Kenya’s team for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships, currently in a residential training camp in Kasarani, took some time off their routine training yesterday to attend a psychological training and counselling session organized by Athletics Kenya.
The training, which focused primarily on psychological and emotional self-care, also included lessons on handling pressure, fame, finances, and relationships among athletes and their officials before and during the
championship.
Counselling Psychologist Dr. Agnes Nthangi said the key focus of the training was on preparing the young athletes for their upcoming World Championship.
“We want the young people to feel that they are loved, they are accepted. We also want them to get rid of any negative emotion because young people usually develop feelings of shame, feelings of embarrassment. Especially when their adult companions are not able to correct them appropriately, “said Dr.Thangi
“So, for young people we wanted them to develop mechanisms of communicating when they are not happy. With the adult companions, the adult companions include the coaches, the medical doctors, the physiotherapists and the managers who travel with them. “She added
Dr. Nthangi called on the government and sports federations to prioritize counseling sessions for sportsmen and women.
“Sports includes athletics, we have the football, we have the rugby and we have all the other sports in Kenya. Currently counselling psychology is not mainstreamed. So, the recommendation I would make to the government of Kenya is to actually see the importance of counselling in helping all the sport people whether they are in football, rugby, athletics in such a way that counselling is mainstreamed to support them so that their performance can move from the level it is at currently. “Stated Dr. Nthangi
Athletics Kenya Chief Administrative Officer Susan Kamau, who attended the session, announced that the federation will make such training mandatory for Kenyan teams ahead of their international assignments, as it is also crucial in tackling the doping menace.
“It is a deliberate move that we have made as Athletics Kenya to have the counsellors come and talk to them, we know that through this training, through the counsellors that we brought today, it is going to change their mindset and as they go, they will go prepared knowing that we have prepared them as Athletics Kenya, “said Kamau
She also expressed confidence in the team’s performance in the championship.
“Because this is something that has been studied. There is scientific evidence that mental preparation which we do as counsellors, that is what we usually do. We enhance performance in sport. This will be a continuous process and this is only the beginning. And we believe that when they are brought together, they are counselled together, they are guided together, they will go of course to participate and compete as individuals. “Said Kamau
Kenya aims to improve on its 5th place finish at the 2024 Lima, Peru outing, where it secured 3 gold, 3 silvers, and a bronze medal.
The team of 23 athletes, consisting of 12 boys and 11 girls, which reported for a residential training camp last week, will depart the country at the end of this month ahead of the global showpiece set for the 5th to the 9th of next month in Oregon, USA.
