Aspire in the World Fellows Book - 2022

51 50 Chris Carling: Head of Performance and Head of the Federation Research and Innovation Facility – French Football Federation In terms of the sports science side of things, I mainly work with the national youth teams. The issue we have is the players come to the National Center and we are dependent upon the information the clubs are giving us. We also monitor their number of minutes played, whether they’ve been involved in congested periods, something which you can’t control. For nutrition there’s a lot of education, talking to the players. We’re finding that the younger players coming through the elite academies in France already know a lot and they all know about sleep. We also opened our new research facility where we’re looking at the mental side of football. Recovery is one of the major areas that we are heavily involved in not just with international youth teams, but also the referees and the coaches, because we always forget the coaches. We have two applications which we’re currently testing: we looked at the impact of music therapy on elite coaches and their sleep and stress levels. We thought it’s something we need to test in the players, but first step was testing it in the coaches. We’re also looking at another virtual reality application based on meditation, and we’ve got a research project starting on emotional intelligence in players, coaches, and referees. We’re finding that a lot of coaches are struggling, there is a lot of pressure on the coaches and the aim is to use these techniques to help them get through their daily business. What we’re doing at the French FA is very coach orientated. For coaches, a bad time is usually related to the results of the team club. What we find is the coaches spend less time doing their own personal hobbies they like, and it becomes a vicious circle, so they spend less time thinking about themselves. We’re really looking to provide various technologies or methods to help coaches. You can transmit bad energy in club environments when you’re going through a bad period, you feel it at every level of the club. Traditionally in the past, we’ve never ever thought about the staff and it’s something that we really want to help. In terms of techniques, we are currently exploring a technique called Garuda, which is a version of yoga that includes Pilates, dance, and tai chi. We’re looking at different techniques, technologies, a different slant on recovery. I wouldn’t say we’re moving away from the sports science traditional approach, but it’s something we think we really need to explore. In terms of my experience working in professional football clubs, I find that a great example is post-match nutrition. Everybody knows, two hours after the game but ideally within 30 minutes, players should have carbs. Honestly, giving them pizzas, players like it. Half of the players don’t want to eat in the first place, so it’s better eating pizza than nothing. I think one area we’ve worked on is creating a nice environment to be in. We’ve worked a lot on the colors, the lighting, the furniture, plants. I think in an ideal world you would create a personalized environment for every player. If I had the budget, it would be optimizing the environment, we’re in on a daily basis, whether it’s in the club or out of the club.