The Mental Side Returning to Training and Play
Few events in history have altered the staging of major sports. So far only the World Wars have kept our athletes away from the grand stage of the Olympics, and several politically based boycotts prevented some nations from participating in other Olympic Games. In fact, few events have altered day-to-day function across the globe as has COVID-19. In what seems like an instant we have gone from training and congregating wherever and whenever we want- to travel restrictions, closed borders, closed training centers, and millions of people living in self-isolation.
We are now coming to the end of our forced separation from youth sports. While many have used this time to reconnect and take a break, others have stayed trying to engage physically and mentally with the barrage of resources that flooded our internet channels. There is no right or wrong way for any family, or youth athlete, to approach this unprecedented event. Study after study is published week after week in youth sports newsletters, trades, and websites taking both sides of the “how much we should be doing” argument, and, not surprisingly, they all seem to share the opinion of that organization's goals.
As we are coming close to the end of the Stay at home orders, gyms, performance coaches, and personal trainers are beginning to flood their mailing list with fear based marketing words like:
“Accelerate Your Training”, “Don’t Get Left Behind”, “Will You Be Ready to Return to Play”.
All of this to take advantage of the limited disposable dollars we may be willing to throw at a quick fix of making sure the FOMO of youth sports is fulfilled. However, we all know that youth development and the lifelong progression to mastery of any single activity takes a long, consistent approach. There are no magic formulas, short cuts, or silver bullets to performance. Just time, focus, dedication, discipline, and passion. Pace and speed of development is entirely up to the individual person, not the program. To focus efforts on accelerated growth has many negative psychological effects on the minds of youth players and adult pro players. Having just emerged from a forced pandemic shut down has exposed millions of players with mental challenges that they are having to cope with and adjust to already. To add additional levels of stress at this time will be destructive to not only their development as an athlete, but their evolution as a person, and ultimately, the sport they love.
Let’s first look at the potential changes to the landscapes of youth soccer:
As we were working on this article, the US Development Academy announced it was ending leaving over 100 clubs with thousands of players, playing at the self proclaimed “highest level”, with no competitive league of structured play.
This Wall Street Journal article highlights concerns that we may lose 20-40% of our youth sports clubs to insolvency, and result in a huge drop in participation. After the 2008 recession, participation of US children dropped from 45% in 2008 to 38% in 2014, and the financial impact of this event will be far worse. It is unlikely many families are looking forward to high-priced, travel heavy youth sports experiences, especially for children still in elementary school. This system had already created a huge socio-economic participation imbalance, with more than twice as many children participating in sports in families with incomes over $100,000 than in the lowest income brackets.
Government policies of social distancing and public gatherings have yet to be designed for the Post Covid Era. The impact this could have on any league play or tournaments in the next 18-24 months is unknown to every organization and has the potential to render all previous organizations, leagues, associations inactive and most importantly, insignificant here in the US.
The factors are aligned to cause a major rethink in how youth sports, especially for 12 and under children, will be done. In a great webinar put on by the Aspen Institute Project Play Initiative, industry leaders predicted a summer or fall return to some sort of play, but that there will be a yearning for new models. As the panelists discussed, the existing model is dysfunctional at best and broken at worst. Parents and kids have rediscovered free play, family activities, and the fun of training without the added stress. Will they just want to go back to the old way with no adjustments? As Project Play Executive Director Tom Farrey stated, “It makes me wonder if we’ll see more enthusiasm or create a scenario for more in-town rec leagues and hold off the travel team environment. Instead of sorting the weak from the strong when they’re 6 or 7 years old, (can we) promote more low-cost, local activity that’s more inclusive and more affordable for more families, at least through grade school.”
We need our local leagues, and even our travel clubs, to reimagine what the youth sports experience is going to look like when we return to play. And if we are truly going to deliver a high quality experience, the following things are not “nice to haves.” The are MUST HAVES:
Mandatory coach education and development: we must train every single coach not simply on the Xs and Os, but on connecting with kids, winning the relationship game, and understanding the social, emotional and cognitive development of the children they are coaching. We must become athlete-centric in our programming. Volunteerism is NOT an excuse for a lack of professionalism, and this will be even more important in the coming months.
