Football is a cut-throat world. Players can turn from heroes to villains in a matter of seconds, and often, falls from grace can be as spectacular as rises to success. According to Drewe Broughton, who was once tipped to play for England, the governing factor over a player’s performance is fear. Speaking at a webinar at Dulwich College, Broughton told us about his fascinating life.
Broughton was always meant to be a star. Attending the prestigious Bedford School, he was a model sportsman, taking part in athletics, cross-country, and rugby, where he participated in the team that won the Daily Mail Schools Cup. His one true love, however, was football. “I was just another kid with a dream,” he said, “every evening I would go to a wall and practise: left foot, right foot.” He always had dreams to play at the top level. “When I would play at the park with my friends, jumpers for goalposts, I would imagine that I was playing in the Premier League, scoring the winning goal in a crucial match.” At the age of 16, he got his big break, signing for Norwich City’s academy, and two years later, in 1996 he received his first senior cap for the First Division Club. Life was going brilliantly for Drewe. He scored in his debut season, he had a contract with Adidas, and he was tipped for a move to a bigger club, but he had one big problem: he wasn’t consistent.
Drewe spent the rest of his career as a journeyman striker. “I played at many grounds, walked down many tunnels,” he said. He remembers being in tears talking to his mentor, wondering where his flair had gone. It was only later that he realised it was his inner voice. In 2011 at the age of 33, he suffered an emotional breakdown and was admitted to rehab for addiction and mental illness. This changed him as a person. “It was frightening being alone. After rehab, I was back to being a child. I could finally ask myself, “who am I?””
After a long period of soul searching, Broughton came back with a new set of values and principles. This gave him a direction and purpose in life which meant all the material wealth returned. He started a business which after 12 months was making £200,000. Nowadays, he works with a wide variety of people from international football superstars to CEOs of major corporate giants. He uses his own experiences as a professional to help his clients combat fear and make sure they are working at their full potential. He understands the variety of struggles people face, in his own case growing up without a constant father figure in his life, and how these project themselves on to athletic and corporate performance. “When money is involved, there is a lot more pressure, being sensitive, intelligent and analytical are hard to carry when you are a professional.” According to Drewe, the issue of mental health is huge in football. The near constant degradation that players suffer, not only in the stadium but also on social media can be hugely harmful to their performance and success. “I believe that players should place a boundary around social media. The top players do not personally look at their social media accounts but have a dedicated team to manage them.” There is a great sense of fear that can enshroud players. They are worried about whether they will let their side down, whether they will be dropped from the team, whether they will lose their contract. This all creates a downward spiral which means they only play at a fraction of their potential.
I asked Drewe about the high-profile cases of Daniel Sturridge and Jack Wilshere, both players who were at one point two of the most promising in the country but who in a matter of years ended up in the Australian and Danish leagues respectively. “It’s tough. Players will come to terms with it in their own ways. Some will accept it and others won’t. The important thing is that they do not let fear take hold of them.” He went on to echo the England rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson who said, “It’s an understanding of just where our limits lie.” So how can coaches best take care of their players’ mental health? When asked about Crystal Palace’s recent plan to offer a support package for players who have been released, he said that while it is a step in the right direction, more can be done to make sure a player reaches their full potential while at the club. “Teams haemorrhage talent, causing a lot of anxiety and depression.” He instead argued in favour of methods employed by coaches such as Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola. “Emotions are what people crave. You need to be as authentic as possible. Players don’t want to hear dishonest statements. They want to know what they have done wrong and how they can do better the next time round.”
Broughton applies these methods to his own coaching. He used the example of a player from Manchester United who he coaches. When they talked on the way to the stadium before a big match, Broughton told the player, “You have to play well tonight. If you don’t, you’re screwed! You’ve only got sweat and you’ve only got courage. If you don’t play well, it will hurt.” Football is one of the most challenging industries to work in. When asked to compare the pressures placed on sportspeople and the pressures placed on people in the corporate sector, Drewe said, “Sport is tougher by a mile. If you have a bad pitch or have an argument with your boss, not many people will know, however in sport, you will be inundated with messages from your friends, family and strangers.” We are living in a society where a lot of pressure is placed on us, but we need to understand that the best way to combat negative fear is to defeat it from the heart.
Comments