02Feb

Lee uses power of the mind to become Brentford’s number one

by Mike Calvin

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Goalkeepers, they say, are mad. It’s a lazy stereotype, encouraged by hints of eccentricity and the blind courage required to hurl oneself at the feet of a forward in fifth gear. Brentford’s Richard Lee knows it is not as simple as that.

His move to Brentford, in the summer of 2010, threatened to undermine his career, and expose the corrosive loneliness of his trade. He was rejected puzzlingly, instantly, by his manager, Andy Scott. He faced a fundamental choice: succumb to self-pity, and self-doubt, or fight back.

Footballers are conditioned to shift the blame, and it would have been easier for him to become just another bitter senior pro, using rejection as a comfort blanket. Lee is brave enough to admit he has no real affinity with football. It is a harsh, judgemental world, and he harboured regular thoughts about walking away.

Graduation, the book which charts his progress, from third choice to Brentford’s player of the season, should be required reading for any aspiring player, fretful first-teamer, or impulsively macho manager. In the words of former England goalkeeper Ben Foster, his friend and business partner, “Richard’s honesty exposes the fragility in us all.”

Lee suffered from what he describes as “acute mental anxiety”. It is a common condition, more generally referred to by sports psychologists as “performance anxiety”. Lee was a prisoner of his imagination, taunted by the consequences of his errors.

Most players obey the conventions of dressing room culture, and “man up” without addressing the core issue, a chronic lack of confidence and perspective. Lee dared to be different. He underwent hypnotherapy, and restructured his life, according to the principles of NLP – Neuro-Linguistic Programming. In short, he harnessed the power of the human mind.

Goalkeepers are an insular breed. They train together, gravitate towards one another. They are fiercely competitive, the best of friends, and the worst of enemies. Their mistakes are magnified by people who don’t understand the mechanics of their position. Lee is their spokesman, their role model.

He has survived, thrived, and is vice-captain of a Brentford team with play-off ambitions in League One. He was brave enough to ask himself the question: “Why?”. Should you read his book? Why not?

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