#128

In an awesome conversation with footballer, Adam Thompson, who has played for a series of clubs and managers over the years, we broke this conversation down into three parts.
Part 1: Being a professional footballer and the difficult side to the game. The highs, the lows, leaving clubs, moving, family life, transfers, new managers and environments - the side the fans don't see.
Part 2: Family life, becoming a Mental Health Advocate and Coach and adversities that life has brought. We talk about the impacts upon relationships, impacts upon family, impacts upon own mental health and taking the time to understand what works for Adam - developing his own framework to understanding his thoughts, emotions and reactions, that allow him to create a balance in life between being a footballer, a family man and now a business owner, whilst enjoying being a player and preparing for life after football.
Part 3: Becoming a Business Owner and the next phase of his life.
This conversation allowed us to talk about so much, including playing under former managers including Maklay Mackay, Sean Dyche, Gianfranco Zola, Gareth Ainsworth, Edgar Davids, Phil Brown, Stuart McCall, Simon Grayson, Lee Clark, Ryan Lowe, Paul Warne, Kenny Jackett and Dean Brennan. An incredible career, playing at various levels of the game, playing for clubs including Watford, Wycombe, Brentford, Southend United, Bury, Rotherham United, Leyton Orient and Barnet, whilst playing for his country, Northern Ireland, we spoke about the dynamics of the changing room, transfers, being loaned out, being managed in different ways, tactical systems and the personality of managers.
Adam's achievements from his career:
• Automatic Promotion to League One with Bury in 2018-19 Season
• Automatic Promotion to the Championship 2019-2020 Season with Rotherham United
• EFL League Two: 2022-23 with Leyton Orient
• Football League Two Play-offs 2014-15 with Southend United
• 2 Caps for Northern Ireland in 2011
• Played League Two, League One, Championship, FA Cup, Papa John’s Trophy & League Cup
We are able to talk about the spectacular highs within his career, which included promotion and the feeling of being promoted, whilst analysing the other competitions and dynamics between each that Adam has experienced.
Adam who recently signed for Endfield Town, has openly spoken about personal battles with mental health and the approach he has taken to understanding more about himself, mental health, the impacts of the game and looking at ways he can manage emotions, stress and concerns in a positive approach towards football and his life. The demands of a footballer can often be unseen, spending much time away from family, including a partner, a young child and constant travelling, with the abuse of fans online. In an open mindset, Adam spoke about the perspective of some of the hate/abuse received online and talked about some of the reasons that individuals post their particular views and comments online. This is such a different perspective as he many individuals within the lime-light or in a position where they can receive continuous hate or abuse, this was an alternative view towards understanding the reactions of those who post online.
The conversation developed allowing us to listen to the great work that Adam is doing with individuals as a Mental Health Advocate and Coach and has talked about his business and his vision for the future.
IN such a fascinating episode, with such a fantastic individual, it was great to sit back and listen to Adam.
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