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Cancelled Seasons and the Mental and Emotional Wellbeing of Athletes

March 19, 2020 by Robert Andrews Leave a Comment

By Robert B. Andrews MA, LMFT

The Corona Virus outbreak has sent a shock wave of anxiety and concern throughout the world of sports. Here in the United States MLB, the NBA, and the new XFL have postponed or canceled their seasons. The NCAA has cancelled March Madness. Entire seasons in gymnastics, baseball, tennis and numerous other sports have been put on hold or cancelled.

Athletes in junior high, high school and college are not going to school as we wait and see how bad this crisis gets and how long it last.

With the sudden halt of these seasons, and the lack of the structured environment that school provides, hundreds of thousands of athletes throughout the country must face a serious transition. This transition forces the athlete to face a number of key stressors and losses that could have an impact on one’s mental and emotional health and well-being.

Athletes must face and adjust to these losses:

The loss of a highly structured school and team environment.

The loss of routines and daily rituals.

The loss of identity associated with being a student/athlete.

The loss of the dreams that go with a promising season or key event.

The loss of an active lifestyle that stimulates one’s mind and body.

The loss of a highly competitive mindset in the classroom and in sport.

The loss of comradery and connection to a team.

The loss or ending of a career.

The loss of activities associated with campus life.

The loss of family centered events (games, tournaments, travel)

Uncharted Territory

Athletes don’t train for a critical event like this and the losses that come with it. The further along one is in their career the more difficult it might be to face this shut down.

Olympic hopefuls are facing the uncertainty of the Olympic games being cancelled. Years of training, conditioning, discipline, competing, mental training and overcoming injuries are now in jeopardy as the crisis at hand spreads.  Altering training schedules and gearing down mentally and emotionally, if the Olympics are delayed. will take an enormous amount of mental and emotional energy.

Professional athletes are suddenly kept away from the game they love, connection to their coaches and teammates and a highly structured lifestyle.

College basketball, tennis, gymnastics and other sports have had their seasons end and dreams and goals shattered due to the NCAA tournaments and other events being cancelled.

The careers of some college seniors have harshly and unexpectedly come to an end.

At the club level in sports like gymnastics and volleyball, State, Regional and National competitions are on hold if not cancelled.

Sudden Change in Lifestyle

Along with the sudden end to a season can come a just as sudden halt to a highly structured and intense training routine. For many, workouts and training sessions have stopped. There is research
that tells us that when an athlete who is used to a very active training regiment suddenly stops training and being active, hormones and other important chemicals in the brain and body change. These changes can have a serious impact on the brain, mental and emotional states, personality, mood and behavior.You're out

Warning Signs:

Emotional changes: Increased anxiety, frustration, sadness, grief, outburst of anger, despair, depression and hopelessness.

Personality and behavioral changes: Isolation, withdrawal, sullen or depressed. Outgoing personalities might become withdrawn and spend more time alone or in their bedrooms. Some might become quiet. Others might experience angry outburst and bouts of extreme frustration.  Others might become hyper controlling in an attempt to gain control over a situation they have absolutely no control. You might see experimentation or increased use of drugs and alcohol.

This crisis could be one of the most significant transitions an athlete might face, depending on their age, level of competition, maturity and emotional intelligence.

Providing Support

Increasing our awareness about symptoms that they might exhibit as they work their way through the losses associated with the end of their respective seasons, will help us to provide the care they need.

If you are concerned about self-quarantine and social distancing, most providers are equipped to provide technologically assisted calls or sessions on the internet. These sessions can be very effective. Just make sure that your athlete is in a quiet private area, is using a tablet or computer for a larger image on the screen, has earphones on for privacy and has a pen and paper to take notes.

We will get through this and sports will return. In the meantime, let’s give our athletes the care they need as they work their way through the mental and emotional gauntlet they face.

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Filed Under: Cancelled Seasons, Sports Shut Down and the Mental and Emotional Impact on Athletes Tagged With: Athlete transition, Athletes in Transition, Cancelled Seasons and Athlete Well Being, Corona Virus, Gymnastics, Gymnastics Performance, Sports culture

USAG Sexual Abuse Scandal Is A Symptom Of Deeper Issues

September 2, 2017 by Robert Andrews 61 Comments

By Robert B Andrews MA, LMFT

The USAG sexual abuse scandal has rocked the gymnastics community to its core.  Many are questioning what went wrong, while others seek to maintain the status quo.

Certainly the focus needs to be on healing the wounds that this horrendous abuse has caused, and educating coaches, gym owners,  administrators, parents, and athletes. Perhaps an overhaul of the leadership body of USAG is in order, as is being called for by many.

Very prominent gymnasts are speaking up. They are courageously vocal about their treatment in the USAG system.

The deeper question that must be asked is what made the gymnastics community vulnerable to this type of abuse? And why was it kept hidden by USAG for so long?