Mandatory parent engagement and development: Our parents can be our biggest assets, so connect with them, teach them how they can help their children and support them on and off the field. Give them ownership in creating a high quality sideline experience. They are struggling right now too, and will feel immense pressure to keep up with the Joneses when we return to play. What if they didn’t have to?
Creative programming that includes more local play and small-sided games: our kids will have spent months playing 1v0 or 1v1 with a sibling, do we really need to jump straight back to 11v11 soccer or football? Will we even be able to if there are restrictions in the size of gatherings? Or can we create small sided, local programming that actually provides more touches, more decisions, some of the better players spread across multiple teams, and the opportunity to play after a five minute drive instead of a five hour drive?
Delay our desire for talent selection and separation: Instead of trying to identify the future “talent” at age 7, which we know is an incredibly flawed process and is more likely to select maturity then ability, be patient. Develop age groups instead of a single team. Provide opportunities to play up, play down, train with similar ability players, and mixed ability. Let the girls and boys play together for longer. Use different game formats. Spend more time on the field and less time in cars because there is “no one left to play” locally. Prevent burnout, injury and dropout. There is a time for higher level travel sports, but not in elementary school, and certainly not post-pandemic for 12 and under kids.
Transformational values and character development: Sports are not fundamentally good (as I have written about in this article). They are neutral. They only teach character and provide a positive experience when coaches and organizations INTENTIONALLY make that a part of their mission. Every youth sports organization that wants to thrive in a post-pandemic world must put character and personal development at the forefront of their mission.
What do kids need now from coaches during and after the pandemic? That’s the most important question every coach should be asking.
On April 22, the Aspen Institute’s Project Play hosted their third webinar, this one aimed at assisting coaches to help kids stay physically and emotionally healthy. Giving kids what they need will require coaches adjusting on the fly with new communication skills, team bonding ritual and coaching plans, including not rushing players back into a rigorous schedule once practices and competitions reopen.
Below are highlights from the discussion with experts from Hospital for Special Surgery and U.S. Soccer Foundation, along with two coaches who spoke with their athletes on what they need.
Progressing back into training should feel and look like this: During the first phase we want to focus on physical activity with progressing repetitions with an emphasis on movement quality, not just quantity. Injuries can be prevented by moving with the proper technique. This means less “high intensity” engagements and more quality engagements with form and physical posture the top priority.
Coaches and Trainers need to respect a gradual return to competitive activity, especially if there are condensed preseasons. We know that most injuries occur during preseasons, or early in the season, so the message is to not rush de-conditioned athletes back into competition. It is recommended that during the ramp-up to increase activity by about 10% each week.
A rush to “put in hours” once training resumes can also lead to negative effects in the short and long term. “High performance” players who spend extra hours outside of their team training working on their individual performance are currently missing a major piece of their weekly feedback loop. They have no games or competitions where they are used to implementing the knowledge they have gained each week. This can lead to a loss of the positive feedback they get when they experience the gains in skill at each game. This needs to be monitored and managed so that these players don’t loose the drive to continue to work through their sport. It is more important than ever to help them establish a true love for the games they play so that they can have a solid foundation to use as a basis for their growth.
This pandemic is causing many young people to experience toxic stress, so we need to be present. Children are processing this trauma every day and that shouldn’t be avoided or glossed over. Don’t pretend everything is perfect. Have an honest conversation with athletes about COVID-19. Recognize different experiences for different kids: “Practicing social distancing and working from homes is, in many ways, a privilege. Less than one in five Black workers and one in six Latino workers are able to work from home. We need to meet our players where you are by asking questions of what they need.
It will also be important that trainers stay connected beyond the training session. Check ins, discussions, one on one chats will be key in helping players return to their best. Coming out of this Athletes are asking themselves “why?” “Why am I doing this training?” So, we need to begin to have conversations about what their goals look like – short-term goals and long-term goals, creating that vision so they have that target beyond the short term to get past those challenges.
