Van Hees Strategic Advisory
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Professional football and psychology: The human behind the footballer is too often "forgotten" due to a lack of knowledge.
Physically, more and more is being demanded of a footballer. Calendars are bulging nowadays, especially if you operate at the (sub) top of football. There is the league, European football such as the Champions League, and if you perform well in both, there is the chance that you will be called up for your country and also play international matches. This involves an enormous amount of travel and all this added together demands a great deal from a player. Let's conveniently leave out the commercial side of football, in which a player also has a share. Then there is the pressure to perform, media attention, the social environment, and the human being behind the footballer. We must also not underestimate the pressure of big money. A player who is not financially literate will deal with unfamiliar feelings as a result. Couple that with a social environment that possesses little to no financial knowledge, and you have a recipe for a portion of misery.
For many people, it is impossible to imagine everything that goes into being a top professional. They cannot visualize what a footballer's life looks like beyond the weekday training sessions and matches. Most think that football is nothing more than pleasure trips combined with some training and playing matches, but appearances are deceiving. The frequent travel, training, and playing matches take their toll physically, but especially psychologically.
Most of the physical recovery is done with guidance at the club. Generally, the support at football clubs in the Netherlands and Belgium is fairly to reasonably well-organized. Some players continue their recovery privately, as there are many options and methods that help speed up the process. Most pros, however, stick to an afternoon nap, and that's it in terms of recovery. This is a point I like to talk to players about, to stimulate them from there to treat their bodies more seriously. Think of complementary sports, etc.
This is only a marginal part of the conversations, because as I already mentioned, a pro is under very high psychological pressure. A footballer's career is relatively short, and within that framework, I want to maximize my clients' potential. Everything starts between the ears, which is why it is important to be mindful of your daily thoughts. I listen enjoyably and attentively to my clients to get a picture of what happens in their minds every day. It is incredibly important to know how a player thinks and what is important to him. This gives you insight into his character and allows me to assess how best to work with that particular client. Everyone is different and unique, which makes it essential to first map out the player.
From there, I get to work, in consultation with him, to clear the brain of noise and things that don't belong there. This creates more overview and peace, making it easier to feed the brain with new matters. These new matters contain elements of knowledge for living as a professional footballer, but especially knowledge for the human being behind the footballer. Professional footballers are generally young people at the beginning of their lives. They have no life experience yet, and that, in combination with a lot of money, attention, and pressure, is simply dangerous.
I have a great deal of life experience and have known extreme highs, but also very dark lows in my life. Click on "My story" in the menu to get an idea of who I am and where I come from. Thanks to my life experience, I am able to truly put myself in someone else's shoes. I am very empathetic, which allows me to create a bond of trust very easily. Because of my experience and empathetic capacity, people also let me into their deepest concerns and secrets very quickly. That is a sign of trust, through which we can constructively build on their mindset. It is of great importance to teach a player financial literacy. A career as a footballer is relatively short, and during that time, a great deal of money is earned. Large sums come in every month, and to handle that mentally, knowledge and structure are required.
This begins with explaining and making the following matters understandable: the definition of money, how to handle money, and the financial system in which we live. This subject matter might sound difficult and boring, but if you earn and possess a lot of money, it is very interesting and, above all, highly useful knowledge. I cannot emphasize enough how important these points are. It is not difficult to understand, but a foundation must be laid first. After that, the learning process proceeds quickly. The most important thing about this part of the guidance is that this kind of knowledge provides a completely new overview of a relatively new feeling: the feeling of earning and possessing a lot of money. Because the financial knowledge is present, the player can handle that feeling. It also helps with the player's behavior when it comes to money; he will be less likely to just squander his money. From then on, every euro automatically takes on a different meaning and value. It can be difficult for young guys (and for people in general) to handle large monthly sums of money without squandering it. Through the financial foundation we instill in the mindset, we have nipped that problem in the bud. The beauty of this is that he is now capable of managing his own money through investing and the like. Moreover, due to the player's financial literacy, it is very difficult to deceive him in that area. Hardly anyone possesses such knowledge, giving my client a head start in society. It also ensures that he can engage in financial planning for life after football. I ensure that he is truly financially independent; in that area, he no longer needs anyone.
Someone who is financially literate and has their affairs in order has much more self-confidence as a result. It strengthens self-confidence enormously. The pressure to perform also changes to the player's advantage. Together, this leads almost automatically to better performances on the field. And it also gives the player something to do off the field, as wealth management is a daily activity. You are busy with it for one, maximum two hours a day, especially in the beginning. But it is an enjoyable activity because it is your own. Building your future is the most beautiful thing there is. If you can do that alongside football, then that is a blessing. Your sense of self-worth will increase gigantically, and I am really not exaggerating. By taking responsibility for your income and assets yourself, you also have a new goal in life, alongside the goals in football. And it offers a healthy distraction from all the pressure, media attention, and football. It also teaches you to put things into perspective, which is something that significantly helps in delivering performances. You develop a completely different view/outlook on the world, and you see what kind of world we all live in. This fact brings a footballer so much peace. It would have a very positive effect on everyone; in fact, the world could be a better place because of it. I can support this with facts, but that is not what this blog is about.
If you possess basic knowledge of the definition of money, how to handle money, and the financial system in which we live, then you possess the foundation to succeed in this life and in this world. This whole process brings another important thing with it: discipline. Because your whole day is filled with responsibilities, and your self-worth provides the discipline, I kid you not.
Are you a professional footballer looking for tools to shape your life as a footballer and as a person in the right way, then please get in touch. This also applies to directors and trainers/coaches.
Everything starts between the ears.
Want to know more about pressure and its consequences? Then read this blog: Arena-Schizophrenia: The danger of a split identity in professional football.