My son is a Division l player who has never regained his form following an ankle injury two years ago. Before the injury, he was outstanding left footed attacking mid, afterwards he started playing, predominately, with his right foot and became more of a defensive player. He says, and I can see, he just does not have the same touch as before the injury. I think the attacker is still in him, but I need someone who can spend the time with him to help him regain his confidence in his left foot. He has played at the highest collegiate level since the injury, but in a very different way. If he can put the offense back in his game, I'm told he could play at the next level. He is willing to spend the time. He has had great coaching, so I am really looking for someone who specializes in rehabilitating injured players physically and psychologically.
What kind of ankle injury did he have a break and was he still growing after the break, or has he had a string of ankle sprains. I am no orthapedist but I would like to know exactly what was it. I had players with breaks while still growing and that causes major trouble. They ever take exrays of both ankles and compare them from time to time and see if the grouth rate is the same or not for both ankles. On the sprains, comming back to soon and the ankle can have a weakness that stays with the player forever. So what happened the kibnd of injury he had may matter. He should see an orthapedist to see what exactly the problems is where not doctors. Richie
Without knowing much about the injury, it is really hard to say. It seems that physically he has made a big recovery, but mentally he is not quite there. His ability hasn't diminished, just shifted. If so, then this is the opportunity he needs to become a complete (two-footed, attacking/defending) player. The recovery is going be largely up to him. My guess is that he needs tons of time on the field, and perhaps needs to shift positions in order to get a different (more attacking) look at the field.
Thanks for your reply. You may understand this better than I, but he developed into just an outstanding defensive minded player, but he says he has never felt comfortable as a defender and believes that his natural position is attacking mid. If I'm hearing you correctly, you are saying find a team where he can play midfield full time and try to build back ball handling skills and confidence. If he can do this, he would have a package of strong defense and offense. The only problem with this idea is no matter where he goes, at his age the coaches are trying to win. The path of least resistance would likely find him back at defense. I was thinking if he could find someone to work with him privately on regaining his touch and technique, that he might "find himself." I guess I was thinking more of the kind of training a goalie gets, one on one, intensive, tactical, and psychological. I have been trying to find such a coach for a few months with no success. He's a great kid, a fierce competitor, and he has played at the highest level of collegiate soccer, but it has always been about winning, and it has not resulted in him regaining the touch that he was born with. I will suggest to him your idea. If he could find a PDL team with the right kind of coach it might work. Thanks again.
I had a career changing injury. About seven years ago, I got my right leg broken in two places, along with severed ACL and PCL. I was playing goalie for a pretty high level team, that occasionally competed with local college and PDL teams. After a two year rehab, I was back on the field, but at right mid. No more hard tackles for me, but my touch improved immensely, out of necessity. My coach really worked with me to get me mentally back into it. Primarily, he worked on getting me into a bunch of different positions on the field. Eventually I ended up as a striker, and in my last three games, I got four goals. Then, about two years ago, I broke my other ACL, and the rehab was really straightforward. However, I've not gone back onto the field as a competitor. I'm doing only coaching at this time. Something else to keep in mind is that top class defenders need to have excellent ball skills, and really don't need to run as hard as middies. He could develop into a Roberto Carlos type defender who sprints forward on the attack and is essentially an extra midfielder. The best defense is a good offense!
There are sports psychologists who specialize in helping athletes recover their "mojo" and focus. Freddy has one at Bradenton just to help him deal with the stress of being a prodigy. I remember when Jim Loehr was a pioneer in that field, but personally I don't know any - but you can probably search them out on the net.
His college team had a sports psychologist and from what I heard, he was a big help to everyone, especially my son. However, he was from a swimming background, not soccer, so his work was primarily in goal setting, game preparation, etc. I looked in to Jim Loehr. He seems like the perfect type of person, but again it looks like his background is tennis. I had not heard of him before you mentioned him. I played basketball and baseball and there are great similarities between all sports, but the lack of "timeouts" for coaching in soccer puts it in a class by itself, in my judgment, in terms of the need for a mind for the game. Indeed, it seems that it may be more of a mental game that just about any sport. To that end, problems with touch, or command of the ball are just a non starter as you go higher. Do you or anyone know of any sports psychologists with a solid soccer background in the collegiate or pro game that we might contact?
