He former boxer, coach, social educator and lecturer Jero García stars in the ninth episode of ‘The game inside’, MARCA’s video podcast focused on mental and emotional well-being in sport. A conversation in which the invisible pillars of high performance are addressed: the head, the focus and personal training beyond talent.
Jero García, also known for his time in television in Big Brother and for his social work through sport, reflects on what really sustains an elite athlete. For him, the key is not only in physical appearance or talent, but in the ability to manage pressure, the environment and identity outside of performance.
During the talk, the ex-boxer also speaks about the exhibition of young talents such as Lamine Yamal, whom he sees as a paradigmatic case of modern pressure in football. “The problem is not what he does on the field, but everything they put him out there,” he points out, warning about the media and social burden that accompanies the new stars.
Another of the axes of the conversation is his role as an author. In his book ‘The Way Back’, Jero García addresses stories crossed by sport, violence and personal reconstruction, where boxing appears as a tool of transformation. A work that, as he explains, is born from direct experience with young people at risk of exclusion and from the learning accumulated over years of work in the Jero García Foundation.
Book ‘Camino de ‘return’.
You can buy it here.
One of the central points of the conversation is the importance of the athlete’s training during their professional career. García defends that high performance should incorporate a key “fifth leg”: preparation for life after sport, something that he considers still very neglected in the elite.
He also addresses his own personal story: ADHD diagnosed in adulthood, his boxing careerretirement, the education of young athletes and the impact of experiences such as their work with victims of violence. All of this builds a raw, direct and unfiltered vision of which means competing, falling and rebuilding.
Your sports and well-being podcast
The Game Inside, The video podcast on mental and emotional well-being in sports is now available on the main podcast platforms (Spotify, Ivoox, Apple Podcast, Omny…) and also on MARCA.com and Radio MARCA. Subscribe for free on your usual platform so you don’t miss any episode.
It maintains a biweekly periodicity, with new episodes every two weeks in which athletes, former athletes, psychologists and performance experts They share their experience on mindset, emotional management, pressure, leadership and personal growth. An interesting proposal to delve deeper into how the athlete’s mind works and what is really behind performance.
