We are approaching the end of the second year since the start of the pandemic. The first lockdown began in March 2020, since that time consulting work has completely changed and to this day this change continues to be stable and has become, at least in my experience, the way we work.
Remote or online work has become, in fact, the dominant model with which to interact with athletes and coaches. Previously this type of experience I had experienced only in relation to the Rio Olympics where I had not gone but had kept in touch with athletes via WhatsApp or Skype.
So currently, 21 months into March 2020, the work I do is 80% online. It works: pretty well. It allows to follow athletes who could not have undertaken a mental coaching program because they reside in other cities.
The main limitation is the lack of in-person reporting, especially during training and competition. We live on the report of what has happened and, furthermore, not participating in the competitions, it is not possible to intervene when it would be necessary.
It seems to me that this is the most serious lack, the impossibility of working on the here-and-now, since one can only work on the before and after.
The Federations save money by reducing the costs of accommodation and travel and compensation of the professional who would be present at the competitions. It’s a somewhat blind way to set up a job but this is what happens.
Much more could be said and in this regard I am at the INSEP in Paris just to share the experiences of these years with a group of psychologists from around the world and to try to understand what to do better in anticipation of the next Olympics in Paris 2024 from which we are separated just over 900 days.
Athletes have continued to perform exceptionally well even though they have trained less and rested more due to the lockdown and lack of sporting events. This should make you think about the relevant role of recovery and the consequent fact that training more is not always productive.
Also, how often does the training duration of a session actually match the actual training time?
Moreover, it is the opinion shared by the European colleagues, here in France, that athletes have acquired in this period a better self-regulation, awareness and autonomy. Having had to manage long periods on their own, in the absence of the usual relationship with the coach and staff. They had more time to develop psychological skills, even different from the more traditional ones such as meditation and sleep management.
