Blessed are the huggers, for they shall win the leagues

Inexplicably, Liverpool are 13 points clear at the top of the table, players' pockets jingling with Champions League medals as they march doggedly towards their first Premier League title since 1990. As any Liverpool fan will attest, much of this recent success can be attributed to the gaffer - Jurgen Klopp. Klopp is an excellent tactician, whose famous "gegenpress" style of play requires high fitness levels and strict on-field organisation, but he is perhaps best known for the relationship he has with his squad.

When a Liverpool player finds the back of the net - so often nowadays a crucial added-time winner - they will wheel away and find themselves in the arms of a grateful manager. After full time Klopp can be found on the pitch, embracing his charges warmly and proudly. He will gesticulate to some, "Look at what you just did!" as he greets each warrior in Red with a big German bear-hug. Some opponents even come in for the Klopp cuddle treatment, as he whispers sweet nothings in their ear. Come join us and you can get hugged every week...

As our athlete heroes get younger and younger and are faced with social pressures and fan engagement that previous stars could not have fathomed, management styles like Klopp's are becoming more crucial, and not just for football. No longer is it enough to expect a player to give their all "because they're paid to do so" - young athletes need to feel a trust and belonging that is more representative of local sport than the elite leagues of millionaires. Local coaches - often with no other incentives at their call - must give players a reason to turn up to training after work, to put their body on the line, to tackle and tackle and get up and tackle again.

Later this year BarTV Sports will be looking at mental health in sports through a series of podcasts and will discuss the recent trend of player retirements and extended breaks for mental health reasons. And while discussions around mental health in sport rightfully focus on the well-being and survival of young men and women, there are wonderful gains to be made for teams and clubs by building strong communities. Those that do it best seem to taste success. NHRU Grand Final coaches Bubba Coleman (Hamilton Hawks) and Dan Beckett (Wanderers) are famous for building strong bonds with their players. In the NNSW NPL, young coaches like Ruben Zadkovich (Broadmeadow Magic FC) and Damian Zane (Edgeworth Eagles FC) offer their increasingly youthful charges perspective, having lived much of their current experience themselves. At the other end of town, dual AFL Premiership winning coach Damian Hardwick famously opens his home to players, particular those younger stars struggling with sudden fame and fortune.

In an industry where performance is leached from athletes through every possible avenue - nutrition, fitness, sleep, to name a few - mental health and player belonging is surely the next battleground of sporting achievement. And with the exception of 2019/2020  Premier League winning manager Jurgen Klopp (could it really be?!!) - elite coaches would do well to look to their local clubs to learn how to build sporting families that support each other, build winning attitudes and maybe just help lives in the process.