It seems to me that you are describing two results of his injury: first, "his touch is not the same" and second, his "lack of confidence" in his left foot. Curing either one or both takes time and neither are inevitable. Problems with touch coming back from injury. The question here is is he fully recovered from the injury physically? This is primarily an issue of physical rehab. If he's still favoring his right and can't control the ball as well with the left, it could be that the muscles are still weak/not fully recovered. Any good physical therapist should be able to test this. Having been injured myself also, I know that I wanted to get out on the field as soon as I could. I mean who wants to do leg reps, squats, stationary biking, etc. when you can get out on the field--even if you still favor one foot. Being psychologically ready to return As you've noted, it is likely that he isn't ready psychologically to play--at least like he could before the injury. That's one of the toughest things returning is having the confidence to go full steam. And, unfortunately, it becomes a negative feedback cycle, as the player favors or protects the uninjured side, that side becomes stronger, which leads to more favoring and stagnant oro declining skills on the injured side. I'm pretty doubtful that you'll find an exclusively soccer-based sports psychologist. If so, great. Otherwise, look to other "contact" sports. See if you can find someone who has worked with football players, maybe hockey, then probably basketball. There are enough similarities between each sport and the type of injury that players sustain that you might find someone who can help get your son over the hump. Good luck.
Not sure if the way my previous post was worded added much to the conversation, but I was late for a meeting. What I wanted to say is: 1) If he had the touch, but doesn't have it now, he's either still hurt or he came back too early and has begun favoring his right. Should be assessed by physio. 2) If it's more psychological, maybe someone who works with players from other contact sports could help (i.e. football). Anyone who has had surgery, knows it takes time to get over that hesitation--and some never get over it. If he's back to playing at the high level, then I would think it's more physical, that he is favoring the right because the muscles are still weak. jw
You guys are really zeroing in on this, and I appreciate it. The injury has healed and he has no pain. It was an injury that the doctor said was like gymasts get when they land wrong on dismounts--interior tendon sprain. It hobbled him for over a year before he could really play all out without some pain. All along while he was playing he kept saying that his foot felt weird, with weird meaning he did not feel like it was attached to him. He would make a pass and everything about it seemed right but the ball did not go anywhere near where he was aiming. After a time I know it got to his head because, as I said before, he started playing more with his off foot. In this case he is not totally ambidexterous but very close, so he got by with it. For the past two years he has continued to say that the foot is just a mytery in that his control of the ball is just not there. What is remarkable is that he has played 9-10 months out of the year and even with this effort, in his senior year 3 of 4 passes were square on the money, but the fourth was not even close. He got very frustrated with the problem and I noticed that he started giving up the ball faster and he started curling his passes instead of striking them. Another thing is, the erratic passes continued whether he was under pressure or in the open. I know he believes that some part of this is psychological, but I am also sure that some part of it is the adjustments he has made to compensate for the loss of touch or feel in that foot. I almost wish he would say enough is enough. In spite of his sometimes erratic passing he had a good career and his team accomplished some goals that were unthinkable when he joined the team. The only problem is he says for his peace of mind, if not for extending his career into some level of the pros, he wants to get to the bottom of the disconnect at times between his eyes and mind's signal to pass or shoot and his foot's execution. I know this sounds odd, but if you have watched him for as many years as I have, you would not think it is the same person in terms of his ability to deliver the ball to a spot. That is the reason I think it is more than psychological. I'm sure something has happened to his strike of the ball, and being right minded he will still need for someone who really knows technique to study him and determine what he is doing wrong and if it is physically possible to correct it. He is giving himself a year to get to the bottom of his problem. In case you are wondering, he has given me permission to share his problem. He is working through his own channels of coaches and trainers. You guys are the only channel I have, so keep your ideas coming, they have been very helpful.
From what you say, there is a mix of the two: physical and psychological. From my previous post, recall that I had very extensive surgery seven years ago, and more modest ACL repair two years ago. The leg with the extensive surgery was my right, and I am left footed. The skin on my right leg is numb, from just below the knee to just above the ankle, on the outside of the shin. Oddly enough, when I want to make a very accurate pass, I do somewhat favor my right, and when I want to really put some steam on the ball, I use my left. Now, for the past seven years, I've played without shinguards, in an effort to improve my control. It has worked really well. In the past few seasons, I actually scored more goals using my right than my left, and my coach put me on the right side upon my return, specifically to force me to use my right. When I have analytic checks on strength and range of motion, my left is vastly superior. But I got more goals from my right, and probably more assists, too. Does he need to take the weakest component of his game, and learn to make it his strongest?
