Sports Shut Down and the Mental and Emotional Impact on Athletes

Robert Griffin III Causes for Concern

September 3, 2013 by Robert Andrews 3 Comments

The Washington Redskins decision to start Robert Griffin III next Monday night in the season opener raises serious red flags. Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan has expressed “concerns” as recently as last Thursday. His surgeon Dr. James Andrews has also expressed concerns over the last week as well. Both signed off on his return today and as a result he will start against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Both cleared Robert to play after carefully evaluating his condition. They are both experts in their respective fields. Shanahan as an NFL coach, and Dr. Andrews as a national renowned surgeon for many elite athletes. Their decision has to be respected given their experience, knowledge, credibility.

“100%” Cleared to Play

Athletes want to play period. Robert is a fierce competitor and is paid millions of dollars to be the “Face of the Redskins”. He will present himself as ready to play because it is his nature as an athlete to be “ready to go” on opening day.

It has been said that after consulting with Robert all concerns have been addressed. His clearance most likely follows the traditional “100%” ready to play requirement of injured athletes before coming back from a serious sports related injury. This addresses the stability of his knee, flexibility, range of motion, ability to run, cut, jump, back pedal, and all of the other things required of Robert in the Redskins up tempo offense.

This “100%” definition does not take into account the mental and emotional trauma Robert has suffered during each of his three knee injuries. Robert suffered a torn ACL while at Baylor University, a strained ACL last regular season, and completely tore the ACL in a playoff game in January of this year.

With each injury Robert suffers intense physical pain, followed by the pain of surgery and rehab. He also suffers mentally and emotionally. The brain springs into action to compartmentalize this cauldron of physical pain, horrific mental images, and the intense emotions and sensations that are surging through his body, brain, and nervous system as he is injured.. This process continues while he is carried off the field, diagnosed, and prepares for surgery and works his way through the rehab process.

Where The Mind Leads The Body Follows

Elite athletes are conditioned to compartmentalize this information on a conscious level. You see elite athletes return from serious injuries all the time and compete at a high level. Look at what Adrian Peterson accomplished last season after returning from a torn ACL.

What is going on in the brain and body unconsciously is what concerns me. Look at The Chicago Bull’s Derrick Rose. He tore his ACL and has been cleared to play at “100%”. He has not returned to a high level of play. Could Derrick’s mind be doing its job by unconsciously holding him back to prevent another injury? I feel confident in saying that this is exactly what is going on in this case.

With each injury the neo-cortex in Robert’s brain does it’s job to process as much of this neurological information as possible. The overwhelming information surging through his brain and nervous system overwhelms the part of the brain (neo-cortex) that processes the normal incoming stimulus that an NFL Quarterback processes during a game. The limbic system take over and stores this overwhelming information. Its job it to make sure that Robert is safe, stays alive, and suffers no further injuries. In a sense his brain goes on full alert and doesn’t calm down until this overload is addressed and processed.

Experiencing multiple injures creates a layering of stored information in Roberts limbic system. All of the anger, frustration, despair, fear, anxiety, confusion, loss and other intense emotion, imagery related to the injury, and sensation are held in the limbic system.

When Robert goes out to play Monday night his limbic system can spring into action and unconsciously attempt to keep him safe and free from suffering a fourth knee injury. This sets his body up to favor his injured knee, put more weight, torque, and force on his other knee. He might play cautiously or hesitate.

One might say that you will never see Robert Griffin play that way and I agree if his neo-cortex is running the show. If his limbic system kicks in then we might see a change in the way he plays the game and there is a possibility that he might suffer another injury.

“The New Way Back’ from Sports Related Injuries

Teaching Robert’s brain, specifically his limbic system, to process this cauldron of stored information relating to his multiple knee injuries can lessen if not prevent another knee injury. By addressing the mental, emotional, and psychological trauma he has suffered and endured during each of his three knee injuries Robert can return to play at a high level both consciously and unconsciously with no fear of re-injury.

I have seen athletes return to remarkable levels of play after suffering serious knee injuries, broken legs, crushed faces after being hit by 95 mph fastballs, horrific falls, concussions, and many other serious sports related injuries.

In Roberts case I hope that my experiences in working with injured athletes proves wrong. He is an electrifying player and has done so much to help the Redskins, the NFL, and the game of football. More than that he is an intelligent, thoughtful, and humble young man. He honors and respects the game.

I would like to see him in the league for a long time.

Leaving Home: Athletes and Transitions

August 27, 2013 by Robert Andrews 2 Comments

Over the last few weeks I have seen quite a few athletes who are leaving for college for their freshman year. Some are going to schools close to home here in Texas. Others are heading off to schools a long way from home in The Midwest, New England and the West Coast.

