.jpg)
LAST month, we highlighted the importance of mental health within sports, especially for athletes competing at the highest level.
Through that, we understood how an athlete’s performance is very much intertwined with their state of mental well-being, and how a sports psychologist is there to work with the athlete with regards to self-motivation and visualisation.
While this is all good and dandy, athletes at the grassroots level seem to have taken a backseat.
The Vibes got the opportunity to talk to one of the co-founders of Mind Gap, a sports psychology consultancy to the public.
Starting his educational journey at Help University, where Bryan Win was first introduced to the prospects of sports psychology, he proceeded to finish his undergraduate and graduate degree in the United Kingdom.
“I asked my lecturer at Help about doing sports psychology, but then found out that it wasn’t offered where I was. So, I transferred to the UK and finished my degree.”
And it was at a conference in the UK that Bryan met the other half of Mind Gap’s founder, Joshua Ng.
Upon returning to Malaysia, Bryan and Joshua found it challenging to get a job as a sports psychologist as the market within Malaysia was so niche.
“In the UK, sports psychology is like a pyramid where it is bottom heavy. Most of the sports psychologists work at the grassroots while the top is just a few selected individuals who work with the national team.
“Unfortunately, this is not the case in Malaysia. Here it seems to be an inverted pyramid where most sports psychologists are working with the national team whereas we have very few who are working at the grassroots,” shared Bryan.
Hence, realising that instead of fighting for possibly the same positions, Bryan and Joshua decided to join forces to start their own consultancy.
For Bryan, Mind Gap is not just a place where teams, organisations and individuals are able to obtain the assistance that they need; but also a place where aspiring sports psychologists are able to train and hone their craft.
“If there’s one thing that I wish I had when I came back from the UK is a mentor, someone whom I could bounce ideas off and be held accountable for, especially as a fresh graduate wanting to be a noticed sports psychologist in the field.”
“If we want to be taken more seriously and be more effective, we must train more people. The more of us we have, the better it is for the scene.”
Bryan acknowledges that his greatest achievement since Mind Gap’s birth two years ago are the opportunities to expand from a two-man team to hiring another associate and even taking on interns.
However, like the majority within the sports community, Mind Gap has been hit by the global pandemic.
“We had a couple of big clients who kept us busy, which was why we hired our third member. When Covid hit, we were in the process of negotiating a renewal but the clients decided to put a hold on it due to the uncertainties.”
For Bryan, the biggest struggle during these times is not the lack of clients, but the on and off Movement Control Order (MCO) that make it extremely challenging to make any definitive plans.
On top of that, when tournaments are being put on hold or cancelled, team goals have also been put on hold, and sports psychologists are seen as unnecessary at the moment.
“With goals being postponed, teams don’t see the need for sports psychologists. However, mental tenacity needs time to be built. So, what better time than now, instead of when the teams are overly preoccupied with countless trainings. Yet, this is not a common understanding with teams,” expressed Bryan.
Mind Gap isn’t just about working with athletes to help heighten their performance, but also serving those at the grassroots level on their mental well-being as well as their life.
“With those who want to be identified as an athlete, we often forget that there is a person behind that. So, we are here to ensure that their well-being as a person is taken care of first. When you are unable to perform means you are struggling internally and emphasizing that not everything is about winning.
“With the younger generation, we help them cultivate life skills beyond sports like, determination, confidence and even money management.”
Understanding that not all kids grow up to become professional athletes, Mind Gap focuses on what they can be in life.
Being more than just sports psychologists, Mind Gap not only serves athletes at the grassroots level but also aspiring sports psychologists, and reinventing the inverted pyramid within the field. - The Vibes.June 11, 2021
