Juliano "Nano" Pereira

Animo Performance Coach

I am a Brazilian-American athlete, student, and coach committed to excellence. The goal of creating Animo Performance is to share my expertise and help athletes develop to their greatest potential, perform their best, and enjoy their sport. I work with athletes, coaches, parents, referees, performers, and organizations to reinforce the development pathway from all angles. I take a culturally informed perspective, combining social-cognitive and mindfulness-based approaches to individualize the learning process. I believe in taking a proactive approach to mental health. That means building and practicing mental skills consistently, even when things are going well so when things get difficult, people will have developed the coping skills and resilience to bounce back, and an existing support system will be in place.

I have been a lifelong athlete involved in a variety of sports competitively and recreationally growing up. In high school, I decided to focus on soccer. I played collegiately, semi-professionally and professionally in multiple countries. Being involved in both promotion and relegation battles allowed me to experience the highs and lows inherent in sports.

Playing Experience:

• Vassar College (New York)


• Portuguesa (São Paulo, Brazil)


• UMF Tindastóll (Iceland)


• ASC San Diego (California)


• JJK Jyväskylä (Finland)


• AS Meteora (Greece)


I embraced academics as well, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Vassar College, a prestigious liberal arts institution. After several years of pursuing my dream of playing soccer professionally, while simultaneously coaching, I returned to school for a master’s degree. The European Master’s in Sport and Exercise Psychology (EMSEP) Program in Greece and Finland provided me with the opportunity to play soccer and study abroad. The program included a healthy balance of learning theory in the classroom and applied practice in the field. My thesis is about how athletes use music to regulate emotions.

I have dedicated time and effort to developing skills as a coach by working with all ages, genders, and skill levels. This includes youth clubs, high school, college, semi-professional, camps and tours, and forced immigrant populations.