Performance Habits, an innovative mental wellbeing programme, was recently showcased to Leeds United Academy players to promote positive routines, the importance of building mental resilience and handling setbacks.
The first-of-its-kind initiative, developed by Academy staff alongside a team from the University of York, will see the players be assigned a coach and catch up on weekly calls to discuss their wellbeing or anything else regarding their personal development away from the pitch.
Paul Galdas, Professor of Men’s Health at the University of York, explained: “The Performance Habits programme is a proactive, early mental fitness programme specifically for academy footballers. It has been designed to be responsive to their needs, how their lives are, and help them put in place healthy routines and schedules that will help them stay well but also enhance their performance when they are on the field.
“Leeds are blazing a trail in developing innovative programmes to improve young elite athletes’ mental fitness and wellbeing. This is just an example of how sport can be used to promote mental health and wellbeing, and how simple actions can lead to lifestyle changes.”
The coaches, made up of current and former pros, includes first-team goalkeeper Alex Cairns, who is keen to use his own experiences to help guide the younger players at the club.
“It can be a lonely place, sometimes being in your own head a little bit and not knowing what is right and what is wrong,” the 31-year-old said. “When things aren’t going so well, you always need something to fall back on and I think them habits and being consistent, helps you mentally get through things a lot easier.
“Hopefully the lads will want to bounce off me. I would like to think I can help them on that journey and hopefully we can help them perform to the best of their ability but also be the best person away from the place that they can be.”
Jovanni Sterling, a former Leeds scholar turned musician and now Performance Habits coach, added: “When I think about my time in football, if it wasn’t for music then I wouldn’t have had an outlet.
“A programme like this supporting the players coming through is a great initiative because it is a way for the lads to keep themselves accountable, check in with themselves and focus on their habits and routines. It is a way for them to maximise their performances and their day-to-day lives, to become aware of what is working for them and what is not.”
Academy forward Joe Snowdon said: “It is really important. It is good that the guys spoke to us about this topic because it is important to have something away from football if we need to get stuff off our chests. If it can make us stress free, we can focus on our performance rather than stressing on little things that might affect it. It is brilliant speaking to those that have been in our shoes and know what it feels like.”
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