Premier League academy footballers are being taught about trolling, sexual communication and online identity to help them deal with the demands and pitfalls of social media, i can reveal.
Sessions tailored for players as young as eight, teenagers and parents tackle how internet culture can have a detrimental impact on a footballer’s mental health.
Norwich are one of a number of clubs across the football pyramid who welcome the B5 Consultancy – run by lawyer Matt Himsworth, who has been supporting players and clubs in football, rugby, cricket and other sports for more than a decade – to deliver the classes.
“We know that social media and smartphones are an important part of our young players’ lives and when it goes wrong it can have a hugely detrimental impact on their mental health,” Norwich head of player care Clive Cook says.
“This online world is changing fast and the B5 Consultancy help us to keep up to date with trends and challenges. The work on identity is crucial where players have an immediate window into the world via their social media. We’re preparing these young men to go out into the world – whether that be as Premier League footballers or in roles outside of the sport – and every advantage we can give them is crucial.”
Himsworth and his team – including former defender Fraser Franks and Crystal Palace Women midfielder Leigh Nicol – have found eight-year-olds dreaming of becoming professional footballers including clubs they have trialled for on social media bios. In some cases the accounts have been set up and are run by their parents.
Himsworth says they teach young footballers about communication online “from trolling to sexual communication, from online security to club rules and from how to avoid danger and damage to how social media makes you feel”.
He adds: “We discuss with players how they are perceived and how they perceive themselves. Their social media profiles, particularly their Instagram accounts, have a profound impact on that two-way perception process.
“From a very young age players want an Instagram account with the word ‘baller’ in the bio. Increasingly parents want it too.
“We recently came across an Instagram account for an eight-year-old which listed the Premier League clubs that he had trialled at. Publicly identifying your young son with a dream that he is destined never to fulfil is a dangerous road in our view.
“That is why the clubs we work with, who care deeply about the young boys and girls that come through their academy, are asking us to do sessions with players and parents that focus on identity.”
Franks, who spent time at Chelsea’s academy and played for Luton and Stevenage before his career was ended age 28 when he was diagnosed with a heart defect, says: “We don’t want players to define their whole self-worth upon football. If they do then it looks like this: if I perform well, I feel good and I’m a good person. If I perform badly or we lose, I am a bad person. I’m a success if things are going well on the pitch or I’m a failure if they aren’t.
“If this is our whole identity, then dealing with adversity becomes increasingly difficult to deal with mentally. It is the absolute end of the world if you are injured, deselected, in poor form and, even more so, when your football career comes to an end. This was the case for me in every department.”
He adds: “I cannot imagine just how hard it is, and will be, for this generation.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3DFoVBd
Post a Comment