I worked with the U.S.A. mens national, world, and Olympic gymnasts, and teams from 2007 to 2012. I resigned from this position after the London Olympics for what I, and others in the system saw as a failure to address key leadership issues that led to poor performances in the 2012 Olympic games. Unfortunately these same program deficiencies were still in place for the 2016 Rio Olympics and the men’s team had another disappointing almost identical performance.

I worked with Simone Biles for 3 1/2 years before the 2016 Rio Olympics. She been very vocal about our work together. I did not work directly with the women’s program as I did with the men. But I have worked with many gymnasts in the USA Women’s National program.  From this work I was able to gain a deep understanding of the inner workings of the women’s system and the culture that was in place.

In my work with gymnasts of all levels, throughout the United States, and other countries, I have seen many different cultures from program to program and gym to gym.

One disturbing theme I have seen in many, not all, but many gyms, and in my individual work with many male and female gymnasts from all over the United States is a culture of disempowerment.

Many gymnasts in the U.S.A, and perhaps many other countries are taught:

Don’t challenge or question a coach’s authority.

Don’t have a voice or speak up to address any concerns you have as a gymnasts.

Don’t utilize personal power in your relationship with your coach.

Don’t complain about the way you are being treated.

Retaliation 

If a gymnasts breaks any of these “cultural norms” they are subjected to an increasingly harsh retaliatory set of behaviors from coaches and others in the system.

This sets in place a dangerous dynamic between coach and athlete.

Yelling, screaming, shaming, degrading, and humiliation are the first shaping behavior the coach uses to mold the gymnasts into a silent participant in this dance.

The usual response to this harsh treatment by the coach is that the gymnasts shuts down. They get quiet, turn inward, become highly emotional, cry, and get easily frustrated. They tend to make more mistakes.

This causes the coach to become even more frustrated, and absent of the coaching skills or interpersonal tools required to handle the athlete in this state, the coach becomes more agitated and turns to physical punishment.

They implement rope climbs as a form of punishment, running as a way of letting the athlete know that coach is not pleased with their behavior and training.  They kick the gymnasts out of the gym, or send them home, the ultimate form of humiliation. They call this conditioning. I understand that conditioning is a critical component of gymnastics training. This retaliatory behavior is not healthy conditioning. It is abuse.

Some coaches stop coaching gymnasts who don’t follow the rules.

The Victim-Abuser Dynamic

Now the coach has become part of the problem. Where an athlete might have had natural fears about difficult skills, or returning from injury, now the athletes brain sees the coach as a threat.

More and more of their brain power is channeled into protecting themselves from their coach’s wrath instead of improving gymnastics skills. I asked one athlete who was being treated harshly by their coach how much of their mental and emotional energy was going into gymnastics and how much was going into protecting themselves from their coach. Their answer was alarming, 20% gymnastics, 80% defending themselves from their coach.

This sets in place the victim-angry coach dynamic.  The athlete becomes the victim. Has no voice. Can’t speak up or defend themselves. They can’t communicate fear, injuries, or concern about the coaches coaching style for fear of retaliation.

They start focusing more on avoiding the coach’s anger and become terrified of making mistakes. What used to be a fun sport for them has now become an anxiety producing experience.

I have worked with gymnasts who sit in their car and cry before they go into the gym, because they are terrified of going to practice. I have worked with gymnasts whose coach stopped coaching them during competitions because they were so frustrated and disappointed with their gymnasts. Not only is this unethical, it is dangerous.

I witnessed this dynamic in the men’s program. There were instances where scores were changed that effected the outcomes of meets, athletes found their own sponsors and suffered scrutiny for doing so, favoritism was given to certain athletes.

Coaches and athletes were trained not to speak up or challenge the system.

Coaches and athletes were first met with anger, then displeasure and silence.  Assignments might be taken away or not given out. A coach might miss out on an important assignment for rocking the boat.

The Abuse Follows Our Gymnasts

An Olympic pole vaulter that I worked with when they competed is now a pole vault coach. I had Young Athletesbreakfast with them recently and they ask me what was going on with gymnastics? They went on to tell me that they have a lot of former gymnast come to them to start pole vaulting. This coach told me that these former gymnasts are all the same. They are quiet, very introverted, afraid to make mistakes, afraid that they will be yelled at by their new coach, and are afraid to let the coach know when they are injured.

This coach has spent a lot of time and energy retraining them. They have had to teach their athletes that they can speak up, be vocal, communicate with their coach, let them know about injuries, and most importantly make their new sport fun.

You see the trend…

Time for Solutions!

I have been one of the more vocal and outspoken voices for change over the last 5 years.

I have complained enough. Now I want to suggest changes that must be made to create a new culture in USA Gymnastics.

