Hair loss, extreme pressure, low self-esteem; the mental side of youth academies we do not see

INTERVIEW - Julie van Bennekom (33) has seen and experienced with her own eyes what academy footballers have to cope with mentally. For the past six and a half years, she worked as a psychologist for academy footballers at SC Buitenveldert in Amsterdam. Julie is extremely worried about the serious mental health issues they develop and talks about her concerns in her podcast Off Pitch met Juuls. ‘Unfortunately, mental health and support is the last thing clubs want to invest in.’

Photo: Janosch Diggelmann via Unsplash

Julie gives her life and soul to help academy footballers. There is nothing she cares more about than the life and well-being of the children she guides. Recently, she decided to offer her psychological help for free. ‘These children are in desperate need of help. I was guiding a boy who is being raised solely by his mom. He was really struggling and needed help but he could not afford it. So I literally grabbed the invoice and ripped it apart. Now I help everyone for free and I am so happy about that.’

‘I literally grabbed the invoice and ripped it apart. Now I help everyone for free’

Julie is not a stranger to the world of professional sports, she used to play field hockey at a high level when she was young. ‘In my high school class, I was surrounded by other children who were playing sports at a high level. There were a lot of boys in my class who used to play for Ajax’s academy. But I noticed that nobody really cared how we were doing mentally and how we were feeling.’

Julie is also the psychologist of some academy players of Ajax, AZ and Feyenoord among other clubs. Photo: © Julie van Bennekom

Ten years later, Julie decided that it was time someone gave attention to these young athletes. ‘I was always passionate about football, but I did not know the industry that well yet. So I learnt about this world and started working at SC Buitenveldert. I observed the process of young children aged nine or ten who were being scouted by Ajax, Feyenoord and AZ. From their trials all the way to the decision on whether or not they were welcomed into the academy. And that is how I figured out what these children needed from a psychologist.’

SC Buitenveldert is an amateur club located in the heart of The Zuidas, a rapidly developing business district in Amsterdam. Through all age categories, the club plays at a high amateur level and is a breeding ground for talents for professional clubs. A land of hopes and dreams for many children to become professional footballers and to follow in the footsteps of AS Monaco striker Myron Boadu (22) and Dutch legend Frank Rijkaard (60), who both played for the club as children.

But within these dreams, there is a lot of pressure. ‘A lot of children suffer from stress because they feel pressure to perform,’ says Julie. ‘There are players who have low self-esteem because they got released at a top club or as a coping mechanism in case they do not make it. I have even had children who were suffering from depression. But on the other hand, there are also players who have a lot of confidence and who are becoming too big for their boots. They are not necessarily experiencing stress, but it does hinder the development of their identities.’

‘He had so much stress that bald spots started to appear on his head’

One boy, whom Julie has known since he was 10 years old, was suffering from extreme pressure when he played in the youth academy of a professional club. ‘He had so much stress that bald spots started to appear on his head. And the funny thing is that he was putting pressure on himself. His father did not really care whether or not he made it. He would just sit on the stands and read his newspaper. But now, he is seventeen and his life has turned around. He is playing in the amateurs, he is discovering the nightlife and he is happy again. The pressure is gone and he has found the joy in football again.’

Disappearing into a void

The biggest concern for Julie is the fact that some academy players are from a young age already being treated like the next big thing. ‘It happens so fast. I am now working with a boy who played in Ajax’s academy for six years, almost half of his life. Then fell down a level to FC Volendam and now he has totally lost the plot. He does not enjoy football anymore and is right now vulnerable to a life of crime. He will always be the boy who played for Ajax and his whole identity is evolved around that and that worries me.’

‘The stands are literally filled with people who just want to watch him play. And that kid is only fourteen’

‘There is another boy I am working with who is currently playing in the academy of a top club in The Netherlands. I have known him since he was nine years old at SC Buitenveldert. Seven years later, I am still working with him and in his team, there is a star boy. The stands are literally filled with people who just want to watch him play. And that kid is only fourteen. Things are going well now, but in four years he is eighteen. Will he still be adored then? If he does not make it, and the possibility is large, he will fall into a void,’ says Julie.

