Injuries happen, and they’re tough on everyone involved. As a coach or parent of a young athlete, it’s heartbreaking to see them sidelined and struggling. But injuries don’t have to break your athlete’s spirit. In this episode, I’m sharing practical tips on how to turn an injury setback into an opportunity for growth and resilience.
What’s Covered
Understanding the emotional rollercoaster of injury.
Helping your athlete reframe the injury experience.
Building a strong support system.
Mental game strategies for a powerful comeback.
The importance of patience and positivity during the return to play.
Ready to help your athlete come back stronger than ever? Tune in to the full podcast episode for all the details, strategies, and the mindset shifts that can make all the difference in their recovery! You’ll walk away feeling empowered to be your athlete’s greatest champion during this challenging time.
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Supporting athletes through injuries and reengaging in sports. Importance of equipping athletes with mindset to not compare themselves or get hung up on mistakes.
[02:44] Supporting athletes during injury, including visualization techniques and emotional support. Helping athletes understand and express their emotions during injury is crucial for recovery.
[05:21] Five key points for parents when their athlete is injured.
Next Steps:
Join our What To Say Challenge for sports moms happening May 14-17th! Learn exactly what to say to build confidence in your athlete without making it worse or causing her to shut down. Register here during our Early Bird Special to save 60%!
Injuries happen, and they’re tough on everyone involved. As a coach or parent of a young athlete, it’s heartbreaking to see them sidelined and struggling. But injuries don’t have to break your athlete’s spirit. In this episode, I’m sharing practical tips on how to turn an injury setback into an opportunity for growth and resilience.
What’s Covered
Understanding the emotional rollercoaster of injury.
Helping your athlete reframe the injury experience.
Building a strong support system.
Mental game strategies for a powerful comeback.
The importance of patience and positivity during the return to play.
Ready to help your athlete come back stronger than ever? Tune in to the full podcast episode for all the details, strategies, and the mindset shifts that can make all the difference in their recovery! You’ll walk away feeling empowered to be your athlete’s greatest champion during this challenging time.
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Supporting athletes through injuries and reengaging in sports. Importance of equipping athletes with mindset to not compare themselves or get hung up on mistakes.
[02:44] Supporting athletes during injury, including visualization techniques and emotional support. Helping athletes understand and express their emotions during injury is crucial for recovery.
[05:21] Five key points for parents when their athlete is injured.
Next Steps:
Join our What To Say Challenge for sports moms happening May 14-17th! Learn exactly what to say to build confidence in your athlete without making it worse or causing her to shut down. Register here during our Early Bird Special to save 60%!
Thank you in advance for joining us on our mission and leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.
Speaker 1:
Welcome back to the Raising Elite Competitors podcast. I'm Coach Brie, a mental performance coach for girl athletes, and I am thrilled that you are here. Whether you are a sports mom or dad who is just getting going on this journey with your athlete, or maybe you have a lot of seasons under your belt, this podcast is for you to help them. How to raise a confident, mentally strong girl athlete. All right, today's episode is a Q&A, so I got a question submitted. We had a question submitted. We frequently ask for questions in our community and we get a lot, and I decided to pull this one out because it came up a few times. It was all about how to support your athlete through injury. So, whether your daughter is injured currently she's sidelined, maybe she's taking a break from her sport and she's going to be reentering whatever like the phase is and whatever injury, whether that's like massive we got ACL, mcl type stuff or smaller injury, like she's been sick for a little bit I'm going to help how to support her and also how to help her re-engage in her sport when she comes back. All right, before we get into this episode, I do have a shout out from one of our athletes inside the elite mental game. So EMG is our signature mental training program for girl athletes and also for their moms and their parents to help them know how to support them through their athletic journey. On the athlete side, athletes learn skills to build their mental game, but also we talk about injury in there. So one of our athletes actually texted us this. She said tonight was my first night back after my injury and I'm extremely satisfied. I was at my team's tournament the weekend after I got hurt and after watching them it gave me a whole new perspective on mindset and how important it is. I took the time I was off to focus my mind and do the visualizations. I played back every moment that I've played in my mind and I imagined how it would be when it got back. And it helped. I went into this practice knowing I would play good and that doesn't mean being the best player, it means being the best teammate. And to myself, I was relieved and relaxed during this practice and after I made a mistake I did my reset and I was fine. I just want to say thank you this. And after I made a mistake, I did my reset and I was fine. I just want to say thank you. This program has benefited me in ways that I would have never thought. Now, this is pretty amazing, especially because we're talking about injury today.
