Written by Kaz Louise Stoner

The Maltese are notoriously passionate and patriotic people. With events like the Eurovision, it is truly impressive to see how a country can rally together to sass every other country’s entry in order to hype up our own.

The presence of sports at the University campus is not as prominent as it should be. Where, in other countries, people gather together to support their local teams with mascots, cheerleaders, and general good vibes, it can’t go unnoticed that this student-body cheer is lacking. This is not just at university but also in other sports that are not as well-recognised as football.

With one of our national handball team hosting the EHF Cup and making it to the third round, two gold medals won by Maltese athletes at the Championships of Small States Of Europe, the announcement of the first-ever female weightlifter Yazmin Zammit Stevens who will be representing Malta at the Tokyo Olympics, and many more wins, there is ample to be proud of and support. UM Futsal is here to guide you on how to show a little love to our local athletes.

What can YOU do to support athletes?

Follow their social media

Instagram and Facebook are full of influencers that can sometimes be beneficial but can also promote futile initiatives. Following your local athletes on social media platforms and interacting with their posts is a minimal task that can go a long way. By doing this, you will be expanding the athlete’s or team’s outreach and helping them grow their platform which will help them engage with other athletes or other sponsors. It is also validating for the athlete to know they have support from their country. Besides this, it fills your feed with positive and useful posts that can be inspiring and add some reality to a feed full of selfies and giveaways!

Tune into performances

Unfortunately, COVID has stopped many supporters from being able to sit in the stands and chant and cheer for their favourite teams or athletes. However, most competitions and games have a live stream that you can follow along. The views will mean a lot to the athletes and technical staff supporting those athletes. It will also encourage local entities to continue to share these streams. When the time comes, of course, nothing fills an athlete with more pride than looking to the stands and seeing friendly, familiar faces cheering them on.

Share

If you see a post that is of good news, and can help the club or community, share the post! The more people that can see and engage with these posts the better. News outlets are steadily doing a better job at covering athletic wins. However, the more spread of such articles the better! Sharing the successes and wins of our local athletes will only raise awareness of our local talent and capabilities.

What can WE do together?

Education

Sports should be given more importance from the level of primary education all the way up until reaching university level. It is hard to engrain new normalities into individualised who have been programmed otherwise their whole lives. By investing more time and money into sports education and awareness at younger ages, the problem will be tackled head on.

More funding

It is not a hidden fact that sports funding is unproportionate amongst different sports with certain sports receiving the bulk and some receiving none at all. It is therefore fundamental to invest more into the sports economy for a multitude of reasons. These include:

• Better facilities
• Coaching courses
• Psychological support for athletes
• International opportunities
• Medical support

Preparation for the UM Futsal team is currently in full swing to head to the Challenger’s Cup in the name of our university. Follow our journey on our social media and support your local athletes. All games will be live-streamed.

The post How can YOU support your local athletes? | UoM Futsal appeared first on The Third Eye.

Winning and Losing

“Indeed, in so many instances when physical talents seem evenly matched, it is the mental factors that will make the difference in winning or losing.”

It is of no surprise that the outcome of a competition affects the athlete psyche. Jones and Sheffield (2011) presented a study, which showcased that the outcome of a game is attributed to the short-term changes in the athlete’s wellbeing, confirming research which has been concluded in the early 1990s.

This comes back full circle, as winning and losing is dependent on an athlete’s mental health whilst the athlete’s mental health is also dependent on winning and losing, as well as other factors which will be discussed further along the paper.

Goal Setting

Goal setting is said to be a mental technique which aids the athlete into achieving his or her own personal goals. These goals may be short term or over a long period of time. Whilst deciding his or her goals, the athlete is to ensure that such goals align with the 5 SMART criteria, being specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound.

Visualization

Visualisation comes after goal setting. An athlete creates the mental image of himself successfully attaining the goal, stepping into the feeling. Athletes are encouraged to include as many senses as possible in visualization, as if they are rehearsing and indirectly training to perform their skill for the game.

Confidence

The relationship between confidence and performance has been deemed of having utmost importance. It has also been proven that the confidence within the team is directly proportional to the confidence which the coach has. This highlights another important fact – how the coach affects the athlete even indirectly – even without himself knowing.

