Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien opens up on mindset challenges and filling the void in psychological support for young players | Football News

Luke O’Nien scored a 94th minute winner for Sunderland in the FA Cup at Shrewsbury last month. The following weekend, he was sent off early in the home defeat to Swansea. Nothing describes the highs and lows of life as a footballer more vividly.

There was a time not too long ago when that would have been a major trauma for O’Nien, who has opened up about the mental challenges the game can bring. Now, it’s time to teach. Quite literally since he founded the Inner Game Academy.

Together with Rob Blackburne, mentor and host of the Footballer’s Mind Podcast, O’Nien seeks to redress the balance in academy football. They offer seminars, audiobooks and expertise focusing on the psychological needs of young players.

He hopes it will change the way people think about player development.

“I was in the academy from the age of seven and it was all about building footballers tactically, technically and physically,” O’Nien said. Sky Sports. “That’s it, that’s all. We can all kick the ball and we can all run. It makes me think, what’s the difference between us?

“Everything we teach in this academy is to train harder, kick more balls and lift more weights. It doesn’t make sense because if we all do this, then what separates us all from one another? I started to question things. When I got. old, I realized there is a big void in the game There is literally zero work on the psychological side of this sport.

“I feel like football is 80 percent in the mind, but since I kicked the ball, I only have a conversation with my family that, fortunately, knows that there is no time spent in 20 percent of the game and one percent is used in the 80 percent that is the foundation of the game. It’s completely out of balance.

“What happened last month was that all training was put into one. Football is about decisions. Split seconds. I got one right one week and one wrong the next week. One led to the winning goal. The other led to a red card. Two -both have good intentions, that’s how I judge my game now. That’s how I balance it in my head. The work I’ve done with Rob has put me in perspective. I’m no longer result-oriented, I’m process-oriented.

“I had a phone call with the kids in our Inner Game Academy on Wednesday after the red card. Many of them were struggling because of the fear of being judged and the fear of mistakes. They brought this fear to the field and shackled them. So we debriefed the hell out of it. We live judgments and mistakes that I made, going through it to see how I deal with and how they will handle.

O’Nien’s journey to self-discovery began four years ago when he met Blackburne. That not only led him here, but also changed his mind on the field. “It was the missing link for me as a player and as a human being,” he said.

“I’m a jigsaw made of many pieces until now, but I don’t know how to put them together. But it’s clear that I’m missing an important part when my Sunderland career started negatively and then there was an identity crisis. .

“I’m trying to understand why suddenly I don’t believe, why I feel like I don’t have. I’ve gone from Wycombe to Sunderland, which is a big step. I made some mistakes in front of 35,000 people and have been taken off in the debut after 45 minutes of life in Sky. It’s not the beginning of a dream I hope for.

“It’s been really hard for months. I’ve had negative articles and social media coming out about me left, right and centre. There’s been talk of sending me out in the January transfer window. Everyone’s telling me you’re doing well here. Sunderland, you’re going to have the best year of your life, but I’m far, far from living up to those expectations. It’s killing me. I feel like an imposter. I can’t find my rhythm.

“I feel very sad every day and my default mode is to work harder. That’s what got me to where I am. I usually go in before everyone else and do more ball work, exercise and swim more. .When everyone goes home, I will do it all over again.

“I did 8 to 5 while others did 9 to 2. I came home broke after playing trash in training, repeating the process every week. For the first time in my life, it didn’t work. Until now, every time I worked hard I got result.

“For three months, I was on the bench without playing. The terrible performance of my friends behind the scenes, which began to become the norm in my head, led to a conversation with two people, the first team coach Potts (John Potter) and the other is Rob.

“What I’m trying to say is that the shape is not a skill but a mindset problem. It’s a thinking problem. I’ve been working on my skillset for months but it’s getting worse. The problem is in my head.

“It’s the control center. The muscles are just silent. The thing that starts the movement is the brain. It’s all related to the mindset. I’m not just a bad player at night and my skills and form suddenly stop. I’m a bad thinker at night that hinder my performance, there is a difference.

