5 minute read
Young Athletes Now What?
By: Terry Boyd - The GYM Trenton
Despite all the political back and forth, vaccinations, safe distancing, isolation, protests and lockdowns one thing everyone can agree on is the number and types of casualties as a result of the aforementioned circumstances. We all agree the pandemic has altered lives, taken lives, closed businesses, affected friendships and has had an incredible effect on the state of people’s mental health. I want to talk specifically about the state of mental health in our youth, and where we go from here regarding sports and athletics.
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During the pandemic, which most agree seems to be abetting, I had the privilege of coaching my daughter’s soccer and volleyball teams respectively. Both rep. teams with good players eager to compete and practice their skills. They individually and collectively are passionate about their team, their friendships and the sense of accomplishment and pride. Everyone would agree this is extremely important for the personal growth and development of our youth not just in sport, but in life. It’s important, very important. During a short period of time where volleyball was permitted, my volleyball team (Belleville Crush) played in a tournament with a few teams from Ottawa and the surrounding area. We had a winning record and found ourselves playing for first place mid tournament. Keep in mind, this tournament was required for rankings, but at the end of the day was a way to test skills, but was certainly not the Provincials. The team was divided into two groups, let’s call them team A, team B. Both halves of the team had strengths and both sides competed very well. Team A lost their first game of the tournament in extra points, and the best of three series depended on Team B getting us through to a third and deciding game. After a long hard fought battle in extra points the girls lost the second game. I pride myself on being aware of what is happening with my team, but was caught by surprise when a number of the girls were in tears after losing the game. We weren’t out of the tournament, we battled hard and as a coach I was very proud and extremely happy with an outstanding performance of a relatively new team in their first tournament. But they were invested, passionate and playing the game meant something to them and it showed. Not long after we were locked down again and forbidden to play.
So now what? With things opening up again and a return to sport and activities how do we recover, how do we move our
young athletes forward? Some of them have missed drafts, lost friends, quit sports, and without exaggerating in any shape or form have been heartbroken as a result of the lockdowns and pandemic. I’ve had more than enough parents tell me how sad, depressed and unmotivated their child has been and have even had pictures of kids in absolute tears after finding out they’re being locked down again. This article is not about the reasoning behind lockdowns but rather what has happened as a result and the steps to get back into an active lifestyle for our kids. I recently spoke to Taylor Staden. Taylor is a Provisional Mental Performance Consultant with the Canadian Sports Psychology Association. He has a private practice and works with athletes in hockey, volleyball, tennis … you name it. He has clients from around the world including China and Europe. Taylor is a sharp guy with B.A. Sport Psychology (honours, cum laude), and is graduating dual Master of Science in Sport and Exercise Psychology and Sport Science this summer.
I had the chance to ask him this very question - Now What? TB - “What can you tell me about what you do?”
TAYLOR - “The mental aspect of the game- I frame it this way, you could have all the talent in the world, put in all the hours, but if you can’t make it happen when it matters most, at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. My focus is to help the athlete show off all the hard work they put in when it matters. Some of the areas I focus on is consistency, confidence and mental toughness.”
TB - “What Kind of effect do you think the pandemic/ lockdowns had on kids who normally would have had sports?”
TAYLOR - “The loss of routine was a big one, a kid has hockey on a Friday or Saturday night, you have practices, you get to see your friends. Often school was closed with no hockey as well so social interaction was affected. I would add, the worry, worrying about things shutting down again. The message I’ve been sending to my youth athletes is about getting a healthier perspective on the situation, still find ways to stay motivated and get better.”
TB - “Do you think after more than two years with the frequently lockdowns athlete’s performance has been affected, will they be able to reclaim that?”
TAYLOR - “That’s really difficult to say and would depend on the type of kid, some youth athletes have found a way to be adaptable through training at home and staying motivated. They’re likely going to be at an advantage as a kid who may not have had the same accessibility or resources. When kids are growing up there are so many areas of development whether it be fundamental motor skills, lifeskill developmental or social developmental as well, I think it’s really hard to say, at the end of the day it’s really important to look at the situation for what it is and make the best of it.”
TB - “Now what? Now that we’re getting back into sports and competition, what advice would you I’ve to athletes and their parents?”
TAYLOR - “For the time being I would focus short term. If there’s one thing we’ve learned through the pandemic, it’s you can’t plan too far into the future. Right now a lot of thoughts are whether they will finish the season, will there be playoffs, will there be another lockdown. Take it a week at a time and let the athlete transition back into the game, at the end of the day just let them have fun with it, that’s what really matters the most.” Taylor’s final comment, “let them have fun with it, that’s what really matters the most.” I couldn’t agree more. I hate to jinx anything, but it looks like things might slowly be returning to a somewhat normal place for sports and athletics, let the kids play, let them have fun. It truly is what matters the most.