I had a physical problem with my left after a severe sprain. I came back to soon (playing basketball competitively in winter too), and wound up doing some damage to my foot. I have a slight instep w/ my left now which made striking the ball with the inside of my left on a pass seem foreign. Flexibility is the biggest problem when coming off a tendon/ligament problem in the ankle. That needs to be checked thoroughly by a therapist. The therapist should also analyze your son's gait--walking jogging and running. Players will often walk fine after injury, maybe even jog fine, but not run the same way. This opens up problems when approaching a ball or striking a ball in stride. If your foot is 2% off where it used to be pigeon--toed, too far out, favoring the ball or the heel too much--you will hit the ball 2% (or worse) off when you strike it. This will lead to dramatically different results. It also opens up some problems when you run differently and fatigue muscles differently as a game or training wears on. Good orthotics can correct this. Another thing that may seem drastic, but baseball players do all the time: Analyze the swing or in this case kick. It should be a mirror image from either side if at all possible. No different hitches in step approaching the ball. The plant foot should be in the same position pointed the same way for the same type of kick. The foot striking the ball should be hitting the ball the same. It's basic soccer 101, but a camera can tell you a lot. Another thing I can think of is strictly touch. Everything else may be working fine, but touch is gone. If that's the case and the doc says its fine, he should play a little without shoes on. Nothing high impact, just rolling the ball w/ his injured foot barefoot. Dribbling a little, making easy passes. A friend of mine lost touch after injury and this worked wonders in a few weeks. He hadn't worn a boot in months after the injury and it just felt funny, even after months more of playing post-injury. Without a boot, your son may be able to diagnose his own problems, because it is easier to feel why something is wrong. I don't know anything about soccer-specifc psychologists, but there is a surgeon out in Colorado by the name of Richard Steadman who's supposedly the foremost expert in knee surgeries. He's saved the careers of several European players. His office may have some referrals. It's a stretch, but worth a shot.
Hey, me too. Except it's on my left leg. When you have surgery that requires opening up the knee, the incision cuts a nerve and the result often is a patch of skin with persistent numbness. Anyway to try to add something else to the thread, it's worth realizing the athletic culture that pushes players to return before they are ready. Obviously, we don't know all of the particulars with the player in question, but it's worth remembering as coaches that players--especially on competitive teams--will push themselves to come back from injury before they are ready. Sometimes they play themselves back into shape; other times they develop these subtle limps, favoring one foot over the other, backing off from challenges, etc. that can indicate they aren't ready to return. As Chicago mentions, sometimes a player looks good walking or jogging but then does have a limp when running. These are all things to watch for--especially parents and youth coaches-- when your players return from injury.
Thanks to all of you who have shared your ideas and thoughts on how my son should proceed. As I said, we are shaking all the bushes for the right path and people to offer my son the best chance to play at the next level. One of the people we spoke to was an old coach that my son had in college who moved on to the pros. He was a favorite of my son, but he left for the pros after his freshman year. When we reached him and told him my son had become a defender, he said, "What, he was all attacker the last time I saw him." I explained what had happened and after some discussion he offered the following general thoughts (I am sumarizing here). He did not know of anyone who specialized in working injured players back into form, ala my idea of a soccer whisperer. He said they may exist somewhere, but he had not come across anyone. He said he thought there were three things we need to do. (By the way they sound like an amalgamation of what you all have been telling me.) 1. Have the foot checked to see what lingering damage there is if any, and get it corrected if possible. 2. My son needs to get connected with a sports psychologist so he can loose himself in the game and not be thinking about which foot to use or not use. 3. Play. He said this is the only way to get better. He did recommend playing at a level just below where my son could ideally compete. He said it should be competitive, but if he wants to work on his offense, he needs to do it where he has a little more time on the ball. He closed with something that surprised me just a little. He said soccer in the United States is getting better by leaps and bounds and it is being recognized in spades in Europe and elsewhere. He hinted that he thought there would be a lot more US men playing pro soccer in the years to come. He even thought we might see some US coaches in Europe. We'll keep you posted.