“Then I worked with Rob, understood the power of the mind and I started to enjoy football more. I became a better person on and off the field and I realized that others need this help and support to produce the best version of themselves .

“I see it every day. When people are in bad shape, they go back to the training ground and work hard. When I’m in bad shape, I’m in a mindset now. As soon as I start doing it, I’m more consistent, I’ve been playing football. the best and I have had the most success.

“We never started football with fear. We only played when we were children. This fear is only put in big moments like Sunderland’s debut that went wrong, or being released or trained as a child, where you haven’t learned yet. mindset tools which is required to play freely and at its best.

“When I go out on the field, the shackles are gone now. I see the game in a different way than before. I used to play with fear. I just went through the game. It looks very bad and that’s not the way to play football.

“You stop expressing yourself and become a prisoner of the game, passenger. I was nervous the first time I played at Wembley, I forgot to enjoy it. The second time I was better, the third time I was man of the match and the fourth time we were promoted.”

There were still setbacks, some more serious than being sent to Swansea. A shoulder injury in the winter of 2021 had a greater psychological impact than expected. It further emphasizes the importance of asking for help.

“My injury is one of the biggest things I’ve ever experienced. I think I have a high emotional intelligence, but the injury really destroyed me in terms of football and at home. I don’t know why I felt the way I did. It’s a nightmare to live with.

“It wasn’t until I had a big breakdown in my basement and my friend called Rob and said, ‘Luke needs help. I know how hard it is to connect with people because I’m wrong. I tried to do everything by myself. I thought I knew all the answers, now I know that I will never know.

“After that, I saw someone in the same place as me. I saw him lose the plot but no one else knew. I went to the gym and asked if he was OK twice. He lied to me twice. I called him on evening and said it was OK again.

“That’s why I told him about my brokenness, that I was a volcano ready to explode. Only when I told him did he admit that he was also in a terrible place, exactly as I told him. He lied to me five times in total. I’m OK with that but it shows issue.

“Fear of the unknown, that’s all football. Do I start? Do I get a new contract? How will I play? Will I get injured? What will happen if I do? What will people think of me? Should I say with the manager? This fear keeps repeating itself.

“You see football players who have problems with alcohol or gambling when they retire. I really think it’s a lack of learning, a lack of understanding of the mindset of the game. If they learn the right coping mechanism, it will benefit many people.”

It is O’Nien’s fear that if he does not go on this journey of self-discovery, his own potential may go unrealized. This may never happen to him. And if it may not happen to him, how many others ever reconcile the mental side of the game?

“I could have been sent out of Sunderland. Dropped two leagues. Never had four Wembley appearances. Failing at Sunderland will be with me forever. I’ve been left thinking I’m not good enough when it’s really just a mind problem. A thinking problem.

“That I could have missed everything is just from the lack of knowledge and understanding, which football has a duty to provide but not, it is unforgivable for me. It is pointless. I want more people to have the opportunity. I want to be someone who can help them.”

He is worried about the young players. “The car journey home is one of the biggest problems you can see. I’m lucky. My family will ask if I’m happy, but I have friends whose family won’t talk to them if they play badly,” he said. .

“Your identity is forced on you. I’m known as a kid from the Watford academy. If I’m released, I’m no more. So who am I? If your identity is tied to being a footballer and you stop, it’s a big crisis. We want to help people.

The Inner Game Academy is an opportunity to do just that. The first cohort of players have benefited from this wisdom with audio books, a training library that helps O’Nien, regular seminars, and lectures from other prominent figures in football.

The list of guest speakers includes former international players and influencers. “When kids hear a player tell you that they have the same problem, you can see that they like a different voice,” he said.

“There is no feedback to the club. It is a closed loop. They are not there with their friends, the manager does not have to hear about it. I think that encourages people. We want to help thousands of players to be the best version of themselves.

“I love our calls, I find them very interesting. When people say that they really like the game again because of this course or because we have helped them in a certain way, I get such a buzz. We have helped people find something .I just wish we could help more people and see some changes in the academy.

“I’m excited to see where it leads us.”