you get to this level, obviously before games you are trying to eat right and train well, but it's also important to be mentally fit. ... Lots of times after a defeat (O'Connor) says we're our own enemy, our own worst opponent. A lot of that has do with mental toughness, and Dr. Chapman stresses that a lot."

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Chapman teaches players to rely on what he calls "cues," reminders of goals and behavior. He often uses emojis as cues. The soccer ball emoji plus the purple devil emoji signifies team unity. The bullseye emoji means outcome, while the downward trend graph signifies the ups and downs that come with the game.

Players have also developed their own cues. For Ranjitsingh, it's having internal "conversations with God" during the national anthem. For defender Sean Totsch, it's writing the word "be" on his hand before matches.

"It stands for be a beast, be in the moment, be present," Totsch said. "Any time I'm playing, if I need to pick myself up, I can just look at it and it's a visual cue for myself to remember what makes me a good player to reestablish myself in the game."

Chapman would be on the sideline holding up giant emoji posters if USL rules didn't bar him from doing so. Instead, he carefully watches to take note of how players react to a poor play and how they reset after giving up a goal.

No matter the result, Chapman wants players to only be asking one thing afterward: "What did I learn today?"

Looking at the season, it would seem Louisville City FC players have learned a lot. On its way to capturing a first-ever Eastern Conference title, Louisville City FC set new club records for wins in a season (18), points (62), goal differential (plus-27) and goals scored (58).

For Ranjitsingh, the difference is best exemplified not by numbers or results, but by the way he feels when he stands in the tunnel at Louisville Slugger Field.

"Nowadays when I go into games, I don't have nerves at all because I'm always super happy," he said. "Before games, I'm buzzing. (O'Connor) will tell us, 'No one will die on that pitch tonight. Nothing bad is going to happen. Play like you're a kid on the front lawn, 8 years old without a worry.'"

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The approach falls in line with Chapman's goal to help players eliminate anxiety and manage emotions during games. Chapman pointed to Louisville City FC's 5-0 victory over FC Cincinnati as an example of how the players have taken that message to heart.

"Because of the background noise about the stadium, MLS and the rivalry, you can't really separate out the magnitude of that match," Chapman said. "But they were out for blood. They kept pouring it on. That's what we talk about as success seeking versus failure avoidance."

While players are learning not to base their own identities on game outcomes, self-confidence is almost inseparable from mental skills. The trick is to keep a realistic perspective while focusing that confidence one game at a time.

"The difference between us and other teams technical-skill-wise isn't that great," Totsch said. "It comes down to how you carry yourself and what you're thinking. That's been fully what we have bought into and has played a big role for us this season."

Louisville City FC's confidence is at its peak after the club reversed last season's fortune and beat New York Red Bulls II on penalty kicks in the conference final. After playing 120 minutes, players were physically exhausted by the time penalties rolled around.

Louisville City FC won, and in doing so "literally changed the storyline from last season," Chapman said.

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Come Monday, Swope Park Rangers players will be attempting to change their own storyline and make up for a loss to New York in last season's championship. In Chapman's mind, if Louisville City FC has done it once, it can do it again.

"They're ready," Chapman said. "I have no doubt about that. There's a lot associated with this championship, but ultimately it's reminding the guys how they got there – following the process."

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Sports enterprise reporter Danielle Lerner can be reached at dlerner@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4042.