  1. We must educate our athletes! They must be taught what healthy, appropriate athlete-coach interaction and relationships should be. They must learn that they have the power to set boundaries and limits with coaches who treat them abusively. They must be taught that there is a leadership body in place that will hear their voices and handle their complaints and concerns quickly and efficiently. They must learn that gymnastics can be fun again.
  2. We must educate the silent parents of our gymnasts. Too many parents have sat back and said nothing when their child/athlete has been humiliated, ridiculed, abused mentally, emotionally, physically, sexually, and spiritually. These parents have been afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation against their child/athlete. Many are afraid to speak up because their coach might treat their child/athlete worse, stop coaching them, or kick them off the team. The gymnasts don’t want to leave the gym because they don’t want to leave their friends, even though they are being treated abusively by their coach. They are afraid to move to another gym because they might end up with another abusive coach. So the gymnasts remains stuck in an abusive bind. I have recommended parents contact USAG several times over the last 10 years. I suggest that they read the Coaches Code of Conduct out loud to “leadership”. One parent received the following reply to their complaint, “what am I supposed to do?”.
  3. We must educate coaches about the new and evolving culture that so many of us want and demand in gymnastics. This must be a culture that goes beyond teaching gymnastics skills and teaches coaches about human development, personal empowerment, conflict resolution, stress management, sexual abuse, and personal accountability. Coaching workshops that address these core concepts and others must be mandatory at USAG Congress, and Regional meetings.
  4. We must demand a leadership body that is accountable to creating safe, positive, and empowering environments for our gymnasts. I have hit the wall that has existed in the current USAG system. I have been shouted down in post Olympic meetings for attempting to hold “leaders” accountable for their actions that led to disastrous performances by talented athletes. This has trickled down to local gyms where I have taught gymnasts and parents how to be vocal and empowered in the face of abusive coaches. I have had gym owners and coaches label me as the “bad guy” for educating these same parents and gymnasts. These gym owners and coaches don’t allow me access to their teams and gymnasts any longer, and stop referring me athletes. The message they are clearly sending is that they would rather continue in their toxic culture, than learn and grow as a gym owner and coach. Leadership always starts at the top. Demanding a leadership body that will implement this new culture will begin the trickle down process that will eventually work its way down to the club level. But we must educate!

A New Paradigm

Working with Simone Biles allowed me to see that this approach works. Simone and her parents have been very vocal about my work with Simone, speaking openly in Texas Monthly Magazine, ESPNW, The LA Times, Washington Post, and other media. Simone’s parents and other family members understand their role and strive to be supportive to Simone.  They feed positive energy into the system. Simone’s coach Aimee Boorman understands that Simone must be authentic to be her best. She must show up on the floor being Simone. She understands that Simone must trust her, that they must be able to work through conflict and resolve differences for Simone to reach the remarkable level of gymnastics that she has achieved. Simone’s parents and coaches are not threatened by me or my feedback into the system, rather they embrace it and strive to make the athlete, coach, parent triangle as strong and powerful as it can be.

This same systemic approach is exactly what USAG needs on a much larger scale.

I work with gyms all over the United States and Canada that are working with this empowering approach to gymnastics. They are open to learning more. They set up workshops for their gymnast, coaches, and parents to help continue to improve their culture.

I know of coaches in the USAG system who understand this new model for coaching our gymnasts. They understand that personal empowerment, respect, and mutuality are key components to producing top athletes.

Unfortunately I still work with gymnasts who have coaches who insist on continuing to rage, scream, yell, degrade, embarrass, punish and kick them out of the gym. In many instances, for making mistakes.

The USAG leadership merry go round continues to turn. Hirings and firings are common place.

Will we have leadership in place that is interested in creating a new paradigm and a new culture community wide? Or will the status quo continue?

I intend to continue to be a voice for our gymnasts and educate them, their parents and their coaches. Things have to change.

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Abuse in sports, Sports Shut Down and the Mental and Emotional Impact on Athletes, USAG Gymnastics Tagged With: Gymnastics, Gymnastics abuse, Laurie Hernandez, Olympics Gymnasts, Robert Andrews, Sexual abuse, Simone Biles, Sports culture, USAG

ISP Sponsors Texas Invitational Volleyball Tournament

August 16, 2015 by Robert Andrews Leave a Comment

We are proud to announce that The Institute of Sports Performance was a sponsor of The 2015 Texas Invitational Volleyball Tournament.

DSCN1850This is one of the largest volleyball tournaments in the country.  This  year there were 88 teams from all over Texas.

Being a part of this tournament puts our brand in front of over 1, 300 volleyball players, their coaches, and parents.  This broadens our ability to help athletes needing support with their mental and emotional recovery as they return from serious sports related injuries.  We are also able to reach more parents, coaches, and organizations with cutting edge mental training, team building, and development of  sports culture.

What a Final!

IMG_1062The Coppell Cowgirls won the final in a remarkable three set match over local power Clear Creek.  The level of play was spectacular. All areas of play excelled with great passing and defense, setting, and powerful hitting.

Congratulations to Pearland Coach John Turner, Dawson Coach Jason Karim, their players and parents for putting on a well run tournament.  We  look forward to being a part of The Texas Invitational next year.

Filed Under: Sports Shut Down and the Mental and Emotional Impact on Athletes Tagged With: Coppell Cowgirls, Jason Karim, John Turner, mental training, Sports culture, Texas Invitational, Texas Sports, Volleyball

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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

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2500 East T.C. Jester
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713.522.2200

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

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