Coping with Injury

Although an injury might seem solely physical at face value, it affects the athlete mentally as much as it does physically. “It’s not uncommon for injuries to fuel feelings of isolation, frustration, anxiety and even depression.” Being absent from competition due to an injury may affect the athlete’s mental well-being. In this regard, it is crucial for the athlete to accept help and support from professionals to take control of the situation and get back on the road of physical and mental rehabilitation.

Eating Disorders

Facing issues with self-esteem is not uncommon in athletes. Contrary to popular belief, this is the case in males and females. Coupling an intense pressure to win with an increased demand to have a particular body shape is a combination that brings about many challenges for athletes. There is pressure to look thinner, leaner, bulkier, stronger, be taller, be more petite; this list is endless. Some sports, such as wrestling, even demand a weight-class system which inevitably puts an extra stress factor into the sport. This nurtures a toxic relationship for the athlete with their body resulting in eating disorders in athletes.

The Bench Warmer

Colloquially termed the bench warmer, when an athlete commits to training but is not yet of the standard of their teammates, they sit and watch the game from the bench in the hopes that someday soon, they will be able to play amongst the rest of their team. It is not uncommon for these athletes to experience an identity crisis of sorts. The goals of the athletes seem far-fetched and unreachable. It can be harmful for the morale of the athlete and furthermore, for their self-esteem. The athlete’s career at this stage is based on hope. Hope that is constantly let down is a factor that can lead to psychological decline.

More pieces from UoM Futsal here!

The post Get Your Head in the Game | UoM Futsal appeared first on The Third Eye.

Written by Kaz Louise Stoner

As many of you know, March is a month dedicated to women’s history. It is an important month as women have endured many hardships throughout history that should we should constantly be exposed to. Of course, women cannot all be put under one category, and one month is simply not enough to celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of such a powerful gender.

However, UM Futsal sees this as good an opportunity as any to shed light on some female athletes, past and present, revolutionizing the world of sports.

Through all of their actions, women are almost always scrutinized. The world of sports is no different. These outstanding athletes are all but some who have overcome more obstacles than the track and field portion of the Olympic games yet continue to excel in their sport. 

Simone Biles

4-time gold medalist and 1 time bronze from the Olympic Games, 19 World Championships, and many more titles to her name, Biles is THE gymnast of our generation. She is an American artistic gymnast holding the title of the most decorated American gymnast. She also set an America record for the most gold medals won in women’s gymnastics in a single Games. Biles continues to break records, push her technique and routines to the extreme, and time and time again, prove her excellence.

 “A successful competition for me is always going out there and putting 100 percent into whatever I’m doing.”

Serena Williams

For most of us, a household name when growing up. Holding 23 Grand Slam singles titles and being the former number 1 women’s single tennis player between 2002-2017, Williams is widely regarded as the greatest female tennis player of all times. With an endless list of wins and accomplishments, Williams has been an extremely popular name in the tennis community and an advocate for female athletes of all shapes, sizes, and colours!

‘Think of all the girls who could become top athletes but quit sports because they’re afraid of having too many defined muscles and being made fun of or called unattractive.’

Sue Bird

Bird is an Israeli-American basketball player holding the record for most assists in league history.  Another athlete with an endless resume of accomplishments, notably four WNBA championships with her team Seattle Storm and four Olympic gold medals.

‘The only thing that I’ve really noticed in my own experience is just people kind of saying that a woman, when they react to something exciting, ‘Oh, that’s a masculine way of reacting’. And to me, that’s absurd. It’s like, that’s how humans – they get excited, and you yell and you jump and you flex. That’s what you do’

Alex Morgan

American soccer player, playing for the highest division in the United States of America soccer league besides having co-captained her team. Besides a long list of wins and accomplishments, Morgan is a two-time world cup winner and also an Olympic gold medalist from the London 2012 games. Morgan is also an advocate in bridging the wage gap in US soccer.

‘Always work hard, never give up, and fight until the end because it’s never really over until the whistle blows.’

Katie Ledecky

Swimming her way to 5 Olympic medals and 14 world championship gold medals, Ledecky is a popular name in the athletic community. Having attended her first Olympic games at just 15 years old and initiating her journey with a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle, she really did set the tone for a career full of accomplishments.

