5 Football Metaphors for the Counseling Experience 

Learning to See the Whole Field  Football has different types of game footage. You have the broadcast feed, which is how the game airs on television, showing plays and players from certain angles. The cameras follow the action. Then there’s the “All 22” film, providing a birds-eye view of the whole field and all the players. From this view, coaches can get a better understanding of how plays develop and what each player does. Counseling is like that. It helps you zoom out and see the whole field, looking at factors you may not have considered.

Studying the Film Watching the game tape allows us to take a closer look at what’s really happening. What do we do on 3rd and short? What defense are we in against a 4 receiver set? How does our offense perform in this scenario? How do we respond against the blitz? Why do we seem to struggle against this team? Understanding how we function grows our capacity to function differently as spouses, as parents, as sons and daughters, and as siblings.

Playing Your Position When we get stressed or anxious, it’s easy to start zeroing in on what others are doing instead of focusing on our own roles. The quarterback begins to get frustrated with a receiver’s routes. The receiver becomes increasingly frustrated that he isn’t getting the ball. When anxious, we tend to worry about what others are doing, or not doing, and miss an important fact: we can only play our position. Expecting others to be different isn’t a winning gameplan. It’s wishful thinking. We cannot change others directly. We can, however, change how we function in relation to others.

Installing a New Game Plan  Sometimes teams get stuck in a rut. Stagnant. They’ve used the same playbook, the same offensive or defensive scheme, with diminishing results. That is when they will try something new out of desperation. This process involves asking tough questions about identity, strengths and shortcomings, goals and desires. The counseling process is similar. Who are you? Who do you want to be? What do you believe? How are you functioning in your relationships? What do you want?

Practicing New Plays You’ve probably heard of the old saying, “You will play like you practice.” This is true on and off the field. All relationship have certain patterns. Some of these patterns have been formed and maintained for years. Across generations even. These patterns become second nature, things we do without even thinking about it. Part of personal growth is making small changes to our functioning. Counseling can help in this process.