But there’s another side to the community that I’ve seen lately. An “us against them” mentality. Sometimes even an “us against us” mentality.

When it’s bad, it’s so bad.

I went to a few local club and high school games this fall. I witnessed negative comments from the stands directed towards referees, coaches, players, other fans. I’ve seen how the players on the field were directly impacted by the energy shift, and not for the better. How that energy shift, at times, gave permission to the players and coaches and ref to lose respect for each other.

I experienced the lack of emotional skills from so many.

There are tools to help. Mindfulness tools to raise the level of emotional maturity across the board. To elevate the experience for both players, coaches, teammates, parents, and refs.

I’ve left too many games this fall feeling like the joy has been sucked from youth sports. The experience reduced to a primal, tribal, visceral hate.

Aren’t we neighbors? Don’t we live in the same community? Do the rules of humanity stop in between the lines when the whistle blows?

When the game ends, we all enter back into our society. Is it too much to ask that we can live together, well?

Fast forward to this new space in time where we are more willing to shine a light on mental health and have more open conversations as individuals, teams, organizations. It’s in this space that I am showing up every day, for myself and those around me.

As I sit down to think about what to write in this blog, it’s hitting me that you might not really know who I am & what I do in this space. So for this blog post?

I’m sharing my story.

With the hope that maybe one day we can work together to make this world a better place. So here it goes…

My name is Nikki Murphy and I’m a mindset coach for individuals, coaches, teams, & organizations.

Learning how an athlete can listen to their alarms and understand where they come from is a powerful technique that can change the way an athlete performs.

There are two types of rest. Both are needed for growth in sports.