I am grateful to have been able to spend time with these athletes before they left. We spent our time together talking about their sadness around leaving home, family, and friends, their joy about starting a new phase of their lives, and anxiety about being on their own and trying to make their college team.

There are so many transitions going on with these kids. Their lives as sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, and athletes are changing profoundly.

I decided to re-post the article that follows because this is such an important time not just for athletes leaving home, but for any athlete, their family members, and friends. I feel that this is a very valuable and necessary topic.

The Fall Season: Transition Time For Athletes

Fall is a particularly busy time for me in my work with athletes. Football, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, and many other sports start up and with this start up comes the stress and pressure of performing at higher levels. Athletes move up to higher levels of competition with each new season. Expectations of coaches, parents, and athletes are higher. The game moves faster, the ball is hit harder, tackles are more intense, athletes are bigger, quicker, and stronger, and required skills are more difficult to obtain.

Making these physical transitions in sports is difficult enough but when you add the mental and emotional transitions that are required it can be overwhelming for some.

Making the transition from junior high to high school, JV to varsity, high school to college, level 9 to level 10, 16 U to 18 U, or college to professional can be intense and stressful.

Increased stress and pressure from attending a new school, making new friends, balancing social life with sports, tougher academic requirements, leaving home and managing your own schedule, finances, and social life, or managing the complicated life of a professional athlete make it easy to see why so many athletes struggle during this time of transition.

The psychological warning signs of this struggle can be increased anxiety, moodiness, irritability, poor grades, withdrawal or isolation, depression, frustration, and even experimenting with drugs or alcohol. Physical symptoms can be an inability to perform skills that they have mastered in the past, poor overall performance, trying too hard to “get it right”, trying to please coaches, parents, or scouts, “choking”, or struggling with what used to be easy and fun.

These warning signs or symptoms are cries for help. The athlete is saying “HELP! I am struggling and I don’t have the tools to make it through this difficult transition”.

Many athletes have to face the embarrassment of not performing up to the expected standards that they and others have of them. It can be humiliating to go out practice after practice, game after game and struggle. What was once fun and a source of confidence is now eroding confidence and creating self doubt.

Helping athletes prepare for these times of stress and self doubt and teaching them the life skills necessary to make a healthy transition is critical.

In addition to teaching valuable life skills, I use “the theory of the bigger box” to help athletes during these difficult times.

Remember when you or your kids were young and you had to face a transition like moving from elementary to junior high, or junior high to high school? You had left behind a very safe and familiar environment. You new your way around the classroom and campus, you knew the teachers, schedules, and required routines. You were familiar with this “box”. You knew where the top and sides of the box were, and the shape of the box. But on some level you were ready to move on to a bigger box. You were pushing up against the sides and ceiling of that box. You had grown so much that it was uncomfortable and your were ready for a bigger challenge.

The bigger challenge, moving up a grade, playing on a more talented team, moving up a level, requires leaving behind the familiar “box” and stepping into a “bigger box”. You have to deal with the overwhelm of not knowing your way around the box. You have to learn where the sides and top of the box are all over again. There will always be an initial feeling of anxiousness, overwhelm, even shock. It is normal. And as you acquire the tools and skills to make the adjustment to a bigger box things begin to calm down. Confidence is restored and performance on all levels of life returns to a high level again.

Learning how to communicate effectively, set healthy boundaries, say yes when you mean yes and no when you mean no, time management, getting adequate sleep, eating well, balancing social life with school and sports requirements, and learning how to “recharge” your mental and emotional reservoir are important tools that will help make these times of transition easier.

Life will continue to hand us bigger and bigger “boxes” to transition into. Graduation, getting a first job, getting married, and having kids are all “bigger box” events. If you start learning important transitions tools early on it makes it easier to recognize, adapt, and grow in response to these challenges.

I have worked with many athletes who have gone off to college or tried to make it in professional sports and have come back home because they did not have the tools required to make these difficult transitions. Coming back is never an easy transition and many struggle profoundly. They are confused and lack direction.

Do your young athletes a favor and provide them the resources they will need to acquire the life skills to help them adjust and thrive.

It helps them learn how to avoid pain and suffering and build character and self confidence. Traits that will take them far in life and in sports.

Toxic Coaching – Out With The Old In With The New

May 30, 2013 by Robert Andrews 4 Comments

The recent media attention on the hiring of new Rutgers Athletic Director Julie Hermann adds even more fuel to the fire over the treatment of athletes by coaches at all levels. Julie Hermann was hired as the new AD at Rutgers in spite of her alleged mistreatment of volleyball players at Tennessee where she was the coach. Hermann was also named in a sexual discrimination lawsuit during her tenure at Louisville. These are allegations that happened years ago but bring to light the treatment of athletes is THE topic in sports media today.

