Ted Lasso season 2 includes a major plotline focused on the yips – a colloquialism referring to a pro athlete’s sudden inability to perform – but how realistic is the condition and the psychology surrounding it? In season 1, most of the players’ issues were solved through Ted’s persistent but admittedly unscientific approach to encouragement, team building, and communication. But now, with the addition of Dr. Sharon the sports psychologist, AFC Richmond is taking a more medically sound approach to personal care.
Dr. Sharon is first brought in to help AFC Richmond star player Dani Rojas, who starts to experience the yips after accidentally killing the team dog with a stray kick. Ted objects to the idea at first given his past poor experiences with therapists, but he acquiesces in the interests of the team. Sure enough, Dr. Sharon is quickly able to reinvigorate Dani, restoring him to his former glory. But how accurate is that Ted Lasso plotline to actual modern medical science?
In actuality, Ted Lasso isn’t that far off from real sports psychology. The yips, while a colloquial name, is a real, documented condition observed in pro athletes of numerous sports, including golf, baseball, basketball, football, and even darts. The condition is generally seen as being biomechanical, exemplified in cases where some external mental shift (or occasionally an internal physical one) makes a previously stellar performer unable to execute relatively basic motor skills. That’s pretty much how Ted and the crew describe the yips in Ted Lasso season 2, so the show’s portrayal of the condition, while dramatized, is actually fairly accurate.
So, too, is Dr. Sharon’s treatment of the condition. Sport psychology is a real field that has grown exponentially in modern times, and while Dr. Sharon’s immediate efficiency is with AFC Richmond’s players is a bit unrealistic, her methods aren’t that far off from real life. Judging by what she’s done in the series so far, Dr. Sharon would best be categorized as a clinical sport psychologist – a subdivision that prioritizes counseling and mental healthcare as a means to optimize athletic performance. And so far, that’s exactly what she’s been doing with AFC Richmond.
It should be interesting to see how Sharon’s scientific methods mesh with Ted’s coaching style as Ted Lasso season 2 progresses. The coach seems to have developed a bit of jealousy that someone else has been able to find similarly positive results with his team, which could lead to some confrontations between the two. However, given the overwhelmingly optimistic tone of Ted Lasso, it seems more likely that Sharon and Ted will find common ground and join forces to make AFC Richmond even better.