Systemic Transformation at ALL LEVELS
I could spend this blog post listing the many times and instances that there has been abuse on all levels in the world of soccer. Emotional, physical, sexual and verbal abuse of players, coaches, admins, etc. But that’s not the purpose of this post. What I will do is quickly define this problem, and attempt to list small ways to begin to fix it. So here it goes…
Systemic Failure simply put is failure due to flaws in the system. Right now the conversation is how there are flaws in the system at the highest level of play in the NSWL. We’ve heard similar situations occurring in other sports on the female side, most recently, USA gymnastics. These issues are indicative of a societal systemic power dynamic that are present in most avenues of life. Some of these power dynamics are due to historical and patriarchal norms in our society, some are due to heteronormative men and their dominance of power in general. These issues are NOT going to be fixed overnight. In fact, they are overwhelming, deep rooted and bigger than we can even imagine sometimes. My argument, however, is: there are flaws at EVERY LEVEL. We often hear of these situations at the highest levels because they get the most attention and media coverage. That is not to diminish them. But these flaws are being bred and grown in the earliest levels of our sport.
Soccer at the youth level is filled with player-last power dynamics. Youth soccer clubs help promote a transactional approach, and a culture that thrives in instant gratification adds to this issue. Children are stuck in a billion dollar industry where adults profit off of their abilities. They are promised the world in exchange for their childhood. This age is often filled with the beginnings of emotional, physical and verbal abuse from parents and coaches, yet it is masked as the need to create players with the most competitive drive to win. It continues on to the collegiate level where players are put through a rehearsal of what the Pros could look like for them. They endure even larger levels of emotional, physical and verbal abuse from coaches, parents and administrators. And then they enter the highest level where these levels of abuse are now norms for their work/life experience.
The question becomes, do we try to fix these issues from the top down or from the bottom up? I say, the bottom up. Start with the youth level. Change the power dynamics, empower the players and hold the coaches and parents accountable. It’s easier said than done. What do we propose? Well, we are going to oversimplify with one small start of a solution:
Invest at all levels in the mental side. What does that look like?
Youth level- clubs, DOC’s need to be trained on culture, social emotional learning, and make the mentals side a consistent practice through whole player development
Collegiate level- players need a support outside of coaches and athletic department who can help advocate in situations where they are being abused. Every program should have a sports psychologist who has the players best interest at heart. And the mental side should continue to be a part of practices on a consistent level.
Professional Level- HR depts. Players need a formal support system for abuse issues, a sports psych for every team, and they too need to have culture come first with whole player development.
Yes, that is it. Super simple start. But we think it can have a bigger impact than we all think. If these small things happen, it will begin to change the overall culture and philosophies of what drive our sport. Infusing whole player, mental skills into the focus can infuse purpose back into the sport which we feel is missing. When organizations at all levels have more purpose, they hold each other accountable more often, keep priorities straight and make decisions with integrity not just with their wallets.
We know there are MANY things that need to be done to fix this broken system. We are simply trying to offer a fairly simple one that can have a lasting and large positive impact. So what do you think? Let us know in the comments!