Speaker 1:
But this athlete pointed out a few things that I'm actually gonna be touching on in this episode. Right, visualization using that time to work on her mindset, but also her mindset going back into her sport was key. Right, equipping athletes with the mindset that they need to not compare themselves to a past version of themselves or other teammates, to accept where they are, to not get hung up on mistakes. That is so important, because I see so many athletes return from their injury and just totally go backwards. Not because they're not physically capable, right, they're totally physically there, they're cleared to participate. It's because their mind is holding them back. They're either nervous, they're hesitating, they're comparing and getting caught up in that. So congratulations to this athlete. You nailed it and you really took care of yourself mentally and physically during your injury, and I'm so proud of you for going back full force and so happy that it's paying off.
Speaker 1:
All right, let's get into this episode. This question that I received, quite literally, was my daughter is injured right now. She's going to be returning and she is nervous about it. How do I support her in her injury? Okay, now, one of the key things for you to realize as a parent and you likely already do is that injury is a very emotional process. Yes, there's the physical part of it. Right, she strained, broke tore, has to have surgery, whatever it is. Yeah, of course there's a physical aspect to it, but there is so much mental and emotional stuff that's going on with your athlete and we have to really be the strong, sturdy leaders for our kids in these moments. So I love to hang on to mantras during this time because it's not going to be easy Like just like all sports, parenting is not like hanging on to these mantras of. I can support my athlete as a sturdy leader during her injury or this is a phase, this will pass. I do not need to take on the emotions of my daughter. Right, be there for her, but you don't need to ride every high and every low with her emotionally, okay. Also, know everyone's injury process is different. The length of it, all of that varies and, as much as we want to like put a timeline on things, not rushing your athlete and rushing her healing is going to be key to this.
Speaker 1:
Now, one of the biggest things that we teach athletes is that they can use this time to their advantage and they should and sometimes a lot of athletes are just lost and floating and they just want to be back in their sport and then they're all just sad and confused about it. This is the perfect time for her to actually work on her mindset and work on her mental game, work on those skills in her sport that she sometimes might not have as much time for as she's playing in her sport or feel like she doesn't have enough time for. Now she has this time just totally carved out, and so that's why we really actually use this time to teach athletes really how to visualize. There's a lot of research around athletes and visualization, especially when they're injured, and getting those reps in in their mind. One of the skills that I teach athletes who are injured is come up with 10 moments in your sport like common playing moments, and so if we're talking let's take soccer, for example Okay, I'm going to visualize like a corner kick. I'm also going to visualize like being on defense, I don't know, like just specific things for athletes, and then take three minutes a day and just choose one.
Speaker 1:
Okay, today I'm going to visualize that corner kick. I'm going to do 10 reps in my mind of seeing what I would see, feeling what I would feel, smelling what I would smell, all of those things and seeing myself take that rep no-transcript not get injured. I had an athlete recently who was sliding into home and broke her leg. Okay, so she is visualizing herself sliding with correct form, getting up and doing it correctly and not being injured, so that she's not hesitating as much when she gets cleared and she can do that again. Okay, so visualization is like one of their superpowers that they can be doing when they are injured. In our program, the elite mental game really sets them up to be able to do that.
Speaker 1:
Okay, let's get through, though. I want to hit on. Let's see here I have five things that I want to hit on when it comes to an athlete's injury and the process that they're going through and this. Actually, some of these nuggets are pulled from our training on injury inside our course, and so number one is help your athlete get clear on how she's feeling. I know it can be hard right, because you're like it's going to be fine, especially with injury, as you probably are like it's probably going to be okay and you really want to tell her that.
Speaker 1:
But your athlete might be feeling sad. You know competitions are potentially at a halt, she's missing the season, loss of identity is going on, potentially like. This is who she is and now she can't physically do it. Fear of being re-injured, fear of losing playing time, losing her spot, being unimportant to the team, increased stress from not using her sport as an emotional outlet, feeling isolated or left out by not being able to contribute to the team. Your athlete is likely feeling a lot of these things and so, just like, creating some space and allowing her to feel those feelings and validate them is huge. Okay, we talk a lot about how that actually helps her process those feelings instead of just push them down, where they're going to come back out later.
Speaker 1:
Okay, number two, helping her shift to where injury can help her become better. So, just like that athlete mentioned in her text to us, like realizing, now that I'm seeing the game from the sideline, I have a whole new appreciation for the game and for how important mindset is when it comes to it, and so, as much as we can validate but then also shift to okay, this is out of your control now, right, you can't become on injured. How can this actually be something that will become a competitive advantage for you, like, how can we actually flip this on its head to be something that actually becomes one of your superpowers? Because the best athletes have the best stories of challenges that they have overcome, of adversity. That is actually how they, like, became better.
