Modern football requires teams and clubs to carve out any edge that they can produce in their performances. While sporting performance is mostly enhanced through physical and athletic improvements, the role of psychology in helping athletes be at the top of their game has also been understood well by top football teams around the world.

Sharing this understanding, Selangor FC beginning early this year has offered its players the service of a full-time, in-house sports psychologist. Bryan Win was appointed to the post in January 2021, having earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the United Kingdom, and interned at the National Sports Institute (ISN).

Bryan graciously spent time for an interview on Wednesday, and the first question posed to him was on how unique his career is; what made him decide to join such a niche profession?

"I was completing my degree in psychology, and while at first, I was looking into going into clinical psychology, I was then accepted for an internship at ISN. My time there then helped me decide that this is what I want to do.

"My time playing football and training while I was a schoolboy also contributed to my career choice. I'd wanted to play more competitively but was always beset by injuries. While the injuries themselves were not a major issue, what was tough was coming back from them. Physically I was fine, but there was something in my mind that kept holding me back. So now I want to help athletes perform better by using psychology because back then I didn't have the support that I think I needed," he explained.

What exactly does a full-time football club sports psychologist do? Bryan answered by providing his activities, and they involve working closely with the club's reserve team, Selangor FC 2.

"I'll be with the team for training, and I also make myself available before and after training sessions, just in case any of the players want to talk," he detailed. "I do relay information on them to the coach, but not in a tattling way! I will tell the coach if it's something I think he should know and tweak in the next session, for the players' benefit of course.

"I also observe the training sessions and provide my feedback to the coach. The coaching staff looks on the tactical side of things, but I study how each player behaves and reacts to certain situations; the behavioral and mental aspects of training.

"At Selangor FC, I work with the players to get them to perform better, but I also ensure that their general mental well-being as a person is looked after. I believe that better people make better footballers, not the other way around."

But before he was able to work with the players, Bryan found that he had to earn their trust and confidence first, for which he was glad that he received the coaching staff's backing.

"I'd had to introduce psychology to them first because many had the misconception that it's only used to treat those who are 'koyak' (mentally delicate). I told them that it (sports psychology) is not just for when things are going wrong, it's also about improving and bettering oneself, especially for young players who are trying to break into the first team like them.

"My being at the club is not to show that the players are 'broken', they're not crazy. I'm very happy that the coach also shares the same vision as mine, to see that psychology is more embedded in the team and not just for when someone is facing problems. They see me around all the time, I even help pick up the balls if needed!" said the psychologist with a laugh.

Another misconception that he wanted to dispel is the image of a psychologist conducting a formal session with a client in a therapy room, much like we're used to seeing in television shows and movies.

"It's a little different for us as compared to clinical and counseling psychologists, as those guys usually go into a room [with a patient] for an hour to talk things out. But for me, I usually chat with the players outside the dressing room while they're getting ready. If they want to talk more about the issue, then we'll sit down next to the pitch, for example after a match. 

"It's not very long and nothing too informal, just between 10 to 15 minutes. It's more about reacting to any issue that crops up involving them." 

As the reserve team players comprise young players and teenagers, we asked Bryan; what is the most common problem that the boys have discussed with him?

"When I first arrived, it was the pre-season and they had been on break for some time, as well as Covid. These are young boys, so the most common issue at the time was with their sleep, they found it hard to sleep on time at night. 

"It was something that I had to look at for a while and it improved after two, three months. The causes and solutions varied, but the basic strategy was to gradually move their sleeping times forward every day," he answered.

He was also asked whether there is a particular instance where his service helped turn things around for a player at the club. Although he could not reveal who the player is, he recalled one situation:

"I was able to help a player, he didn't have any issues; he just had very high expectations of himself. So I helped him manage it because he was putting too much pressure on himself, and this is bad. Being under too much pressure will affect your performance. 

"We worked on training him to avoid overthinking things, and it started working after a few months. He was able to stop worrying about the result while he was on the field, and he was also able to shift his focus from the result towards the process," explained the former ISN intern.

Bryan also had a message when asked whether Selangor FC fans have a role in helping maintain their stars' mental well-being when asked at the end of the interview:

"The world is not a very nice place at times especially during the pandemic, so it's better if we can all spread positivity instead of toxicity. Everyone goes through tough times now and then, athletes included, but there's no need to knock them down, call them 'bodoh' (stupid), or anything like that.

"There is a difference between voicing out critical opinions and being rude, tagging players' family members on social media. The former is fine to me, while the latter is a form of personal attack that is just uncalled for. 

Hidup Selangor!"

By Zulhilmi Zainal