Post by bluedevil4 on Jun 20, 2020 9:23:32 GMT -6
This kinda just got dropped in my lap this morning, but a player for the team I coach asked to do a 1:1 workout tomorrow. I have the time, but I'm trying to figure out how to approach it.
Some context: I'm in my third year coaching wide receivers for an adult women's football team (We use NCAA rules). This player has played in this same system for 5-6 years (probably in her late 20's now), and actually has a lot of potential, has a good grasp on our plays/routes and system, and knows how to play the game physically. Basically, she's not a bad player at all, and could easily start if she worked on her other issues below:
Here's the problem: She has absolutely zero mental toughness or resiliency. She physically appears at practice and games, but she's never mentally there. For three years, we always run into these issues, and I want to work on them intentionally this time now that I have a 1:1 session with her:
- She never knows the play/route called when she goes in for a practice rep: She doesn't pay any attention/listen to instructions.
- She won't ask questions. She openly says after she messes up she didn't know the play or what to do, so she guessed.
- When she does ask questions, she quietly asks a teammate, not a coach, and she doesn't ever ask what a play is, she asks "What do I do?"
- She mentally breaks down the moment she gets corrected, or has to be taken to the side to get some extra pointers.
- She does not grasp at all that it is a team sport. Not everyone can make all the games...they're adults with lives. However, when she communicates with us, she talks as if it's a job, like "If I'm not there, will someone be there to cover my position," We've tried to help her understand that it's a matter of "you're either here or you're not," but she doesn't get it.
- She beats herself up mentally every time she makes a mistake (she knows what she does wrong), but then instantly goes back to making the same mistakes over and over.
She's at a point where normally I'd just tell any other player to get lost, but it's painfully obvious that she loves football, and really does want to play. She's constantly reaching out asking how to get better, what to improve on, what she's missed when she can't make a practice, etc. A personal issue of hers that carries over to playing is that she has no self confidence and will intentionally put herself in bad situations so she can fail. She's afraid to take risks, and will make up any last second excuse to avoid them basically. On the practice field, it's almost like she allows herself to mess up so she doesn't have any expectations.
I want to do a 1:1 workout with her, but I want to focus more on a discussion/mental health subject from an athlete's perspective rather than working out. Have any of you ever done a practice or workout that focuses more on mental health? Have any of you ever worked with a player like this? I know that it's not working out she needs more so than counseling and therapy, and this is something I want to talk to her about (I believe she already does). Do you know of any articles or videos I can look up that might help with this?
