IT’S ALL IN THE MIND
Robbie: Your mental fitness in lockdown’s as vital as staying in top physical shape
Robbie Thomson spent the best part of 10 months training his mind to cope with the fact his body could not.
He knows as well as anyone that staying strong mentally wil l be as important as keeping sharp physically for the SPFL players in lockdown.
The Raith Rovers keeper only returned to action eight weeks ago after a ruptured Achilles saw him stretchered off in the 1-1 draw with Stenhousemuir last April.
Six appearances later, the 27-year-old once again finds himself sidelined – although this time not stationary.
Besides daily yoga sessions, a kind-hearted neighbour in his Denny housing estate has let him take over an unused garage and the gym equipment inside it for his physical wellbeing.
And, as he did with his previous lay-off, Thomson has continued working with John Johnstone of Football Mindset to assist with his mental wellbeing.
Oxford United’s Chris Cadden, Hearts’ John Souttar and Hibs’ loan midfielder Greg Docherty have all done so down the years. Thomson knows staying on top of things mentally amidst the coronavirus pandemic is just as important as staying physically strong.
He said: “I would agree with that. When I started playing again I had been out of the first team for 10 months.
“I had missed a lot of football and a lot of training.
“But I knew that if I was switched on mentally, I could do everything I needed to do.
“I can come for crosses, I can kick, I can catch, I can make saves.
“But if you’re mentally not at it, you will not be able to do any of those.
“I tried to f lip it – be mentally switched on and ready so I was able to deal with things.
“I was still aware I’d missed a lot of football but, because I was so mentally engaged in it, I found it a bit easier to come back.
“It’s strange when you’re a footballer and you get that environment taken away from you. It is really hard to recreate that pressure environment of training and games.
“But I tried to frame my gym sessions or rehab sessions to be just as important as what it would be going out on that pitch training or playing.
“That quite helped – it was just little things like that.
“When you felt your mind wandering or thinking, ‘I’m injured here, this is c**p, this is rubbish’ – to not let myself think like that, not let myself think negatively.
“Now and again you do get those thoughts slipping into your mind, thinking, ‘ Why did this injury happen to me? I can’t be bothered with this.’
“As soon as I had those thoughts creeping into my head, or when I was at training getting p****d off wi th what was going on around me, getting frustrated about not playing, I would just flip it.
“I’d think, ‘ What can I do today, despite not being on the pitch,that is going to be beneficial?’
“What one or two per cent improvements could I do to help me in the long run and make sure I was ready?
“That is the way I got through my days because it is so easy to just go: ‘F*** it I’m not doing it, I can’t be bothered.’”
Thomson does not have his problems to seek. His contact at Stark’s Park is up in the summer with no sign yet of when football might return.
His coaching business has felt the force of a lockdown and doubt now hangs over a summer wedding to his fiancee Elysha.
He stands to lose a lot – but not his sense of perspective.
The former Celtic youth player said: “It is important still to have a bit of structure in your day.
“Although you have not got football to go to it is important you don’t vegetate.
“For a lot of boys the only thing they have is Call of Duty – and that’s it, the only bit of structure in their lives.
“We’ve got a Facebook group for the estate, I messaged on it saying: ‘ Has anyone got any gym equipment
in their garage they’re not using? Do you mind if I come along?’
“A neighbour said no problem. They’ve got a detached garage they’re not using, which is kitted out with equipment to keep me occupied. That is my daily exercise regime.
“I do yoga at Hot Yoga Cumbernauld but obviously I can’t do it hot because the studio is closed – I’ve got the heating up full blast! “I’ve been doing yoga since I was about 16, I started it at Celtic and that is me now 27. It helps to be able to just switch off.
“It is hard as well but it is good for the fitness and lot of other things.
“The classes have all gone online so we have got Facebook Live yoga probably every day.
“There’s always something you can do to better yourself.
“You’ve still got your health just now, which is the most important thing, and you’ve just got to stay safe.
“But you must g ive yoursel f some sort of structure, something beneficial to do with your time rather than just waste it watching the telly.
“I am probably working harder than usual. But my missus would boot me in the head if I started doing footbal l drills in the house, she gets enough of it.”
His Pro Performance Goalkeeping Academy, a spin- out from the Pro Performance Academy he set up with ex-Hearts midfielder Callum Tapping and Rangers youth academy
coach Blair Munn in 2017, usually works with up to 80 goalies a week.
That has, of course, been stopped, albeit the hard work he put in to building relationships with clubs across the CentC ral Belt shoulds see it revivedr in time.
He said: “That is one of my main incomesi down thet drain at the moment.m
“But a lot of peoplep are in the sames boat and the mo s t importantim thing justju now is your health.h
“You’ve just got tot take that hit unfortunately,u there is nothing much you can do about it.
“Hopefully the government wil l look after the selfemployed because I know a lot of boys at the level I am playing at have other wee things going on as well to support their family.
“Even more worrying is for boys who have not and hopefully they get looked after because it’s a worrying time. The club have said we’re definitely getting paid everything that we are due this month.
“But like every club they just need to review it until official documents have come through from UEFA or the government with regards to the football season.
“There is nothing they can do at the moment, they’ve just got to play it by ear.
“We’re just thankful that this month they have looked after us and hopefully the government will look after the club and give them the financial security they need.”
If the government fail to do so then fans are doing the utmost, with a crowdfunder already raising more than £ 40,000 to support Raith through the shutdown
Thomson added: “It just goes to show how much the supporters love the club and how much they would go out of their way to help us.
“It’s uncertain times for every club in Scotland.
“Credit to the fanbase and the supporters that they’ve got behind us and are helping us.”
One of my main incomes is down the drain – but the most important thing just now is your health