‘I don’t really compare myself to others. For me, it’s about not being afraid to set scary goals – goals that most people never even dream of – and then going out and chasing them.’

Local corner

Malta is no stranger to producing female athletes of high-esteem. Our local teams of football, rugby, handball, basketball, and many other sports are often involved in international competitions and leagues displaying their passion and talent and performing exceptionally. This is also true for individual sports like karate, track and field, gymnastics and many, many more.   Local news outlets have recently been offering more exposure to these female athletes, well deservedly. We urge you to do your part by sharing our local athlete’s accomplishments and supporting these budding athletes.

Check out UoM Futsal’s previous article here!

The post Shedding a light on women in sports | UoM Futsal appeared first on The Third Eye.

Written by Kaz Louise Stoner

Surrounded by family and friends, the festive season is an infamous time for over-indulgence.

This year in particular, there wasn’t much else one could do except down copious amounts of alcohol to endure all the ‘family time’, and emotionally eat to reflect on the nightmare that was 2020.

Big meals, lots of chocolate, alcoholic beverages, and hot festive drinks are all calorie-dense and, with no training, this can allow waistbands to feel tighter and can leave a person feeling lethargic. It’s no wonder that, come the new year, gyms are fuller and events like Dry January become more popular! 

A couple of weeks off from training is not detrimental to a fitness journey or an athlete’s career. Even elite athletes are given time off during this time. Rest is an important part of the athletic performance so do not beat yourself up about the lack of training and overeating. Mindset is an important part of training and it is fundamental to have the right intentions and reasons for wanting to train. Although ‘losing weight’ is important as it reduces the risk of heart disease and other pathologies, aesthetic reasons should seldom guide fitness goals (unless in a sport that requires it, such as; bodybuilding). So, although it’s common to want to be mistle-toned post-Christmas binges, the driving factor of training should be bettering athletic performance, getting stronger, and healthier! 

Get organised: planning and goals! 

After days of indulgence, heading back into the gym or training with a team can seem daunting. Quite frankly, nobody really ‘feels like’ getting back into the old routine. Planning ahead and setting goals are important to creating a sustainable training plan. Goals should never be ‘run a sub 30 minutes 5 kilometer run’ from the get-go, especially if you’ve never really run before! They can be little goals such as, ‘do at least 2 workouts a week’, ‘cut back on certain types of alcohols’, or anything that really fits what you want to achieve. 

Planning is another important factor that can help ease the journey from Christmas to Fitmas. Be realistic… no one’s really got time for a 2-hour session every day. But on days you know you don’t have many lectures, or you’re not usually rostered in for work, slot in a little ‘me time’… even if it’s just a walk. Getting your body moving is the hardest part. Evidence shows that after a month of consistency, anything can make its way into your routine.

Avoid ‘quick fixes’ or detoxes

There is no quick fix to getting healthy and fit. Instagrams are bound to be spammed with ‘tea-toxes’ and ‘follow this plan to get a six pack in 2 weeks’ at the start of the new year. As we know, it is impossible to spot-reduce fat, so if any plan is promoting ‘losing belly fat’, you can immediately disregard this from your fitness investments. There are plenty of plans on the internet that can assist and guide you towards kick-starting your fitness journey.

We recommend that you research into them before purchasing. It is important to purchase these from qualified and legitimate coaches, not someone who’s made a living by looking cute on social media. Anything attained quickly, can be lost just as quickly. Be consistent and patient, and the results you earn, you’re more likely to keep. Detoxes and fit-teas are not only useless in sustainable fitness, but can also be dangerous and damaging to your health!

Buddy Up

There’s nothing quite like your teammates motivating you and cheering you on to keep going during training. The fixed training times are also encouraging to keeping a structured workout plan. If you don’t play or practice a sport, however, this does not mean you cannot follow the same principles. There are plenty of workout classes offered by qualified coaches you can join. If you don’t want to splurge, getting a workout buddy is another great way of maintaining a commitment to training. There’s nothing quite like a competitive edge to give your motivation to train that extra boost. 

