Burnout in football is physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that can follow sustained high stress and pressure. It can affect players, coaches and support staff, with motivation and performance declining, enjoyment fading and sleep suffering. In this episode, club doctor Dr Andrew Shafik shares insights and solutions.
Meet Dr Andrew Shafik
Dr Andrew Shafik is a doctor working in football as Lead Academy Doctor at Millwall FC and a doctor at Chelsea FC.
He was educated at the University of Aberdeen where he graduated with a Medical degree and Sport & Exercise Science degree. Andrew also pursued further studies achieving a distinction in an MSc in Sport and Exercise Medicine at the University of Leeds where he was awarded the Sport & Exercise Medicine prize for 2020/2021. He also holds a Diploma in MSK Medicine and is a Member of the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine.
Andrew has a special interest in football medicine and performance education with roles as Senior Editor and Podcast Lead at the FMPA and Assistant Secretary at the FA Medical Society.
If you’ve got to the point where you’ve experienced physical, emotional and mental exhaustion you may have experienced burnout. This can happen to people who are subjected to high levels of stress and pressure over a sustained period of time. In elite sport prolonged and intense involvement as an athlete, coach or support member can push you in this direction where your motivation and performance levels can naturally decline. In addition, your psychological well-being and mental health can also be a cause for concern where you can lack enjoyment in what you do, become more irritable with others and have difficulty sleeping at night.
In today’s episode Dr. Andrew Shafik, a club doctor at Millwall and Chelsea Football clubs goes on share some fascinating insights where we chat about what players, coaches and support staff, can go on to experience. We also share solutions to some of the challenges that people face.
Key Learnings
- Sports medicine side is connected with understanding injuries and illness. As a doctor of performance medicine, Andrew seeks to work out how we can utilise our experiences of working within a multi-disciplinary team to maximise the performance and well-being of athletes, coaches or staff.
- Sports psychologists can be very helpful in assisting medical staff to manage players to an optimal level during their rehabilitation and recovery.
- Culture and the environment can play a huge part in burnout and the well-being of staff.
- Your age, stage of career, gender, culture and relationships can impact your mental health.
- Understanding your levels of mental toughness and other characteristics can be helpful from a self-awareness angle and ensure that you make smarter decisions.
Popular questions about burnout in football
What is burnout in football?
Burnout is physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that can build up under sustained high stress and pressure. In elite football it can affect players, coaches and support staff, and can lead to declining motivation and performance.
What are the signs of burnout in footballers?
Signs include falling motivation and performance, losing enjoyment, becoming more irritable with others and difficulty sleeping. If these persist, speak to your GP or club medical team.
What increases the risk of burnout in football?
Dr Shafik points to culture and environment, and says age, stage of career, gender, culture and relationships can all affect mental health. Prolonged, intense involvement as a player, coach or support staff member can push people towards burnout.
Connect with David Charlton
Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub
Connect with Dr Andrew Shafik
Football Medicine and Performance Association Podcast with Steven Reid
Relevant Podcast Episodes
Ep065: Dr Amy Izycky – Encouraging Mentally Healthy Cultures in Sport
Ep066: Marilyn Okoro – Mental Health and Resilience: Lessons from an Olympic Medalist
Ep113: Polly Brennan – The Relationship Between Mental Fitness, Mental Health and Mental Toughness
Ep123: Richard Dorney MBE – Supporting People: What Can You Learn About Resilience From The Military
Ep158: Dr Paul Gorczynski – How to Develop and Implement Mental Health Literacy Strategies
Relevant Blogs
Blog – Make Better Decisions to Help Your Sport Performance
Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment
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Blog – Creating a Mentally Healthy Sporting Environment
Blog – Life After Professional Sport and its Challenges
Other Resources
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David Charlton
Global Sports Psychologist who is located near Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK and willing to travel Internationally. David also uses online video conferencing software (Zoom, Facetime, WhatsApp) on a regular basis and has clients who he has supported in USA, Canada, South America, UAE, Australian and New Zealand.
Managing Director – Inspiring Sporting Excellence and Founder of The Sports Psychology Hub. With over 10 years experience supporting athletes, coaches, parents and teams to achieve their goals, quickly.
Transcript
How to Prevent Burnout in Elite Professional Football to Maximise Performance
Demystifying Mental Toughness Podcast with Dr Andrew Shafik
Introduction – David Charlton
This is the Demystifying Mental Toughness Podcast, hosted by me, David Charlton.
Whether you’re listening to build your own mental toughness or to better support other people, athletes or clients, my aim is to help you understand this fascinating and developable personality trait and how it can influence performance and wellbeing.
Hi, I hope you’re well and you’ve had a good week.
I’m continuing the theme from last week’s episode, where we explored mental health literacy in sport.
This time, my guest is Dr Andrew Shafik, and we’re discussing burnout, wellbeing, mental health and mental toughness in elite professional football.
Andrew is a club doctor who has been involved with Millwall and Chelsea Football Clubs, and he shares some fascinating insights into the demands experienced by players, coaches and support staff within elite football environments.
Enjoy.
