Sports consultant Jamie Edwards is running online courses to help
Football League players improve their mental habits
By Gavin Willacy for Playing in the Shadows
Every Tuesday morning during lockdown, dozens of teenage players from Football League clubs are listening to talks given by a former
basketball player who works with world class golfers, rugby players and cricketers. Performance coach Jamie Edwards’ clients also include footballers Joe Hart, Luke Shaw, Reuben Loftus-Cheek and Gareth Bale. Despite being just 5ft 6in tall in his high tops, Edwards had a long career in basketball, played for
England and now runs Manchester Giants. Since retiring, he has applied his own experiences of overcoming the odds and making the most of his potential to help people in business, sport and education.
Edwards would normally be criss-crossing the country delivering his seminars to EFL apprentices, but during lockdown receptive players from all three divisions are choosing to log in to hear his weekly sessions. “The real skill to developing your mental game is to stop a dip becoming a slump when life happens – which it will,” says Edwards. “What’s going on outside of football, affects your football. There will be family illness, your parents might divorce, your girlfriend dumps you, a parent loses their
Job, you have to move house. It’s going to happen, you just don’t know when. It’s about getting back on track and going to a different level.”