SPORTS psychologist Darren Devaney knows better than most how psychology and mental health are vital to performing your best. For the past four years, Darren (32) has been working with Arsenal FC. The Stranorlar man is the club’s Academy Psychologist and he helps players in the Academy, primarily the U23 and U18 players, with their hearts set on playing for the first team, winning trophies or just striving for their personal best.

“Many of these young lads are looking to pass their GCSEs and get a good education while also being very good at football. They’re trying to avoid picking up injuries and meet the demands that various other people are putting on them.

“We’re trying to help them grow as people and performers. We’re trying to keep their feet on the ground and be honest with them about their chances,” he said.
A talented scratch golfer, Darren briefly flirted with the idea of pursuing a career as a professional golfer in his teenage years. He was rubbing shoulders and competing against Rory McIlroy at Ulster and Irish underage tournaments during his time as a student at St Columba’s College.

“He was usually up near the head of the field while I was mid-way down the leader board. Before too long I realised that I might be better staying with the books,” he laughed.

The books led to a degree in Psychology from Queens University, Belfast (2009), a Masters in Sports Psychology from Liverpool John Moores University, (2013) and a PhD, also in Sport Psychology, from Liverpool John Moore’s University (2019). Initially employed by the England and Wales Cricket Board, Darren spent four years working as a Personal Development and Welfare practitioner within an Under-19 and Under-17 National cricket programme before joining Arsenal in September 2017. The youngest son of Sean and Dolores Devaney, Darren’s older brother Damian is a former manager of the Donegal Ladies GAA team. He is the current Ardara coach. He has one sister, Michelle, who lives in Cork while his fiancee Steph, who hails from Magherafelt, works as a Clinical Scientist at Guy’s & St. Thomas’s Hospital in London.

“My earlier work in cricket had a strong priority on family life and the development of these players as young people in their life away from the sport was similar to the approach being taken by Arsenal,” he said.

“Arsenal take talented young footballers from the age of nine years into their Academy. They all live in their own areas around London and come to us for their football development three to five times per week plus a match at weekends,” he added.
With over two hundred players in the Arsenal Academy at any given time it’s understandable that some are sent out on loan to clubs in the lower leagues and abroad.

There’s been a significant increase in the use of sports psychologists within football academies and first teams.
Modern day football is a multi-billion euro industry with Premier Division players commanding astronomical weekly wage packets. However, only a very small minority make it to the very top.

“When you’re talking to a sixteen year old, for example, they’re preparing for what life as a full-time footballer might look like while for a nine-year-old it might mean sitting on a beanbag and explaining who are the different people they can speak to every day to keep themselves happy and organised,” he said.

“They’ve all seen the stats. They’ve been given a great opportunity but not all of them will be lucky enough to have a career at Arsenal.There have been many reports, but it has been reported that of those entering academies at age 9 across the professional clubs, 0.5% will have a professional career, and 5/6 won’t be playing the game at the age of 21,” he added.

It is his job to help themunderstand themselves and develop the skillsrequired to be a person outside football which also helps them to be a good footballer as well.
“If you are making wrong choices then you will struggle quite quickly because those around you making all the right choices are thriving. It’s important people realise that early on. We need to help those who haven’t realised it yet and guide them to make the right decisions.
“There’s a huge amount of responsibility and demand being placed on their shoulders from a very young age and we’re trying to prepare them for that.
“It’s tough telling a fifteen-year old who is obsessed with football that he needs to prepare for or invest in a life that doesn’t involve football. That’s a tough sell.
“It’s important that they learn early on that you need a life outside football. A simple line we use is that if all you have is football and football isn’t going well you haven’t got anything going well so what else is there around you – your family, education, social life – that you can look to,” he said.
“We’re advocates of getting the young lads to learn a language, a musical instrument or going back to education – to have something more to them,”he said.
“It’s an easy trap to fall into – saying that education will get in the way – but there’s only a benefit to learning organisational skills that will balance football and education,” he added.

Restrictions have seen regular trips to Florida, Germany and Singapore with Arsenal underage teams switched with three days in Plymouth meaning that Darren has found it more difficult to engage in ‘one on one’ conversations with the young players.
“Talking to players through Zoom calls has made life difficult. A big part of my job is to be on site and around the teams. I’ve been seven months with the U23s and U18s and yet I haven’t been around the groups that much. I’m trying to learn myself so that I can understand how best to support these young people at that stage of their lives,” he said.
“Increasingly for me it has become about using the knowledge and skills that I have had the opportunity to develop, to help the staff and the players where I can. This is what I take my purpose from. It means that I am doing something I enjoy and, hopefully, I can make a difference,” he added