Sportspersons
Play sport professionally in competitions and participate in sporting events for monetary gain.
A week at the football club
You are a professional footballer at a club, balancing training, matches, the coach's plans and the demands of life in the public eye. It is Monday. You have a full week before the weekend match, a sore calf from Saturday and a coach who has not yet announced the team. Everyone is watching.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
How's the calf? I need honesty. I'm picking the team on Thursday. If you're not right, tell me now and I'll plan around it. If you hide it and it goes, we're both in trouble.
Tell him honestly it's still sore, and ask to see the physio before Thursday
The physio checks you and gives a plan. You play a reduced role on Saturday and the calf holds. The coach respects you for being straight with him.
Say it's fine, because you don't want to lose your place in the side
You pull up in the second half and are out for a month. The team plays with ten fit players. Hiding an injury costs more than admitting it.
Say it's a bit tight but you're confident it'll be right by the weekend, and ask to be picked
He picks you, but the calf is not right. You're taken off at half-time, annoyed. Confidence matters, and so does an honest picture of your body.
A journalist just rang about a post you made last night. People are saying the comment was rude about the other team's fans. I need you to explain what you meant. They want a quote by five.
Tell Mia that people are overreacting and that you stand by your post
The story grows for days and the club has to issue a statement. Your post becomes bigger than the match. Public figures answer for what they say, even when they think it was a joke.
Ask Mia to help you write a short, sincere reply that apologises
The apology is short and genuine, and the story fades within a day. Mia helps you learn what to check before posting. Owning a mistake takes the air out of it.
Say nothing and delete the post, hoping the story will pass
The post is gone but screenshots are not, and the journalist writes that you refused to comment. Silence is not always the safest reply.
I'm struggling a bit. I've been dropped twice and I can't tell my family because they think I'm doing great. I keep playing badly on purpose almost, like I want to be benched. Don't tell the coach.
Promise to keep it quiet, since he told you in confidence
Kofi gets more withdrawn over the next weeks and no one is able to help. A friend who is struggling needs more than a secret kept.
Listen, tell him you care, and encourage him to talk to the club's wellbeing staff
Kofi nods but doesn't go. You've been kind, though he may need more than a suggestion. Offering to go with him can be the difference.
Listen, thank him, and offer to go with him to the club's wellbeing person
Kofi agrees. The wellbeing officer works out a plan with him, and he feels better within weeks. Being a good teammate is more than what happens on the field.
How it went
Saturday comes and you run onto the field with a clear head and a sound calf. Professional sport is hard, public work that demands honesty, discipline and care for the people around you. How do you think you would handle being watched while you are not at your best?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The round that went wrong
A fictional case set in a professional football club's training base and a regional golf course, in a fictional state.
The situation
Jordan, a young golfer, was in contention at a regional tournament when a double bogey on the twelfth turned the round upside down. A sponsor's representative was following the group, and the television crew had pointed a camera at Jordan after the miss. Jordan's playing partner had made a difficult comment. There were six holes left, a long way to the lead, and a growing urge to stop caring.
What they did
Jordan walked slowly to the next tee and took three long breaths, as the coach had taught. Jordan told the caddie to be honest about the numbers on the next shot, and played each of the last holes as its own game. Afterwards, Jordan thanked the sponsor's rep, answered the interviewer's questions politely, and went straight to the range to work on the shot that had cost the round.
How it turned out
Jordan finished well back from the lead, but with a better last six holes than the first twelve. The coach and the caddie both said the way Jordan handled the bad moment was worth more than the score. Jordan kept a short note about each bad hole and what to do next time.
What would you do?
- What do you think Jordan was feeling after the double bogey?
- How do professional athletes balance results and being polite to sponsors?
- What would you want to practise to stay calm when everything is going wrong?