Olivia Rose Esperance | Athletes and the influence of their significant others

If we were to analyse some of the choices we make, whether they led to favourable or unfavourable outcomes, at the core, we would find that many of them were influenced by others.

Athletes are not exempt from making choices that have been heavily influenced by significant or even insignificant others. Undoubtedly, family, schools, churches and other agents of socialisation play a critical role in many of the choices we make, even when their potency should have been reduced through our own knowledge acquisition and experiences.

The more successful an athlete becomes, the louder external influence and noise will become. Success also exposes you to new and different methodologies and techniques to achieving results. It brings with it a kind of eureka moment too, whereby reflection of your old or difficult approaches could have been easier had you simply done this or that a long time ago. One of those major decisions is remaining with your coach or club, or leave to explore what initially seems to be better opportunities.

In some instances, the courage to leave proves advantageous to the athlete, and in other cases it is not. Again, all are still risks and chances in which the outcome can only be assessed over time.

The influence of others can be like a sounding drum in the case of a short stint of success, followed by repeated failure. In this case, the athlete is more vulnerable and should be very careful of the types of advice he or she takes and from who, even if these persons are close to you. Do your own appraisal of their intentions for influencing you to switch, or to remain with a particular coach or club. Is it because they believe your performance will improve and your earnings increase with you being in good physical and mental health or is it because or personal biases and unsubstantiated claims?

PIVOTAL ROLE

Being around persons who have played a pivotal role in your life since birth or who have been there from the formative years of your athletic career can be difficult to discard. In fact, much effort is usually placed to follow almost slavishly the advice from these people. Family members, close friends, and spouses and even some fans usually fall in this category, some of whom are desirous of sharing the spotlight with you as well and the rest who genuinely want you to have access to the best resources that will make you successful again or help you to maintain success.

The choices we make are not void of the influence others. Going against the strongly held opinions of others who are highly valued may threaten established relationships. While some of these significant others can be knowledgeable of the sport and best practices, athletes are encouraged to do their own research and ask questions when in doubt before making major decisions that will impact the rest of their career. Once the athlete has completed his or her own independent investigation, silencing the opinions of others and have carefully evaluated the pros and cons of their decision, they should be supported. The support should primarily come from their significant others, whether their choice to remain or leave a coach or club is contrary to the advice they provided. The athlete is also encouraged to keep a positive attitude and feel a sense of autonomy, that while others might have influenced the choice, they played an integral role in deciding to stay or switch a coach or club.

Olivia Rose Esperance is an applied sport psychologist at The University of the West Indies, Mona. Contact: oliviakrose@gmail.com