The concerns are universal be it players, health professionals, corporate employees, coaches. Some players would have just started to peak mentally and physically and feel optimistic about what the future holds-then the pandemic strikes, sport stops- a month passes then it is two , three to a point it’s uncertain now. It’s the same for any career area.
When the inactivity starts to settle in – the motivation begins to get affected, players start talking to each other- common themes being the pain of the current situation and worries about the future. All the work they would have put in pre-season and the lead up starts to dwindle as they feel they have to start all over again. All these are fair concerns and we can’t just push them away. It’s pretty much the same for men and women. Same underlying concerns with additional layers on how it’s affecting their family, relationships, finances etc…
All these are pretty evenly distributed considering the diverse level and age group of players I work with and their sport.The pandemic has opened more people up in more than one way. The younger adults and youth players are becoming more aware of the mind coaching needs. I can say that more and more athletes are taking Mental health more seriously than ever before. They are seeing that all players are going through the same. They feel secure that it is just not them alone which allows them to show their vulnerabilities without worrying about what others would think about them. Also they have begun to realize that mental muscle is the same if not more important than the physical muscle. The Elite players continue the coaching with more focus on shifting the priorities and aligning their training to that while the lower ranked players are approaching it with more seriousness on becoming ready to go, take advantage of the pause to reset themselves now!
My goal for them is to make them see this as an opportunity for re defining themselves mentally now.
Coach Badri