All of this comes on the heals of the video that shows Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice throwing basketballs at his players heads, cussing and berating them, pushing players and shouting racial slurs. These behaviors lead to Rice’s firing and the firing of AD Tim Pernetti for his mis-handling of the matter.

Social media has created a platform that puts abusive behavior towards athletes center stage.

A college golf coach goes on a 10 minute profanity filled tirade directed towards his players and it is recorded on a cell phone.

A high school baseball coach cusses out his players after a game. The rant is recorded by a player, put on the Internet and goes viral.

These are examples of the stories we hear about because of the Internet and social media.

Epidemic of Toxic Coaches

There are many other stories we don’t hear about because of tolerant cultures that employ these types of abusive coaches. These cultures enable coaches to be physically, emotionally, mentally, and psychologically abusive towards their players. There is a dysfunctional system in place that tolerates, protects, and in some instances encourages this type of treatment towards athletes.

I received a call from a parent recently who told me about his child’s treatment by a successful high school coach. This coach berated, humiliated, embarrassed, and belittled this kid every day. This kid was ready to quit their sport.

I saw another high school athlete who came in because they were having anxiety and panic attacks. The attacks started every day after lunch when it was getting close to practice time. During practice this athlete would be cussed out, raged upon, humiliated and berated by an assistant coach while all the other players and coaches, including the head coach watched.

Last year I saw three players from the same team who all told the exact same story of being mentally, emotionally, and psychologically intimated and abused by the same coach. If the parents stepped in the coach turned on them too.

I have seen college athletes, professionals, junior high and high school athletes, Pop Warner and little league athletes all telling me similar stories of abuse from many different sports.

Mistreatment and Playing Time Blackmail

Many of these players continue playing on with their teams because they loved the game and loved being around their teammates. They were willing to tolerate this horrendous treatment because they wanted to be connected to their sport, their team, and their teammates.

When I asked the parents why they don’t challenge the coach I hear “the coach will stop playing my son/daughter’ “the coach will turn on me”, “it is the kiss of death to challenge this coach, they will take it out on my son or daughter”, “things will only get worse if I do”.

The coaches have trained the system to tolerate abusive behavior. Players and athletes don’t speak up because their are serious consequences for challenging the status quo.

Power versus Powerless

These abusive coaches have set up a dynamic where they have all the power and the athletes have very little and in some instances no power. The coach rules with threats, intimidation, rage, humiliation, and in some cases physical attacks like pushing, grabbing around the throat or face mask, and slapping. Any attempt by the athlete to speak up or ask for help is dealt with quickly and sharply as a message to other players that they better not challenge the coaches authority.

Athletes who feels powerless are easily frustrated, don’t handle mistakes well, are terrified of making mistakes, can be overly emotional or shut down, are not very coachable, and are more prone to suffer injuries. They also play with very little passion.

The New Paradigm in Coaching

Today’s coaches are at a very significant crossroad. Coaches usually coach the way they were coached. They also coach based upon how they were treated and what they have learned along the way as coaches.

Education is a key to shifting this paradigm away from the authoritarian/abusive way of coaching and towards a model of respect, compassion, learning life lessons, accountability, integrity, and consequences.

The Internet and social media are going to continue to expose the old school ways of coaching. Everyone carries a phone, camera, or I Pad to sporting events. We see coaches on the sidelines grabbing, choking, and pushing during games and the cameras catch it. The next day it is on ESPN, Twitter, YouTube, or Face Book. The whole world has access to the treatment of athletes by coaches.

“It is easier to build up a child than it is to repair an adult. Choose your words wisely.”

So why not take the time to learn a new more empowering and respectful way of coaching? There are great organization out there like the Positive Coaching Alliance and Navicore that created the CORE Multi Dimensional Awareness Profile (CORE Map) that offer powerful resources to help teach and educate this new empowering model to coaches of all levels.

The old way of coaching is fading away. Kids are different these days and the harsh treatment that might work for one will cause a coach to lose most of the others who learn best under the new model of coaching.

A positive momentum is changing the coaching paradigm. Todays athletes don’t tolerate being treated poorly. They don’t respond or play well under this negative type of coaching. It is only a matter of time before the camera or cell phone catches up to dysfunctional behavior.

Asked for help and support, seek out guidance, find a mentor. It is time to take action.

Distractions at Players Championships Cost Sergio Garcia a Shot at Title

May 16, 2013 by Robert Andrews Leave a Comment

At the Players Championships last weekend Sergio Garcia was out of the competition before he ever teed a ball up on Sunday. The previous day he had publically complained that Tiger Woods, his playing partner, had created an intentional distraction by pulling out a five wood to go for the green with a difficult lie. The crowds loud and vocal reaction to Wood’s aggressive club selection allegedly caused Garcia to hit a bad shot.

