U of S prof offers coping skills for athletes facing pressures

Connor Bedard continues to face increasing popularity — and increasing pressures.

His mom Melanie recently issued a statement about the lack of privacy that the family has dealt with.

She said fans have been at their home looking to meet the hockey star to the point where they went in the backyard. She said she and Bedard get approached at the grocery store and she has had to shut her phone off for days at a time.

But Bedard is not the only one to face the pressures of sport; younger athletes do too.

Leah Ferguson, an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Kinesiology, told Gormley guest host Taylor MacPherson it’s important for coaches, parents and teachers to take what she calls an athlete-centred approach.

“(The key is to be) thinking about what is helping or harming the athlete’s performance but also what is helping or harming the athlete’s well-being,” she said Tuesday.

Ferguson noted we also want to understand how the athlete may be interpreting the pressures and distractions.

“The way that they interpret it can really be a game-changer. (For) some athletes, that may resonate with them,” she said.

According to Ferguson, a variety of tools and techniques can be available for athletes to learn to manage the demands. She added it’s best to see which tool will work with the athlete.

“Under some circumstances there is a lot that athletes cannot control,” she said. “We can think of a typical sport environment, so maybe an athlete can’t control the traffic on the way to the arena or they can’t control if a referee makes a poor call or they can’t control how their opponents are playing.”

She adds the thing that athletes can control is the reaction.

“It’s best to refocus and control that distraction and focus on the task at hand,” Ferguson said.

She explained that some things we can teach athletes are focus control and distraction control, which could include various breathing strategies or muscle relaxation.

“These tools and techniques can really go a long way to help athletes cope with the demands of their sport,” Ferguson said.

According to Ferguson, it’s all about working with the athlete to try and find ways to navigate setbacks and challenges.

She also said sports psychologists are being called on to engage more with athletes.

“I think there’s still a great shift that can continue to happen to ensure we are prioritizing mental health and mental wellness and not just the physical aspect of sport. So it is great to see that shift happening,” Ferguson said.