Inside this Article:
Football brings joy to people, but if we cannot maintain physical or mental health in this activity, it can significantly impact our daily lives. Today, we will discuss how to maintain both physical and mental health to maximize the joy derived from the sport.
- 1. Injury Prevention
- 2. Recovery
- 3. How to Overcome Difficulties
- 4. Learning from Others' Past
1. Injury Prevention
Effective injury prevention helps us minimize the risk of missing incoming matches. In the football world, many talented young players have missed long periods of matches due to injuries, hindering their continuous progress and relegating them to the bench. To excel in injury prevention, a two-pronged approach can be employed.
Firstly, before matches, it is crucial to complete warm-up exercises thoroughly based on the coach's guidance. What if we don't have coach? Well, self-warming up becomes essential, especially during colder seasons. I once played a game with friends at a local community pitch on a weekend. Instead of warming-up, I got on the pitch without hesitation, and that’s when I sustained a severe injury which triggered a chain reaction. I'll share the detailed story later.
Besides warming up adequately, selecting suitable footwear and equipment is paramount. If you're unsure about choosing the right football shoes, you can refer to our previous posts for guidance.
2. Recovery
I would recommend you to eat fast-digesting carbohydrates（fast carbs） such as bananas, apples, chocolate bars, etc., within 30 minutes after a game or training. During training, the muscle glycogen stored in our muscles is rapidly depleted, and replenishing with fast carbs is essential to provide nutrients to the muscles. When our muscles receive adequate nutritional support, their recovery speed accelerates, allowing us to return to optimal conditions more quickly.
Sleep is also a vital factor in quick recovery. In Cristiano Ronaldo's career spanning over a decade, he insists on going to bed before 11:00 PM and ensuring nine to ten hours of sleep each night. And he have a strict 90-minute-naps everyday. This sleep routine has played a pivotal role in maintaining his peak performance, even with the demanding schedule of fifty to sixty matches annually.
Follow me with my tips—I spend 5 to 10 minutes stretching my ligaments before bedtime. Stretching ligaments helps my muscles recover and enhances the quality of my sleep. These three simple tips may seem basic, but their impact is tremendously significant.
open and stretch your body!!
3. How to Overcome Difficulties
Do you remember that I mentioned getting injured in a saturday game? That injury kept me away from formal matches and training for a daunting two months. My coach criticized me seriously, sidelining me for five months and causing me to lose my starting position. During that period, I felt extremely anxious and distressed, even contemplating giving up on my dream of becoming a professional player. Even my favorite pastime, FIFA games, couldn't bring me joy because every time I controlled a star player, it reminded me of my hard situation.
My friends got me through the tough period. They provided me with much-needed confidence and encouragement to persevere in pursuing my dreams. After regular training sessions, I would do some additional personal training, and my friends not only recorded videos to help me to improve, but also assisted me in passing and shooting drills. With their support, I regained my confidence in the following weeks and earned the coach's trust back.
Through my story, I want to convey that overcoming difficulties is not as challenging as it seems. Sometimes, all we need to do is confide in friends and be brave and proactive in accepting the goodwill from those around us.
4. Learning from Others' Past
As Naomi Girma from the U.S. Women's National Team says, when discussing mental health issues, emphasized that the only way to redefine the mental and emotional well-being within the entire football community is through collective effort and support.
During that challenging period, besides the support from friends, the experiences of many star players served as a source of encouragement for me. By watching their interviews and reading their autobiographies, I learned that they, like me, had gone through painful recovery phases and experienced the same feelings of missing opportunities due to injuries. Moreover, I could draw strength from their journeys, such as the confidence exuded by Zlatan Ibrahimović when he declared that injuries wouldn't knock down a lion.
It was this spirit and strength from others that fueled my determination to bounce back. It was also due to this experience that we decided to establish a global community for football players to share and support each other when pursuing ambitious careers. In this community, we strive to provide financial and psychological support to those facing difficulties to the best of our abilities.