‘Obviously, all the attention can also lead to a bit of jealousy from other kids, but I have told the boy I am working with to be happy to be in his shadow. Be happy that attention is not on you so that you can develop yourself away from the spotlights where people do not want anything from you,’ says Julie.

Can they still be a child?

‘Academy players oftentimes have to make a lot of sacrifices,’ explains Julie. ‘They have to go to school, train, do their homework and sleep on time. They also have to take care of their health and body and often have to say no to the one party that all of their friends go to. Some children also have to move away from their friends, family and safe environment because they got scouted by a club from the other side of the country. These are sacrifices that they are willing to make, but ones that can have an impact later on in their lives. Especially if they do not make it.’

‘Nowadays, people often think that these children cannot be a child anymore, but this really depends. For my podcast, I recently interviewed Silver Elum and Tygo Groen who both play in academies. They are two kids from a stable environment. Their parents are still together, they have a good life at home and they say they are still able to be a kid,’ says Julie.

‘However, there are also academy players who are being raised by a single parent and who feel a responsibility to make sure they have enough food at home. Besides football and school, they also work to earn money and they carry the stress to provide for themselves and their family. They are not able to still be a child.’

Divorced parents

Nowadays, it is a lot more common for children to grow up with divorced parents. In 2021 alone, 25,962 marriages ended in divorce in The Netherlands. ‘For some children from divorced parents, their upbringing is still really good and they are not lacking any love. But if a child is good at football and plays in an academy, everybody wants something from them. Bluntly speaking, a lot of people want to earn money out of this child. And parents are bombarded by these people. If you are a divorced parent you may not have anyone to discuss these things. They do not have anyone who is steady and who can look at it from a neutral view. They get lost and are unable to make the right decision for their kid. I have seen this happen to a lot of single parents.’

‘Bluntly speaking, a lot of people want to earn money out of a talented child’

Julie has a family-orientated approach to her work as a psychologist for these children. Because not only do children sometimes suffer mentally from playing the game, but their parents can also struggle. ‘I have guided a boy who was being raised solely by his mom. She was distraught and she did not know how to be a good mother to her son. She was struggling to support him when she was in desperate need of mental help herself too.’

‘Lately, I also spoke with a father of a child who is playing at the academy of a top three side in The Netherlands who told me that he feels stressed and nervous watching his son play,’ says Julie. ‘But there is also sometimes a lack of understanding between parent and child. That is why I always speak with the parents too. One day I might speak one-on-one with the kid, the next week with the kid and his parents and the next time I may speak with just the parents.’

Covid’s lost generation

The covid pandemic and lockdowns have also had a negative effect on some children in youth academies. Some children still feel the negative effects of it to this day. ‘During the first lockdown, I neglected my own friends because I was a little afraid of contact, but I never neglected the children. I picked them up by car and brought them to a pitch to play football. One of the boys told me lately how thankful he was and said that I brought joy to their lives. And that is why I do this. I want them to be happy. I do everything for these kids.’

‘Some kids were at a crucial age to make the next step. When you turn seventeen, the chances of becoming a professional footballer become very slim’

‘Unfortunately, there are some kids who lost their joy in playing football during the lockdowns. There is one boy I know who still has not found his joy back because he was unable to play games during that time. They were only allowed to train for a long period of time. Yes, they were moving but with no competitive games, it felt like there was no purpose in their lives,’ says Julie.

‘Some kids were also at a crucial age to make the next step. When you turn seventeen, the chances of becoming a professional footballer become very slim. And by the time when everything opened up again, some kids reached this age. This was very difficult for the kids who were highly motivated to become a professional. Life became hopeless for them.’

‘When I just started at SC Buitenveldert six and half years ago, I did not dare to call myself a psychologist’

In this day and age, people are talking more and more about mental health on the internet and social media. According to Julie, the topic is also becoming less of a taboo. ‘When I just started at SC Buitenveldert six and half years ago, I did not dare to call myself a psychologist. I was a mental coach or a top sports coach as it scared fewer people off.’

‘Nowadays, there are more people than ever before who reach out to me,’ says Julie. ‘This does not mean that children have more problems now, because when I was their age, my classmates were suffering from the exact same things. But children themselves are more open to receiving mental help too. There is more acceptance, not as much as we would like still, but luckily there is more than before.’