Speaker 1:
You know we've interviewed lots of college level athletes and Olympic athletes on the podcast in our communities and they all have some story of a setback, mother that be, they got injured, they got cut from the team. They didn't get something that they wanted. Like, how can we turn this into part of your story that has a good ending for you? And so helping them realize, okay, we can learn the game from a different perspective, get a chance to sharpen your mind, contribute to your team in a different way, find a new role gives you a break that you maybe have always needed but never got. Experience. Like I said, a new role in the team, and I would encourage your daughter to talk to her coach about this and say, like you know, I really want to be as best help to my team as I can. Do not let her not go to practice unless it's for, like, pt and things like that. But she's still part of the team. So, asking if she plays a team sport, so asking her coach like, what can I be doing to serve the team in a different way instead of just like sitting off to the side or not going to practice, because that's just going to isolate her even more? But where can injury actually help her become better?
Speaker 1:
Another great thing is to look for other examples of athletes who have been injured and how they have come back. We have some on the podcast. Actually, if you look under athlete tip, you'll see some episodes where we've interviewed some athletes and part of their most athlete story is that they've been injured at some point. So that can be a great thing as well. Okay, build her support team. All right, that's number three. So who does she have around her for her support? Obviously her doctor, her PT, her teammates, her coaches, right, friends. Maybe she has a mentor. She potentially, if she's inside EMG and she has us coaches to support her through her injury process someone who's been there, right? So think about how we can really just surround your athlete with the support that she needs during this injury time so that she is supported from all angles.
Speaker 1:
Okay, number four the mental game. As I mentioned, this is like prime time for your athlete to work on her mental game, whether that be through a structured program like the elite mental game or something else. We know that when athletes are spending time learning their mental skills, they're going to come back to their sport stronger. They're going to choose what they're going to focus on because, if not, the tendency is that she is going to compare herself to where she was before. She's going to compare herself to other teams. She's going to be disappointed that she's not where she was or where she is anymore than compared to where she was. It becomes a really slippery slope and so when your athlete is prepared, coming back from her injury, when she is prepared and focused, like during the time that she is injured, this can be the game changer to allow her to turn this opportunity really into something that is one of her strengths.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so, as I mentioned before, we have athletes visualize okay, we have them visualize scenarios so that they're prepared when they go back into their sport and also alleviate some of that anxiety and also kind of alleviate some of this fear of becoming re-injured, but then also adopting mantras, adopting a mindset, working on some of the limiting beliefs that are holding her back, like all of these processes that athletes learn inside the elite mental game, but also in whatever capacity she's doing, mental training. Those are going to be her anchors as she goes back, because she's going to be thinking lots of thoughts. She lets her mind go crazy and go wild. She's going to be pulled down by these thoughts. So really having an intentional way to focus those thoughts is key.
Speaker 1:
Okay, number five returning to play. So some of you are in this moment right now trust the process, be patient with the progress. Don't be surprised if maybe motivation is a little bit low. Okay, help her set small goals and focus on what she can do rather than what she can't do. Like, oh, I can do non-contact, great, I'm not going to focus on how I can't do the full game. I'm going to focus on the fact that I can do a little bit of this right here and not comparing to previous self. I want her to think of returning to play as she's a new player, she's a new person, she gets to write a new story and that's where having a mindset, like this athlete said at the beginning, of how she's going to come back, and not comparing and really focusing on being her best as a teammate and doing what's in her control is key for returning to play.
Speaker 1:
Okay, we covered a little bit here. So, first of all, started out with emotional process that athletes are going through when they're injured right, and how you can help, support and validate that, helping her shift to where this injury can help her become better. Show her examples of other athletes who have done just that. Build her support team around her. Make sure she is fully supported in all aspects of her game her physical recovery, mental recovery. You know she has an outlet to talk about how things are going. Ensure that there's a good relationship with her coach, where she is assuming another role and another way to serve her team.
Speaker 1:
The mental game Now is the time let's hone in on the mental side of the game. If you want to learn more on how you can help your daughters and your daughter support her mental game in this, head to our free training for sports moms that's at trainhergamecom. We break this all down and really help you know the first steps to helping strengthen her mental game and giving her these skills as well, and then returning to play okay, trusting that process and helping her not compare where she was before and not compare herself to other people. That will actually help her improve at a faster rate than if she were to kind of let her mind go where it would naturally go in this situation. All right, moms, I hope this was helpful. I am coach Brie, a mental performance coach for girl athletes, and I will see you in the next episode of the racing league competitors podcast.
