Aspire in the World Fellows Book - 2023

/36 We are lucky at Villareal because our president understands the importance of working with people as humans. We have 11 people in the Psychology Department and we are part of the technical staff for each age group, so are with the players on a daily basis. There are statistics that can improve the levels of depression and anxiety, and it is very important we know this information. One way to avoid these symptoms and these problems is not only about prevention, but also because of the importance that we attach to mental health. We try to have our players active during the day and not only to think about football. I try to coordinate the different areas in terms of their studies and life. When the player is back from the school, they will have their own time for the studies before the launch for the individual session with the psychologist which includes the call to their family. We believe it is key that the player has regular contact with their families. We also don’t want them to study because the sake of it. We want our players to study, and some of them are studying a degree. because they need to be occupied, and we don’t want them to only think of football. If you are only thinking of football 24 hours a day, then you will be facing mental health problems. We also carry out different dynamics to manage money because they are very young, and if they don’t know how to manage their finances, then they will have anxiety. We also help them with social networks. We do group therapy, where everyone expresses how they are feeling and they help each other. We try to cover all these areas that they face on a daily basis. We want to have prevention and of course to have the best performance possible. We all want to win, but in order to win, you need to be mentally fit. In terms of defining what’s best for each player, it’s difficult because they are all different. When we sign a player, we try and talk to them. Regardless of the player’s age, we try and get to know their families and their school to learn about their background. I personally gather this information and I convey it to the technical staff. Sometimes, we realize that coaches think that since there is a psychology department that speaks with the players, they we don’t have to. We try to make them understand how important it is for them to understand the player’s background so that they help as well. We also try to work with players families. We visit their high school, we talk to their teachers so that they can tell us about their player. No context is better than another. We just want for the player to feel good. We’re all people and players are human beings. RosaPicoVicent Villareal CF: Head ofSportPsychology