Stop romanticising football

There are numerous things that still need to change according to Julie. ‘Firstly, we need to stop romanticising football. A couple of months ago I was talking with a professional footballer who is in his early twenties. I was watching him sit on the bench and he seemed like such a fragile child to me. But to the outside world, he is a big and confident character. I asked him whether he was happy and he told me he was, but only because he felt like he could not complain. Even though he is away from home and without his family.’

‘Ever since he was fifteen and trained with the first team, he has always been hyped. There was a lot of media interested in him. He is from the same generation as Ihattaren, who is another great example of someone who has struggled to live up to the hype that was projected,’ says Julie.

‘We cannot say to a fourteen-year-old child who is going through a mental dip that they are not qualified enough to become an athlete’

Within youth academies, there is also the expectation of children to be mentally strong all the time. ‘We cannot say to a fourteen-year-old child who is going through a mental dip that they are not qualified enough to become an athlete,’ says Julie. ‘I always refer to Lionel Messi, who for a while could not handle the pressure of his country to win a trophy and announced his retirement from the national team. But nobody said that Messi was less of an athlete because of this and it does not make him a worse player. But this is what we do tell children.’

Not enough help

Julie also believes that there is not enough support for the mental health of the players in professional football clubs. ‘The fact that there are still academy footballers from professional clubs coming to me for help says enough. The first thing I ask them is if they have nobody from within the club they can come to. But they either tell me that it is not helping them or they simply do not want anyone from the club to be even more involved because the club is already driving them crazy. So just appointing a psychologist and having them at the club is simply not enough.’

‘Appointing a psychologist and having them at the club is simply not enough’

‘I look at what these players need and how they want to receive help. Sitting in a room with a little book is not always enough,’ says Julie. ‘Psychologists need to get to know the players and they need to show their face around the club. Have regular conversations with them because you need a connection with them. If you do not, you will not be able to help them.’

That is why Julie suggests clubs start working together or start working with external psychologists. ‘If a psychologist from PEC Zwolle for example does not have a connection with one of the players, he may know the perfect person at ADO Den Haag who could help him. Even better would be if there are external contacts the club could refer to, but for that, the football clubs or Dutch Football Association need to invest more money into mental health and support so that it becomes free of charge for their players. But, unfortunately, it is the last thing clubs want to invest in.’

‘Often players have the perception that it is safer for them to speak to a psychologist from outside the club,’ says Julie. ‘However, at Buitenveldert I worked closely with the trainers and the children saw this. But because of that they realised that whatever was being said in our sessions was not being said to the trainer. So it is also important for players to realise this so they feel safe.’

Safe environment is key

‘A lot of trainers say that if there is ever anything they can come to them,’ says Julie. ‘But can a kid really do that? Are they not scared to talk? Do they feel safe and comfortable doing so? That is why creating a safe environment for these children is the most important thing. And if you create this environment as a club you will also end up creating the players you want at the club, the ones that suit the identity and vision.’

‘There is also the expectation of a trainer to be a psychologist, but we should not expect them to be. But it is important for them to recognize the moment they need to refer one of their players to a psychologist, internally or externally. And that is something that should be taught and something that has to change,’ says Julie.

‘He was holding me for such a long time it felt like he was showing me how happy he was that I was there’

Julie used to be at SC Buitenveldert six days a week, but right now she only volunteers as a psychologist for one team because she does not have the time anymore to do this for everybody in the club. She hopes that in the near future, there will be more help for all children in youth academies.

‘There is one kid whom I helped who was going through a really tough period. Usually, I am able to put things aside when a session is over, but in his case, I was not able to,’ says Julie. ‘I gave him all my energy and shed a lot of tears. I recently went to watch him play and during the match, he stood up from the bench, walked over to me and gave me a really big hug. He was holding me for such a long time it felt like he was showing me how happy he was that I was there. He used to feel so lonely and felt like he did not have any reason to be on this earth, but now he is happy again and knows he has a right to exist. These are the moments I live for.’

Text: Rik Tuinstra