The Bottom Line

Getting back into a routine is all about trial and error. There is no one size fits method of being able to get back into training it and shedding the holiday pounds. Getting moving and finding out what works for you is what it’s all about. As mentioned throughout, there is no need to spend loads of money at expensive gyms or on expensive plans. All workouts can be done from the comfort of your own home or just outside as long as you have the motivation to plan and carry them out yourself! Essentially, if you don’t enjoy exercise, you won’t stick to it. Take the time to reflect and work out what will make you workout.

Wishing you the best of luck and a very prosperous new year from the UM Futsal Team!

Check out UoM Futsal’s previous article here!

The post Trading Jingle Bells for Kettle Bells | UoM Futsal appeared first on The Third Eye.

Written by Kaz Louise Stoner

Sports, whether professional or amateur, is an essential part of each and every person’s lifestyle.

Whether observing from a television screen or being an active participant of a team or individual sport, it serves as a stress relief to many people.

With social distancing as the new norm and human to human contact advised to be avoided, an aura of uncertainty was put around the world of sports. We could no longer endure lazy sofa Sunday’s watching the football, or head down to the pub with our friends to grab a beer and support our favourite teams. Whilst a major source of entertainment was removed from us all, the impact this has had on athletes worldwide is un-ignorable.

Training and Games

During the months where sporting activities were halted, most teams or associations were found mid-league or competitive season. It was peak training season with crucial games left to be played or competed against. Although many associations continued with training from home via resources such as Zoom, the conditioning athletes have spent years working on to develop was decreased. Participants in team sports were left without a team to practice drills and techniques with and the face to face corrections a coach can offer was now eliminated. 

Since returning to sport, teams have adopted measures to ensure the safety of their players. The UM Futsal team takes each member’s temperature before entering the training session, supplies sanitiser, and regulates mask use when not training/ playing, and organising random swabbing for the players. However, players are still faced with anxiety about the safety of their opposing teams. 

Crowds

New regulations impose that games are now to be played behind closed doors. This means that fans are unable to support their favourite teams and offer cheers of endearment/ encouragement. Whilst a necessary evil, this can have a large impact on the performance of the athlete and team as whole. Spectators do not simply just watch. Rather, they are actively part of the experience. A research paper from Argentina using data from 1320 different games states that having fans at matches increases the likelihood of a win by 20%. With this eliminated, athletes must look within to match their fans’ enthusiasm, which is often a difficult task. 

Uncertainties

With a record-breaking week of COVID-19 cases, the world of sports is once again left up in the air. Of course, as with anything, there is a risk to contact sports. However, within the media, sports have been put on a pedestal and under attack numerous times as being too dangerous at this time. A big question mark looms over the world of sports. Athletes are training and oftentimes questioning what for? Will the league really persist? Will I really be able to travel for my competition? Will I ever be able to regain the training that I lost if we keep stopping? These loaded questions are truly impacting the mental health of the athletes and subsequently affecting their performance. The Association for Applied Sport Psychology published that athletes are experiencing an emotional rollercoaster during this time due to the ever changing influxes of information, uncertainties and changes in daily routines, their health, and the health of others. 

International opportunities

Whilst sports is an ever-expanding industry in Malta, opportunities are limited and it is every athlete’s dream to play or perform abroad. Many clubs and associations have provided teams with this experience in the past. However, since travel is difficult right now with Malta being on the red-list of many other countries, there is a void of this fulfillment in the careers of many. Even if competitions are planned abroad, with the current state of things, there is no guarantee these will go on as planned. Most opportunities (with two of the largest being the Tokyo Olympic Games and the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament) are cancelled or postponed. These events have been the targets and aims of some athletes’ training for years and the pandemic has caused them to miss the opportunity of a lifetime.

Livelihood

Fundamentally, for aspiring athletes, sports is not just a hobby. Sports is a passion, a lifestyle, and essentially; a career.  Athletes, coaching staff, team managers, referees, and many others have been affected by the pandemic, as previously mentioned, impacting their physical and mental wellbeing. Besides this, however, it has also caused an impact on financial income. As stated by the International Society of Sports Psychology, the effect of the pandemic on the sporting world “potentially involves a loss of identity, motivation and meaning”. 

The post The Sports Industry during COVID-19 | UoM Futsal appeared first on The Third Eye.