Listen to your body!

It's great if your players are willing to push themselves and work hard for success but sometimes, too much pressure on the athlete can harm their chances of glory. Athletes often chasing excellence are running a fine line between what their bodies can actually take and then pushing that to the limit, sometimes leading to injury and mental strain.

You, as a coach or even a parent, can help your players to understand and listen to their body, helping to prevent injury and keep their quest for success going forward!

First of all, make sure that your players do not overtrain and get plenty of rest. If they feel tired and their body doesn't feel up to scratch, stress that is ok for them to miss a day's training to rest up further if they need to. Overtraining when your body is not at 100% can cause even more physical and mental stress, so it's important that they listen to how their body is feeling.

If your player does have an injury, it's important that you make sure it is treated correctly and they do not rush their recovery. For example, international rugby stars Mike Brown and George North both had to take a prolonged absence out of the game, so they could recover sufficiently from the effects of concussion. Going back too soon when both were not fully recovered could have impacted their health in the future, which is far more important than playing any match.

Limit the risks that your players take and try not to play them until they are fit and ready to play once more. Playing them too soon can then lead to a recurrence of the same injury or another injury being sustained, therefore putting their return date potentially back weeks. Ensure they get the correct amount of time to help their injury heal and be certain they are 100% fit before putting them back into a game situation.

Encourage your players to develop good habits, such as eating well, getting a good night's sleep and learning to listen to their body. Eating a good, balanced diet with plenty of carbohydrates, protein and having 5 portions of fruit or veg a day will help improve their health, as well as having a good sleeping pattern. Try help your players to understand the need to get over 7 hours sleep a night if they can, so they are fully refreshed and raring to go on the pitch!

If your players enjoy the sport they play and are happy within the team socially, this will lead to a healthy body and mind! Having a good team atmosphere is key within the team, helping your squad play together as a team and go onto the pathway to victory.

It's important to help keep your players in good health - physically, mentally and socially - so help them learn to listen to their body! For more information, take a look at this interesting article.