Building upon my last blog post, regardless of how the team culture is established by coaches—all participants*** emphasized the hierarchical nature of football teams and organizations.The players indicated the hierarchical structure can be formal/explicit or informal/implicit; the value of the hierarchy also differs between teams depending on coaching values and the corresponding team values.
The participants all agreed that the hierarchy in a football organization is structured as follows: ownership and management/college athletic director is at top and is responsible for hiring coaches and personnel; next is the head coach and then other coordinators and position coaches who are responsible for setting team culture, determining style of play and playing time for players; next are the team captains and veteran players who are responsible for maintaining the team culture and partially responsible for modeling and enforcing expected behaviors; next are the exceptional players and the starters; next is the rest of the team who are either fighting for a starting spot or trying to solidify their roles as key role players; finally are the players on the scout teams and those on injured reserve.
Importantly, all of the participants felt their value as a football player (and place within the team’s hierarchy) was determined week-by-week according to their performance on the field. Oftentimes participants (as many athletes do) used specific quantitative statistics to illustrate their value, and they shared the stress of becoming hyper-focused on their stats. Most of the participants described the constant pressure to maintain or improve their position within the team. As a result, most participants described the roller coaster of emotions week-to-week, and several participants described players’ increased focus on trying to control their environment, which led to some teammates using substances to cope with the ups-and-downs.
As a clinician, I find myself helping athletes cope with the stress of within-team competition just as often as external competition. In order to thrive and be successful, athletes must be able to strive for individual success while making the success of the team a priority. One of the most important lessons I can help an athlete learn is the importance of seeking feedback and role clarity. The unknown can be a paralyzing force. Seeking feedback from trainers, teammates, and coaches is a fundamental skill that can help reduce the worries associated with the unknown. Athletes can be hesitant to seek direct feedback about their performance or areas for growth, but doing so will help the athlete improve and will provide clarity about their role on their team. With that information, the athlete can then decide whether they are satisfied with their role or whether they would like their role to change.
***Based on results from my dissertation: "No pain, no gain: American football players' attitudes towards help-seeking and barriers to mental health service utilization" (2015).