A common mistake for coaches and athletes is to slip into a “more is better” attitude.  Australians are known for their work ethic and when we are under pressure, our default switch is to work harder.  It is the undoing of many an elite athlete, coach and CEO.  Pushing into the red, believing an increase in work ethic is a sign of dedication and commitment, when in reality it generates junk training, poor concentration and emotional fatigue.   

I can’t help feel for Ben Barba.  He has been released by the Sharks to deal with personal issues after a positive test for Cocaine four days after their grand final win.  Not knowing the underlying story or long term support the Sharks have provided to Ben, one still wonders if our athletes are held to a high standard when it comes to personal behaviour?

There is a wave of change surging over Australian sport.   The trend towards “fast games” seem to be synchronized with a decrease in concentration span.  An inability for spectators to sit quietly and reflect.   Rather an “I’m bored generation” seems to be spawning sporting formats that are quicker, faster and shorter than their previous versions, but at what cost?  

At any given point in time the brain sub-consciously processes millions of pieces of information, but consciously can only handle 40 -150 pieces (depending on the research) before it becomes overloaded.  Human beings, however, have an amazing capacity for pattern recognition. Individuals who are successful in sport and in life have the capacity to take seemingly random pieces of information and chunk them into meaningful little nuggets of gold.  

Who decided to label the athlete who hesitates under pressure not wanting to let down their team, family or community a choker while indifference can be labelled as mentally tough?  As the Olympics approach we need a timely reminder of the value of compassion. 

It doesn't matter how successful or infamous your sporting journey,  from the those who didn't quite make the heights of international stardom to the super elite, life after sport is a struggle.  Niall Quinn (Arsenal, Manchester and Sunderland Soccer International), Greg Louganis  (4 Times Olympic Diving Gold Medalist)  Ben Johnson (1988 Olympic 100m Sprint Champion - later stripped of his title for taking a prohibited substance), have all travelled down the dark tunnel of depression after sport.

The inaugural Crossing the Line Summit took place this past weekend in Trinity College Dublin and it really hit the mark in terms of speakers and content. Crossing the Line Sport education principal Gayelene Clews (www.wiredtoplay.com) anchored many of the sessions along with Jaimie Fuller, Rick Cotgreave and Dr. Fiona Wilson.

I was honoured to chair the Athlete LGBT forum on Athlete Mental Health at the Crossing the Line Sport Summit in Ireland this week.  A group of the world’s very best athletes and dancers came together to discuss the fear they felt in disclosing their sexuality, while struggling with shame for not being authentically true to themselves...

PARENTING – MAKING TRANSITION EASIER?

In part 2 we look at one of the female perspectives in the athlete transition mix. Retirement from sport can bring a real sense of grief leaving individuals questioning who they are and where they belong in the world. A potential protective factor against this grief is parenthood. In this piece we focus on motherhood.

ATHLETES AND THE FAMILY UNIT – PART 1

With the latest news on NRL Star Kieran Foran hitting the headlines in Australia, Gayelene gives her experienced insights on just how tough it can be for athletes to manage both family and a highly pressurised sports career and what can happen when it all begins to fall apart. Here we focus on the male perspective. We will follow up with the female perspective in the next article in this series on athletes and the family unit.

Even when successful outcomes are achieved many elite athletes suffer from post competition let down, politicians from post-election weariness, or students from post exam blues. Having achieved something special we may expect to feel elated, but just as often we feel flat. Any prolonged and intense period of mental effort can trigger neural depletion, commonly known as burnout and if not understood or appropriately managed can lead to depression.

Sport is a context where people can develop self-esteem, self-assurance and confidence. It can also deplete these resources.

Gaylene Clews, sports psychologist, author of Wired To Play, places a lot of emphasis on this. “When you get the mental health right, you get improvement in performance. They go hand in hand.”

Wired to Play featured in Sharon Phillips' article in Issue 11 of Play By The Rules magazine

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not a mental illness, it is not an intelligence problem and it is not a bad behaviour problem.  Rather, a child with ADHD sees and experiences the world differently, what might be seen to be a disorder in one setting may be a success factor in another.

The positive characteristics of ADHD suggest that dopamine, hyperactivity and distractibility may have played a part in the survival rate of ancestral man, and are part of a highly desirable make up that served hunting and gathering communities.

Imagine a single woman at home on her own late at night. In the dark and early hours of the morning she becomes aware of someone attempting to break into her house, afraid for her safety she looks for somewhere to hide.  If however, she is a mother at home with small children, she would be just as likely to escalate to anger, as to fear. Like a tigress protecting her litter, anger rising in her as she positions her children safely behind her, she may challenge the intruder, ‘Stay away from my kids. Get out of my house!’

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Just imagine if we could be more successful by caring less. That is exactly what happened to Australian cyclist Mathew Hayman.  Keen to successfully finish his year 12 while training as a competitive cyclist, he pushed himself too hard in order to succeed.  The harder he tried the worse he performed, becoming anxious and fatigued, until he found a way to turn down the dimmer switch on his negative self-talk.