Garcia is a great player who has suffered from severe bouts of anxiety, constant re-gripping, and the “yips” a mental block that prevents a player from hitting a golf shot. With this predisposition to high levels of anxiety a player like Garcia has to be extremely mindful of avoiding distractions that can cause his mind to be overloaded and overwhelmed by stress. pressure, and distractions.

By publicly calling Tiger Woods out and drawing tremendous attention to himself and his game he set himself up to go into the final round under tremendous pressure. All eyes and all television cameras would certainly be on Garcia throughout his round.

The pressure finally caused Garcia to buckle and his game fell apart on the par three 17th hole where he hit two balls into the water and suffered through a quadruple bogey seven. He also found more water on 18 and ended up with a doubled bogey. He lost six shots on the final two holes. A catastrophic meltdown by any standard.

One of the fundamental rules of the mental game is to only control what you can control. By allowing himself to be distracted by Woods club selection and the thunderous response of the crowd. Garcia sent his brain into overload. By following it up by chastising Woods in his post round interview Garcia sealed his fate.

The yips, re-gripping or any other symptom associated with anxiety are all signs the brain is trying to process too much information. Instead of focusing on a golf shot Garcia’s brain was most likely focused on distractions that had dreadful consequences to his golf swing.

Woods comment to Garcia’s accusations…”It doesn’t surprise me that he (Garcia) is complaining about something”. Woods went on to fight off all challengers and win the Players Championship for the second time. There is plenty to be said for Tigers mental toughness. A trait he has displayed consistently on his way back to the top of the golf world. His ability to maintain laser like focus on Sunday allowed him to succeed where others, namely Garcia faltered.

What Kevin Ware’s Injury Can Teach Us About Sports Injury Trauma

April 3, 2013 by Robert Andrews 3 Comments

Kevin Ware‘s injury during the Duke/Louisville NCAA basketball game was the most horrific sports related injury I have seen. I cringed and looked away from the TV but I found myself drawn back to the images of teammates, coaches, trainers and fans agonizing over the shocking scene playing out before them.

Kevin suffered a compound fracture of his lower leg when he leaped to block a Duke players shot and landed awkwardly in front of his own bench. His lower leg snapped and a bone tore through the skin. His reaction to seeing his injury was tragic, but seeing the reaction of his teammates on the bench let me know that most in the arena were seeing something that the mind could not comprehend. Players from both teams fell to the floor, cried, and held each other. Coach Rick Patino’s face was white from the shock of seeing Kevin’s lower leg turned sideways and hanging in the air.

Fans in the stands were visibly shaken and many were crying. Obviously traumatized by what they had seen. The Louisville trainers were remarkable in the face of this tragedy. They covered his leg so no one could see it, especially Kevin. But for Kevin, those in attendance at the game, and those of us watching on TV the imprint in all of our minds had already been burned in.

Mental images of a traumatic injury like this are deeply burned into the mind of the injured athlete. They are also burned into the minds of his teammates, Duke players, coaches, fans, media representatives, cheerleaders, and TV viewers.

These images or “holographic imprints” contain incredible amounts of information. Kevin’s brain now carries the image of seeing his leg in that state. That image or imprint also stores the intense physical pain he experienced, physical sensations of shock in his body, the sound of his bones snapping, the light in the arena, the gasp of those close to him on the court, the look of concern on the faces of trainers and other medical personnel caring for him, and other significant sensory information.

The more of Kevin’s senses that were stimulated when suffering his injury, the more shocking or intense his emotional reaction, and the more intense his physical pain the deeper the neurological imprint in his brain and nervous system.

When a traumatic injury like Kevin’s occurs the Limbic System of Kevin’s brain takes over to help him survive the overwhelming shock and pain his system has suffered. This information is now deeply imbedded in his brain. Add surgery, the prospect of a monumental recovery process, the loss of a final Four experience as a player, disconnection from his role on the team, uncertainty about his future in basketball, and loss of his identity as a player, and the imprint and stored information is compounded.

Kevin’s long road to recovery will not be just physically in nature. It will require specific mental and emotional processing to teach his brain and nervous system how to integrate this traumatic experience. Addressing his injury from a psychological perspective can help him process the trauma related to the injury. If he is able to return to play he can come back without the fear of re-injury.

With so many people witnessing his injury, and the frightening images the TV cameras provided all of us as viewers, we now have an inside look at the traumatic nature of sports related injuries. We all experienced vivid holographic imagery, intense emotional reactions and physical sensations in our bodies. In a sense we all might be traumatized to varying degrees by witnessing his injury. Whether on the bench as a teammate, in the stands as a fan, or watching on the TV we all now have a shared traumatic experience that is related to a very intense sports related injury.

I know Kevin is receiving the physical care he needs from Doctors, nurses, PT’s, and trainers. I hope Kevin and any of his teammates who might need support receive the psychological care they might need to overcome this catastrophic injury.

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