In the past, player care was viewed as a concierge service, with little emphasis on holistically supporting athletes. There was little structure behind it, and a duty of care was sorely absent in many professional organizations. Today, player care in clubs and academies has improved enormously. In many sports, institutions with full-time staff have been established to ensure athletes and their families are given appropriate support. As a certified player care expert, Alex Grove shares some common issues athletes face.
To further clarify, Alex explains there is a heavy price to pay for many of our athletes – regardless of what they earn. Athletes face various challenges, including self-doubt, loss of form, dealing with an injury, managing social media, performance anxiety, missing playtime, bullying, and performance expectations. These are some of the most pressing concerns that athletes confront, and Alex has assisted in addressing them.
According to Alex, being an athlete is not easy and comes with a lot of pressure. Many people may talk about the physical grind, but no one talks about the psychological side of things and the stress that can occur. Being on the field can cause so much pressure on your mindset. The strain of meeting people’s expectations, dealing with the media, and, most significantly, having your entire career in the spotlight can impinge dearly on the quality of life.
Individuals battling these issues are some of the strongest today. It is refreshing to see athletes prioritise their mental health more with each passing day, and as time goes by, more athletes will have the courage to open up about their mental health. As a player care therapist, Alex emphasizes the importance of mental health professionals and their families supporting athletes.
Player Care work is structured around short or longer-term formats based on needs analysis where some issues are more problematic than others. At Alex Grove Coaching and Development, everyone concentrates on root causes, allowing athletes to experience better emotional health by organizing their thoughts and behaviours.
Alex shares that we should commend a player on being open about managing their well-being. He believes that making a positive experience for the athletes and the organisation will lead to growth in player retention, increased buy-in, and long-term lower costs when the athletes and their families find their homes in the trusted organization. The best examples of player care are the setups that do not overextend on competencies or intrude on precious downtime.
You can learn from Alex Grove by following him on his social media to grasp more about some of the most common issues that athletes face.
LinkedIn: Alex Grove
Instagram: alexgcounselling
Twitter: @AlexGroveTweet
