How to Cope and Even Improve as an Injured Athlete (Part II)
See “How to Cope and Even Improve as an Injured Athlete (Part I)” for the first installment of this blog! What follows are further guidelines on how athletes can make the most of their time out injured.
Improve Your Technical and Tactical Understanding of Your Sport
Can you challenge yourself to learn and develop your tactical understanding of your sport while you are hurt? During your time on the sidelines, imagine yourself as the coach. What would you tell the athletes on the field? You could even pay specific attention to the person who is playing in your position while you are injured. Think about what you would do if you were playing your position during a game. Take more time to talk to your coaches about what they see during practice. Is your new perspective from the sidelines helping you think more about how you might play when you return?
Develop Other Interests
You can use this time to reflect on yourself and your other interests in life. Everyone’s competitive career must come to an end eventually. Research demonstrates that the more that a person identifies with their sport, the more difficult their transition out of competitive sports will be. It is okay to care deeply about your sport and to identify as an athlete. However, developing a more well-rounded identity can help athletes find greater balance in their life, both while they are playing sports and after they have finished playing competitive sports. Having other interests can help an athlete cope with being injured. Their identity is less threatened when they are hurt due to seeing themself as more than just an athlete. They can then use their time injured pursuing other interests rather than ruminating on their inability to play their sport.
Reflect on Your relationship With Your Sport
As the saying goes, “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” When caught up in the daily grind of playing a sport, it can get difficult sometimes to appreciate what you have. You may even wish that you were in the off-season and not playing your sport. Playing sports, especially at the highest levels, is not easy and takes a lot of sacrifice and hard work. In the end, every athlete only has a certain amount of time that they can play their sport. Sometimes, it takes being injured to fully appreciate what you have. Can you bring that appreciation back to your full participation and make the most of the time that you have left playing your sport? Can you find gratitude for the challenges of competing in sports? Can you bring newfound energy and motivation with you when you are playing again?
Practice Sport Psychology Tools
While you may be physically unable to perform and improve, you can use this time to improve your mentality. There are four main sport psychology tools that athletes can use to improve their mindset, which include self-talk, imagery, goal-setting, and relaxation/energization techniques (For more information on these tools, you can read another blog that I wrote regarding mentality). When I ask athletes what percentage of their game is mental, most athletes give me a number that is over 50%. But when I ask them what percentage of their training is focused on mentality, the answer is often 0%. While any time is a good time to learn and implement sport psychology tools, being injured is as good a time as any!
If you are injured and need help managing the recovery process from a mental standpoint, contact our sport psychologist today!
1. Contact Sunrise Counseling
2. Meet with one of our caring therapists
Mental Health Services at Sunrise Counseling in Dallas, TX
Sunrise Counseling offers a variety of other mental health services in our Dallas TX-based therapy office and offers telehealth therapy to those residing in Texas. Mental health services we provide at Sunrise Counseling include: