High Performance Mindset

Million Dollar Mindset Makes a Difference

"How do we better educate players and how do we empower players to take better control of the issues?" - Steve Hocking, AFL, General Manager of Football Operations

The $2 Million Dollar AFL Mindset

More Money than Sense

When I heard young gun local footballer, Jake Fitzsimmons had taken his own life at only 25 years of age in 2017, I was again rattled and simultaneously confronted with the shame I had experienced of not feeling ‘good enough’ during my own short-lived AFL career. It was time to acknowledge the dark cloud that was shadowing the game I loved and lived, but it was definitely a wakeup call to many others.

There is no doubt that Jake’s internal struggle was going on long before the series of setbacks that triggered his downward spiral. As his mother Debbie painfully recalls, ‘he suffered a serious ankle injury, a broken relationship and began abusing drugs.’ Whilst she took Jake to multiple doctors and counsellors in a desperate effort to get him help, nothing seemed to work.

But why and how could a successful, talented, young player suffer at the claws of this silent epidemic? This question commanded answers from leaders of the game, which was great to see. If you can imagine, for example, that to a young player, a - wayward torpedo, a poorly executed drop-punt or failed handball or two – could be the agonizing blow to his confidence. You can then ask yourself – what sort of negative self-talk could any of these ‘errors’ instigate?

For 23-year-old Tom Boyd, the physical and emotional pressure saw him walk away from a $2 million contract - after deciding to retire due to a debilitating back injury; Jack Steven was ‘battling to combine football with his private life,’ and we are yet to hear from Majak Daw regarding the real impact on his personal life.

As all AFL & AFLW players whom I mentor share their experiences with me, I remain humbled and reminded of my passion and purpose to help them regain control of their thoughts enabling them to play with their mind and body at their full potential.

In recent weeks 26-year-old Adam Treloar explained how he broke down during a recovery session last year, hiding his tears by putting his head underwater. His struggle, he says, stemmed from pressure and expectations to perform in the AFL, media scrutiny and social media abuse.

So back when legend, Wayne Schwass disclosed that moments after winning the 1996 Grand Final he was thinking about ending his life, it confirmed why the AFL community has had good reasons to be concerned.

The Mental Health Industry Review reported that for players, mental health was their number one area of concern. This review was a key piece of work commissioned by the newly formed Industry Governance Committee (IGC) and has seen the disbursement of $2 million per year into Player Development.

When I considered the actual and potential cost of mental health, I actually started to understand just how inestimable it is. After all, the reality is that the mindset of players costs the game millions of dollars. This loss translates into lost player potential, injury and recovery management, and, in many cases, a forced transition into early retirement. But if I was being really honest with myself, nothing can put a price on a life lost to suicide.

So the real question then, is, not how much it will cost for us to do something, but how much it will cost if we do not.

From this side of the arena, it looks like the AFL sporting community has finally decided to rip off the band aid and move away from the ‘treat the symptoms’ approach.

The AFLPA has delivered extensive wellbeing promotion including workshops, campaigns and projects, with the focus on collectively building player wellbeing, resilience, and performance. These programs have traditionally tried to govern an individual’s behaviour and are based on self-referral for contributing factors like alcohol, drugs, gambling and other addictions, instead of focusing in on the root cause.

AFL chairman, Richard Goyder, spent the season launch meetings speaking with Club presidents about the high risks faced by clubs and the most vulnerable players, and remained committed to setting up a central mental health unit operating from AFL headquarters. This will be funded by head office at a cost of at least $1 million annually with clubs to devote up to an extra $100,000 a season into off-field development and well-being. This is in addition to the appointment of the games’ first mental health officer.

Steve Hocking, openly stated ’There is a lot of spending in this area but we feel the money could be better spent’. While he acknowledges the power struggles between AFL and players in regards to the ultimate control of a player’s wellbeing, he still sees clubs employing full time nurses, additional psychologists, doctors, counsellors and even psychiatrists on a part time basis. He goes onto ask “How do we better educate players and how do we empower players to take better control of these issues?’’

I welcome the question and continue to embrace this discussion as I have done for the past 20 years. My own experience during those formative years of playing at St Kilda Football Club and suffering career ending injuries helped me create the Quality Mind Program. I have worked extensively with AFL and AFLW athletes and seen first-hand how a healthy mindset actually keeps players injury free.

In my leadership role and as Founder and CEO of Quality Mind I advocate for a stronger onus to be placed on players to self-assess and explore ‘what they need’, rather than relying on this to come from the opinions of others.

The things that triggers insecurity and doubt is different for every player. There are so many points along the continuum of mental health, between wellness and illness, in which small interventions and 1% changes can make all the difference in mindset.

A negative thought and perceived criticism can quickly slip into a belief that athletes then take with them on and off the field. Ruminating thoughts like ‘not being good enough’ and pressures from everyday life such as relationships, media and finance impact on their ability to prepare, play and recover.

By giving them the tools and strategies to identify the sensations and negative thought patterns well before it becomes a red flag for mental health issues, can make all the difference. Quality Mind has been developed through more than 20 years of mind research. It has been designed to unleash the mind’s potential, and in so doing, reduce anxiety while increasing one’s ability to handle stress.

SHAUN HIGGINS from NORTH MELBOURNE FC, AFL attributes his previous lack of awareness and education about how the mind impacts the body to his earlier ‘freak injuries’. For the first six years of his football career he struggled to stay on the park and after completing Quality Mind in 2014 he returned to play 22/22 games. With his career on the line and football consuming his life, Shaun believes it was the ‘game changer’ not only in football but his relationships and general wellbeing. Training and playing football is now something he really enjoys, balancing his life with confidence in his ability to manage the pressures with positivity. At the end of the day it's purely the inability to manage high levels of stress that destroys careers.

All my years of research and education has shown me that wellbeing is an individual issue, and only that individual really understands what they need. That’s why Quality Mind uses an App to deliver its daily mindfulness coaching program combined with qualified Quality Mind Mentors. It has a high accountability component, developing discipline and positive self-talk. And if the App is not used daily then the athlete will be declined access.

In October 2019 I will also be launching my 3rd book titled, 'Injury-Free - Mental Training for Elite Athletes'.

As so it stands, again, the real question is not how much it will cost to support the Mental Health and Wellbeing of our AFL players, but how much will it cost if we don’t.

Richard Maloney

---

You can learn more about Quality Mind Global here. https://www.qualitymindglobal.com/

Richard Bio:

When Richard Maloney turned 18, he achieved what many young men dream about; being drafted to the St Kilda Football Club. What should have been a dream come true only intensified the chaos in his life at the time. He had a bad work ethic and an even worse attitude. Looking back, it’s no surprise he was asked to leave before he had his chance at the big time.

Post AFL, he played football at a state level for 10 years and was associated with six premierships in that time. He worked at Western Bulldogs Football Club as Leadership and Culture Coach. He as also been associated with 32 winning premierships over the years.

Rich saw people in business and sporting clubs struggling to handle pressure and the impact this had, especially on the injury front for athletes, he knew there had to be a better way. His ability to identify patterns in people and create systems, enabled him to build 2 successful businesses; Engage & Grow which is now in over 80 countries and making a huge impact on employee engagement in the workplace and Quality Mind, which in the last 12 months, since the release of the app, has hundreds of clients in 15 countries as well as Mind Mentors in 7 countries.

Richard has for a number of years, spoken at conferences and events across the world and mentored workforces in companies large and small.