Fear of Failure in Girls Football
There are many reasons why Alliance FC continues to grow its Girls Football Club; equality in sports, nurturing young talent, and helping young girls to build their confidence are just a few of those reasons. In the diverse community of Dubai, a Girls’ Football Club represents strength, progression, and a brighter future. However, these accomplishments do not come without their share of challenges, and for many young girls that take part in football worldwide, many will experience a sense of fear towards failure at some point in their footballing journey.
Failure can be described in many ways, but also be perceived differently to each individual. What may be a minor failing to one person, could be a lot more significant to someone else. Therefore, it is important to understand and recognise the different emotions and reactions associated with failing; the before, the during and the after of every situation should be acknowledged in order to offer guidance and support to each individual, in a way that is specifically tailored to them.
Having a fear of failure, negatively influences the ability of the athlete to focus, to work to their optimum, and to, sometimes, see positivity along the way. For example, a young girl playing competitive football in Dubai for the first time, may have some anxiety towards their own performance and failing in the game. The most important steps to help this young girl, is to firstly identify what the fear is, and why these feelings are arising. Once you know this, you can encourage her to have more open discussions at home, and at her club with coaches and peers, about these feelings and how we can try to eliminate them.
Once an athlete knows what they are fearful of, the process afterwards can be made a lot easier as they have now identified the root cause and can start to work towards feeling more positive, acknowledging their own development, and hopefully achieving success on their own terms, at the end. Visualisation and Self-Talk are important skills to combatting fear of failure, and they are techniques that are used by even the most prolific, professional athletes. Visualisation is when someone creates a clear image, or series of images in relation to themselves achieving success. For example, the young girl is fearful of playing in her first competitive match, however if she can visualise herself on the pitch scoring a goal, or winning the match with her friends, her mindset and thought process is more positive than its original state. Therefore, helping young players to see a positive outcome from their original fear, helps to shift from negativity to positivity and makes the process a lot more relaxed, as opposed to anxious and stressed.
Self-Talk is a tool used to encourage athletes to talk through their feelings and thoughts around a certain topic. For the young girl who is worried about her first competitive match, she is experiencing heightened emotions as it is the first time she has taken part in a match. Therefore, helping her to talk through the process she took to prepare for the match, and how hard she has worked to get to this moment, offers positivity around the situation, rather than worry and stress. Once she can see and believe how hard she has worked to get to this point, and how deserving she is to take part in the match, she is more likely to have a sense of pride and passion towards the match rather than negative apprehensive feelings.
With young girls having to compete every day in a male dominated sport, they are already entering the footballing world with more anxieties and stresses than their male counterparts. Due to this fact, it is important to positively influence young girls as early as possible, to educate, support and promote their worth in the game. If girls can see that football is just as important for girls as it is for boys, less girls will enter the game with a pre-determined negativity towards the sport, towards themselves, and towards their future.
It is for this very reason that Alliance FC emphasises on sports equality and continues to support equal access to football for girls in Dubai. Supporting young girls on the pitch, AND away from the pitch, discussing what fears they have, and then using visualisation and self-talk to combat fear of failure in football, will only enhance the journey they take. Girls’ Football Club, Dubai is proud to provide female athletes with the best platform to succeed in the sport they love!
