The Wait Is Over

18 Inches That Mean Everything

Today's schedule at the Hollywood Studios Cup shifts a bit from that of yesterday. Because all tournament matches will be played in the afternoon and evening, the teams will be training today during the afternoon to simulate game conditions. This morning, then, is being used by the NWSL for a symposium on things players should know, such as the state of negotiations between the players' union and the league on renewing the Collective Bargaining Agreement, how mental health affects performance in sport, and how to prepare for life after the game. The three sessions will run concurrently, with teams rotating through them over the course of the morning. This morning's first session on mental health and athletic performance is being attended by the Boston Breakers, Atlanta Storm, and FC Kansas City.

Amanda Duffy (NWSL Commissioner): Welcome to this morning's session on Mental Health and Athletic Performance. We have with us Adam Rothschild, a noted sports psychologist who has written extensively on the connection between mind and body when it comes to achieving maximum results. His specialty is a flip of what the traditional sports psychologist does in that he focuses on the mental blocks from one's life outside of sport that end up causing athletes problems on the field. From a hockey goalkeeper with noise sensitivity caused by PTSD to gymnasts with eating disorders that result in broken bones or chronic fatigue to athletes dealing with bipolar disorder, Adam seeks to bring the healing aspects of his field into the athletic arena. Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause if you would, for Adam Rothschild.

Adam Rothschild: Thank you, Commissioner Duffy. As stated in the introduction, I am a sports psychologist who focuses on how mental blocks brought on by things outside of sport affect an athlete's on-field performance. I am in private practice in Milwaukee, WI and work with athletes from the Brewers, Bucks, Aces, the Torrent's NPSL and WPSL teams, plus referrals from local colleges' athletic departments. In addition, I have partnered for several years now with an organization called the Urban Coaching Project. I give presentations as part of their Women's Coaching Seminar on how a player's outside life affects her academically and athletically. The organization's founder, Marc Schmidt, believes that one of the biggest things that holds back women from rising through the coaching ranks is the lack of support they receive from people on the inside, and that by prioritizing the career development of women in coaching, more will enter coaching and more will be elevated to higher-ranking positions. His course puts into practice what Breakers coach John Herdman did with the Canadian Women's National Team, the concept of women leading women and using his place in sport to create meaningful opportunities for women to learn the off-the-field side of the game.

When I talk about mental health and athletic performance, I don't mean how a golfer uses coping techniques to get rid of the yips, or how a soccer player utilizes mental imagery to become more confident in taking penalty kicks. My focus is on how a person's private life comes into the sporting world and creates obstacles to peak performance. One example of this is grief. You may remember a few years ago Isiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics lost his sister and was being denigrated in the media and by fans for expressing his grief publicly. That resulted in him needing longer to return to the court and longer to get back to his previous level of play because he felt as though he wasn't able to process the loss on his own schedule. Another area is the interconnection between bipolar disorder and risky behavior. Bipolar disorder causes people to experience alternating highs and lows, resulting in manic and depressive episodes. A person will cycle from one to the other and back, spiraling the person's thoughts and emotions until they either crash from the cycling or do something that causes the hamster wheel to stop. In some cases, that involves illegal activity, such as selling drugs or prostitution. In other cases, it involves things such as promiscuity or gambling. In the most extreme cases, the person will cycle so badly that they believe the only means of stopping the torment is to end their own life.

I believe that life is all about relationships. Relationships with people, with places, with things, with institutions, and with the world as a whole. Relationship trouble is one of the biggest hindrances to elite athletic performance because it saps the person's ability to be present mentally within the context of their sport. If you're mentally replaying a fight you had with your significant other, or you're worrying about how your kids are managing you being away, or you're stressed about finances or living arrangements or whether you'll have a job at the end of the season, it will impact your ability to give maximum effort and therefore achieve elite-level performance. I won't ask for a show of hands, but nod if you've ever brought your home life onto the field with you. I see a number of you agreeing with that statement. Did it make you more confident or less confident in how you were able to play?

For women, one of the biggest stressors is the constant internal debate between work and family. Do you stay in your sport until you literally can't play anymore, even if it means lowering the possibility of having children, or do you leave while you still have a couple of fertile years on the clock to reach that goal? Do you try to work your career around that of your partner, or does he or she do that with respect to yours? Do you try to come back after giving birth, or do you see that as a transition point to a life away from the field? All tough questions, and all ones that can directly affect your ability to stay at a high level of play. The increase in athlete suicides at the college level should be a warning sign to everyone that hiding your struggles from those around you will cause them to fester inside you, and can literally eat you alive. If you are dealing with mental illness, open up about it to those closest to you. In a way, coming out as having a mental illness is similar to coming out as being gay. It requires you to trust that those you tell won't use it against you or seek to harm you as a result of it. There are more of you in that category than you realize, and I hope you will have the opportunity to reach out to those around you who are walking that same path.

In closing, I wish to inform you that I will be in Orlando for the entire tournament and am willing to meet with any of you. I will be at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex during each day's training sessions, where you can stop by and talk. If you want to catch me outside of that, your best bet is to text me and we can schedule a time. I am staying here at the Wingate, so if you see that I'm free, come up to me and we can probably do a session on the spot. Thank you for your time, and remember it's ok not to be ok.

The players and staff give Adam a rousing ovation and exit the theater.

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Following their third sessions, during which they were supplied box lunches, the players hopped onto their team coaches and headed for the the training complex and their scheduled practices. Before leaving the hotel, Adam scrolled through his Twitter feed looking for Marc's "Tao of Schmidt" entry for the week. He clicked on the link and began reading his reflection based on the following quote: "People GET divorced long after they actually ARE divorced." Adam realizes that this is actually a good piece to have on hand this week in case the situation arises where one or more players or staff are dealing with end-of-relationship issues. He bookmarks the page and closes the app.