Take Charge of your Recovery
COACHING for the MENTAL SIDE
of INJURY RECOVERY
Get Back on Track
Lower your Stress
Take Control of the Process
You find yourself wondering, "Will I ever be the same player I was? If not, who will I be?"
Do you feel lost and out of control, like you’ve been cast off from your anchor?
Do you know what you’re supposed to do for rehab but struggle to find the motivation to do it consistently?
Are you afraid to push your body like you did before your injury?
Do you wonder if you’ll ever play with the joy and confidence you had before your injury?
Do you feel left out and disconnected from your team, like your suddenly less valuable and less needed?
Does your recovery feel hopelessly long, far away, or just plain unattainable?
Go from feeling like a victim to taking back control!
Overcome fears that hold you back
Connect to resources so that you don't feel alone
Shift from victim to hero mindset
Discover a new sense of purpose and identity
Lower your stress level to speed up recovery
Establish a clear plan and be accountable to it
For injured athletes, the struggle is real.
Getting injured is one of the most difficult things you will deal with as an athlete. It affects all parts of your sport and your life. In addition to being a Mental Performance Coach, I am therapist with training in the psychological effects of physical trauma and have a deep understanding of how injuries affect us mentally. Your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about your injury have a significant effect on the speed of your recovery and how fully you will heal. In my experience helping athletes work through their mental barriers is essential for recovery. For example, if the tissues in and around your knee heal but you still worry that your knee is vulnerable, this belief will be a barrier to returning to full functioning.
I grew up playing competitive club soccer in the Washington DC metro area and played Division 1 soccer at Columbia University. Being around competitive sports my entire life, I understand the pressure and expectation that are inherent in these environments. I have experienced how an athlete’s sense of identity and self-esteem can be wrapped up in their sport and their performances. When stripped of their ability to compete, injured athletes often feel lost, like they don’t know who they are. With support and guidance an athlete can broaden their sense of identity and realize that who they are as a person is so much bigger than who they are as an athlete.
3 Steps to Taking Control of your Recovery
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Learn tools to overcome your mental hurdles
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Enjoy the new perspective you have on your injury & your sport
I often hear from injured athletes...
"I don't know who I am if I'm not competing. I don't see how mental training would help this."
Your identity is understandably very tied to your athletic performance. When things go well in your sport, you feel good. When they don’t go well, you don’t feel so good. It’s vital to build your identity as a PERSON in addition to your identity as an athlete. This will ultimately lead to better performances because it takes the pressure off of you that you HAVE TO perform well every time. Mental Performance Coaching helps you make this shift and experience less pressure and more freedom.
"I can't just shift my mindset and be optimistic about this."
I won’t ask you to be optimistic if that’s not where you’re at. I will ask you to challenge the part of you that wants to feel like a victim. While it’s completely understandable to feel like a victim, finding and training the other parts of you that are up for the challenge is essential for effective recovery.
"I've always had sports to de-stress. Now I'm more stressed and don't have sports to help."
This is a big source of anxiety for injured athletes and understandably so. Your primary coping mechanism has been pulled out from under you at a time when you feel like you need it the most. We will practice new tools to help you manage stress and practice them so that they become familiar. We will explore a menu of options so that you can find tools and strategies that suit you. (You don’t have to be willing to meditate… unless you want to!)
"My coach is suddenly acting like I don't exist! I feel like an outsider with my teammates."
This is such a common experience for injured athletes – feeling less involved, less needed and like they don’t belong anymore. It’s essential to continue to find ways to connect with your teammates and coaches, stay involved, and modify your role. This is not easy but staying involved with your team is really important. We can help you find ways to recapture the sense of belonging that so important to us as athletes.
