MLS: The mental, personal side cannot be neglected

MLS and Minnesota United goalkeeper Tyler Miller has spoken about his mental challenges. It is an element of professional football that we often neglect.

Professional sport is unique. The scrutiny. The pressure. The attention and focus. The commercialisation. The fame and fortune and rich finance. There are very few industries like sport, especially when you consider that normal individuals are often the stars, thrust into positions of great wealth, popularity and influence.

Listen to the latest episode of the MLS Multiplex podcast here! —  What happens with COVID-19?

Because of the pedestal that they are placed upon, there is a very easy and painful trajectory for many: they fold under the pressure and mentally they suffer.

More from MLS Multiplex

• Javier Milei Elected in Argentina: Potential Impacts on MLS and Signings of Argentine Players
• Orlando City and New York City FC in the Battle for Matías Arezo; Grêmio Enters Negotiations! Who Will Come Out on Top?
• USA, Honduras, Panama, and Canada Close in on a Spot in the 2024 Copa America
• De Gea Turns Down Al-Nassr’s Lucrative Offer: Speculation Points to Possible Reunion with Messi at Inter Miami
• Messi’s Magnetic Impact in the United States

This is no different for Major League Soccer stars. Even those that have played in Europe and at higher levels than MLS will feel the intense focus that comes from the North American press and fandom. It is natural. Being a public figure attracts attention and scrutiny, for better or worse.

Earlier this week, former Los Angeles FC goalkeeper Tyler Miller spoke to mlssoccer.com. He discussed the mental impact that a run of poor performances had on him following his return from his international duties last year.

Miller candidly revealed how he struggled with his own mentality during his poor run:

"“I got to the point where I enjoyed going to the coffee shop after training more than I did actually going to training. When I came back from the national team, I really struggled with confidence. Going into every game I believed in myself, but there were little things I was almost too worried about. I wasn’t enjoying the day-to-day grind of going to training. I felt in a dark place that I couldn’t break out of. I wasn’t going through the motions. I was doing my best to break out of this funk. But it felt like every weekend if I made one mistake, I’d be in my head. ‘Oh, am I going to play the next game? Am I going to be able to recover from this? I couldn’t consistently put together the things I needed to do.”"

In the increasingly analytics-obsessed modern sporting world, we often overlook the human aspect of sport. Everything is tactics, statistics, analysis, diagrams and graphs. Games and tactics are broken down on computers and in basements, not on the pitch or in dressing rooms.

But footballers are not robots. They are human beings. And human beings are inherently unpredictable. They need to be managed like humans, not assets. They have motivations, emotions, changes in spirit and confidence and happiness and commitment. And they must be managed as a result of that.

Miller’s story is proof of that. Throwing him to the wolves would not help. As he himself later conceded, the move to Minnesota United in the offseason has refreshed him, provided him with the chance to reset, to focus his mind, and to subsequently play with more confidence.

Miller is a better player for being more confident. And yet, in the increasingly analytical modern world, we so often overlook the mental side of the game. But footballers are humans, and those that treat them that way will reap the rewards.