A lot of what some would label as “high performing” or “elite” athletes have spent the better part of their youth lives on the practice fields and in cars and buses getting to and from games. For many youth athletes, the pressures of performance and the desire to please their adult caretakers have forced them to fashion an identity around their sport. Athletes put their lives on hold for their sport. Innumerable sacrifices occur along the way: relationships, jobs, school, friendships, and housing- to name but a few. With Covid-19 they lost that identity. In a way it was just stripped from them. Some players have retreated into time alone, video games, other hobbies- while others became obsessed with online training, social media challenges, and anything that could keep them connected. Once again, there is no right or wrong way. One player over the other isn’t going to emerge with any sort of advantage if their mental and physical need aren’t handled once they return to play. The talented player who retreated into non sports related time will catch back up to where he left off, maybe even spring back further than before with less chance of burnout or injury. The player posting five videos a day of their latest trick can emerge with viable skills to play more positions or have evolved into a different style of player- maybe even gained a passion for the game that will serve them later. But that player is equally as likely to experience training fatigue and burn out as the player who just “took his time”.
The tangible concerns among all athletes, regardless of their current engagement level, include feeling:
fear that they will be less physically prepared for upcoming events
as if they are at a competitive disadvantage
ill
socially isolated
disconnected from typical healthy outlets and support networks
emotional if someone they know–friends, family or teammates–becomes ill
lost and begin to overthink their life’s direction: what to do if the sports are delayed or cancelled; whether to continue; about next steps in general.
A global pandemic such as Covid-19 can have a significant impact on an athlete’s life, including:
Exacerbation, triggering, or worsening of pre-existing mental illness (anxiety, OCD, depression, insomnia) * IF YOU HAVE A HISTORY OF MENTAL ILLNESS SUCH AS ANXIETY DISORDERS, MOOD DISORDERS, OCD, PTSD- these have a potential to be triggered and amplified by these circumstances.
Illness (COVID-19)- yourself, teammate, family member or friend
Isolation
Coaches, Trainers and Parents can look for specific signs in youth athletes that may be indicators of mental stress, fatigue, or disorder as a result of forced isolation of returning to training fatigue. They need to look for consistent behaviors such as isolation, low mood and poor hygiene as a vague indicator. If there’s an increase in substance abuse or behaviors that seem to be reckless, then there’s an indication that there’s something wrong. If the student-athlete is struggling and feeling mopey or sad, that’s actually normal if you think about it in the way of grief.
It will be all coaches, trainers and parents' responsibility to help youth athletes continue to navigate through the unknown future of their sports. We must be vigilant in acquiring the skills and knowledge needed to serve the individual and not to just serve an organization or result. We all have an opportunity to forge a better, more healthy future for these young athletes and provide them the tools necessary to succeed in life on and off the field.
We leave you with some ways to keep your young and teenage athletes interested and engaged with the sport they love:
Let them pick. Allow your child choose a sport he enjoys – even if it’s not football. It’s easier for children to be motivated when they enjoy the activity.
Watch others. Take your child to see others play the sport. Take children to pro and college games, if you can, but more importantly, take them to sporting events involving their peers and the levels just above them. Let the child see people having fun as they play. Watch the events on TV or online if sporting events are still delayed.
Read and watch. Get books at rent movies about sports with your child. Often, children are interested in what they are familiar with and as they learn more about a sport, it might pique their interest to start or continue playing.
Play with your child. Not just to teach skills but to just have fun. You don’t always have to be coaching your child on how to tackle or kick. Sometimes, it’s better to be silly with them and let them experience the fun of sports with you.
Praise efforts, not results. If you want to offer a reward for good effort, that’s up to you. If you do, make it an experience with them — a special outing, play their favorite game, etc., not a material one.
Mix it up. Choose a new sport and learn it together with your child.
Familiar faces. Look for opportunities for them to play on teams with their friends.
Take a break. Give them plenty of free time to follow their own interests outside of sports. Too much emphasis on playing sports at a young age can put children on the early path to sports burnout.
Make it a family event. Plan an active outing to play a game of family softball, touch football or whatever your family likes. Invite other friends and family along to make it even more fun.