Holistic Athlete Weekly Newsletter

Real World Events

Given the political and social climate of the past several years, I’ve written about and discussed this topic several times, but for those who have recently subscribed or for those that need a reminder, it’s important to consider how to approach real world events with our teams.

First, it’s important to remember that everybody holds their beliefs for valid reasons. The house and town we grew up in, the way we were raised, and experiences that have happened in our lives all shape the way we view the world. With that said, while we don’t need to agree on all topics and issues, we do need more widespread respect for how subjective and personal people’s beliefs are.

This past week has been a difficult one for our country, and the murder of Charlie Kirk likely impacts your players regardless of their beliefs due to his presence online, on social media, and his targeted influence both positively and negatively on youth in our country. When events like that happen, it draws even more time and focus to our phones and social media. I say this so that we can be aware of the state our players are in and what they’re dealing with outside of sport. Understanding and empathizing with where they’re at mentally off the field can help build meaningful relationships and prevent issues that could arise on the team.