The Institute of Sports Performance

Creating Breakthroughs with Athletic Performance and Sports Injury Recovery

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on RSS Follow us on Instagram Send Us an Email

713.522.2200

  • HOME
  • FIND US
  • PRODUCTS
  • BLOG
  • Pro, Olympic, & Elite Athletes
  • Speaking Engagements / Sports Culture
  • OVERCOME SPORTS INJURIES
  • IMPROVE SPORTS PERFORMANCE
  • YOUNGER ATHLETES
  • MEDIA
  • OUR TEAM

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.

ChokingThe 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.

You're outLearning 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.

Filed Under: Sports Shut Down and the Mental and Emotional Impact on Athletes Tagged With: Athletes in Transition, Athletic Pressure, College Athletes, leaving home and sports, stress and athletes

FAN Inc – Help For Former College Athletes Who Suffer Injuries

October 24, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

FAN Inc., The Foundation for Athletes in Need (www.faninc.org) is a non-profit organization that provides resources to former college athletes who were injured while participating in college athletics and are suffering in some significant way. I am grateful and blessed to be a member of the Board of Directors of this wonderful organization.

Two weekends ago FAN Inc. had a board meeting and luncheon at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My wife Gisele and I attended. We were hosted by the University of Michigan Letterman’s Club. They provided us their historic Letterman’s Club Room at the University of Michigan golf course for our events.

Go Blue! University of MichiganThe University of Michigan catering department provided us with a wonderful lunch. The luncheon was an opportunity to tell many of those involved with athletics at Michigan about FAN Inc. and the vision those of us on the board share for this organization.

I was asked to speak on the psychological impact of traumatic sports injuries. Other speakers were Brandi Winans on the impact of sports injuries on the family members of athletes who suffer severe injuries and Kurt David who spoke about the difficulty many athletes, especially injured athletes face transitioning out of their respective sport.

I was profoundly moved by how the university and many former athletes took us in and treated us so warmly.  Athletic Director Dave Brandon has written a letter of endorsement for FAN and the Letterman’s Club is excited to help out in any wathey can. I met alumni, students, coaches, a marketing specialist, faculty, and athletes who are all excited about the vision of FAN.

The University of Michigan sets a very high priority on the well being and care of their student/athletes. Michigan has representatives who work closely with different teams to make sure that student athletes have the resources they need to have a successful college experience. If they need help with life skills, academics, nutrition, counseling, or any other facet of life they direct them to available resources. Their willingness to look out for the well being of their student athletes helped those we connected with see the value and the power of FAN Inc. It is clear that the mission of FAN Inc. is vital and important cause and will have a profound impact on the lives of those athletes we touch.

The “Big House” and Michigan Tradition

Robert & Gisele Andrews University of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a wonderful place. It was buzzing with energy about Saturday’s showdown with rival Michigan State. Gisele and I arrived on campus for the game at 9:00am. We wanted see the campus and facilities and take in the energy on game day. We spent an hour and a half watching and listening to the Michigan band rehearse prior to the game. We attended the Michigan Football Letterman’s Cornbread and Chili Outing prior to the game. Our view from the stadium pavilion allowed us to see both teams enter the stadium and watch the Michigan State band march in. I had tears in my eyes as I watched these rich traditions displayed by each school.

Attending a football game in “the Big House” has been on my “bucket list” for a long time. Walking into the massive bowl with brand new luxury suites was an amazing experience. I have never seen a stadium so big. And when it filled up there was a sea of maize as over 113,000 fans showed up to watch two ranked teams. Seeing the players come out of the tunnel and touch the “Go Blue” banner was another moving experience.

Michigan State won 34 to 17 after pulling away in the second half. The whole experience of the bands, passionate fans, a great game, and the rich traditions made this a memorable trip.

Thanks This trip was a great kick off for the FAN Inc. vision. Looking down the road we see other universities from around the country, letterman’s associations, and professional athletes joining in and supporting this great cause. There are thousands of former college athletes out there suffering in some way and we want to help.

I want to thank my fellow FAN Inc. Board members, the staff and faculty at the University of Michigan, the Michigan Letterman’s Club, especially Jim Betts and Gerald White for showing us such a great time in Ann Arbor and I look forward to a very bright future for FAN.  Download a pdf version of this post

Filed Under: Sports Shut Down and the Mental and Emotional Impact on Athletes Tagged With: Brandi Winans, College Athletes, College Football, FAN Inc, Foundation for Athletes in Need, Go Blue, Kurt David, Robert Andrews MA, Sports Injury, Sports Performance, University of Michigan

Contact Us

The Institute of Sports Performance™
2500 East T.C. Jester
Suite 180
Houston, TX 77008
Find us

713.522.2200

robertandrews@tinssp.com
kierstincollins@tinssp.com
michaelheck@tinssp.com
andreaestrada@tinssp.com
galenandrews@tinssp.com

Sign Up for Email Newsletters

From Our Blog

Overcoming Mental Blocks in Sports

What Happens When A Season Disappears? Drug and Alcohol Issues And The Sports Shut Down

A Parents Guide to the Sports Shut Down

Cancelled Seasons and the Mental and Emotional Wellbeing of Athletes

Learning Styles and Effective Coaching: Empowering Your Athlete To Their Full Potential

Popular Blog Topics

ACL ACL Injuries Athletes in Transition Athletes Mental Health Athletic Performance Athletic Pressure Balance baseball Coaching College Athletes College Football CORE Map Corona Virus EMDR Gator Nation Gymnastics Gymnastics abuse Gymnastics Performance Laurie Hernandez Limbic System Mental Blocks Mental Focus Mental impact of injuries Mental Toughness mental training Mike Leach Olympics Overcoming sports injuries peak performance zone Performance Pressure Recovery Robert Andrews Robert Andrews MA Shame Simone Biles softball Sports culture Sports Injuries Sports Injury Sports Injury Trauma Sports Performance Success Tim Tebow Urban Meyer USAG

Sign Up for Email Newsletters

LEGAL

Privacy Policy

Contact Us

The Institute of Sports Performance™
2500 East T.C. Jester
Suite 180
Houston, TX 77008
Find us

713.522.2200

robertandrews@tinssp.com
kierstincollins@tinssp.com
michaelheck@tinssp.com
andreaestrada@tinssp.com
galenandrews@tinssp.com

©The Institute of Sports Performance 2012-2015 ~ All Rights Reserved ~ Customization of Genesis Framework by Weborization