The Lion, the spirit and the plan

The Currie Cup comes to end, and the Sharks really showed themselves to be true champions with a superb, measured and unified performance on Saturday. Those of you who have been following this column for the last few weeks will know that having been involved with the WP u21 side this season, I have been focusing my thoughts on that, but no doubt the thoughts are relevant across the board. A great season was capped off for the boys with a resounding win over the Bulls. Although not a complete 80 minute performance, the guys did well for large parts and really showed some true spirit and skill to take the spoils. I wouldn’t say that the win was purely mental, as I believe the side possess immense skill, but I’ll give some insight into why I think they came out on top.

Firstly, in a final belief is key, you need to possess confidence in your ability not only as an individual, but also in your team mates. This is built up through the way you prepare, the way you play and your attitude towards your game. That confidence and pride of a lion really shows up in those guys who perform at their best in these big games. It was fascinating to see some of the players in the side who showed that they belonged at a higher level when it really counted. I always believe true greats show their class when it matters most, and will back themselves on the big stage. How do get that belief is another long story, but an interesting one at that.

The spirit of a team has almost become a clichéd reason for success. How often do you hear people waxing lyrical about their superb team spirit. Stefan Terblanche in his post-match interview on Saturday pointed to his team’s spirit as a reason for their success. It seems something that almost gets taken for granted though, and I believe that team spirit is something that takes real effort from all concerned to forge, and that without leadership that recognises the need for team spirit, this spirit will not occur. I have seen the mastery of John Dobson at work first hand this season – a man who has built a dynasty at UCT with modest resources and who was able to create a spirit within the WP boys second to none. I have no doubt that although talented, without that spirit the trophy may be somewhere else. Spirit creates added motivation, enjoyment and trust in teammates, all of which lead to victories!

Lastly, is the plan. The only surety in a big game, is the occurrence of mistakes. What is key is how you react to them. The WP boys were made to plan for this mentally in the week, and to go through numerous scenarios in their minds so that when they did occur they had prepared and knew how best to react. They had also created some pointers for themselves before the game, earlier in the week so that when the emotion of the big game kicked in during the warm up, they had their own, self-constructed calm advice to fall back on. This may not work for everyone, but to see guys referring to their notes just before kick off showed without doubt that they believed in their own preparation, which served to help with their confidence before the game.

A truly great win for the boys, and I have no doubt a learning experience for all of them. There are some future greats in the side that will be well worth watching out for. What a privilege it was to work with them.

Mental notes for the Currie Cup Final

It’s Currie Cup final week and along with a huge amount of excitement for all involved, comes the inevitable nerves and pressure that come with having the large prize at your grasp. What often happens in these games is that the style adopted by both sides change as the fear of making mistakes begins to overwhelm and therefore more conservative approaches are often adopted. Essentially in these games two kinds of player exists – the one who alters his style of play due to the occasion causing fear, and the one that realises that a certain style of play got him to the final in the first place and therefore tries to replicate that style with freedom. This is indeed a simplistic view of looking at things, but surely if you have been good enough in the build up to the final, you should be good enough to succeed in the final as well. A few key points are mentioned below that mentally are crucial for any side in the big game.

1. It has become a cliché that the team who wants it more wins. This is only partially true. Passion is a must and striving for the physical dominance is crucial, however, passion without accuracy is worthless. There needs to be a strong desire within the team not only to win the game, but to actually be as accurate and ‘perfect’ as they can. The process of doing the things that lead to a win are far more important than thinking about winning itself.
2. Each side will make mistakes, some worse than others, but you can be guaranteed that things will not always go according to plan – the winning side will probably be the one that reacts better to the mistakes. They will have accepted that mistakes are inevitable, and will have a plan in their minds as to how to react to errors.
3. Players need to go about their preparation in as similar a fashion to any other week. The pressure is high in these games and creating some comfort in an uncomfortable situation is vital. Players will need to visualise their best moments and follow as similar a routine as possible. This is where the home side is often at an advantage, as they have increased familiarity and comfort by virtue of them being in their own surroundings.
4. Teams need to have crucial honest conversations to ensure that all players are on the same page and have mental plans for their game. By talking through situations players can prepare themselves mentally for any eventuality and thus be more prepared in the big moments. They can also plan their own preparation in these conversations to ensure that their intensity levels are where they want them to be at training and in the immediate build-up to the match. Managing the balance here between psyching up and staying calm is imperative.
5. Lastly and it may seem a touch idealistic, but players need to enjoy and embrace the moment. They all want to play in the big games and thus need to give themselves permission to enjoy the game and get into the best mental state for them to excel. Pressure games are opportunities to be a hero, and they need to be framed as such, not as games where players should worry more about not making mistakes.
The weekend’s final should be a cracker. All the best!

Can it get more tense?

Semi finals by nature are tense affairs as the realisation that this could be the last game is right at the forefront of all involved’s minds. The WP u21s this week were adamant that this was not going to be their final week, and that they were keen to take part in the final in 2 weeks time. Trailing for most of the game, the boys were behind by 5 points as the hooter went for full time. With a ruck formed on the 22 metre line, the ball came out to the backline, only for the talented Johan Sadie to break the line, dummy one man and score. With the scores even up stepped their prolific flyhalf to go for the win with the conversion – he missed it! Extra time it was, and with a gusty Free State down to 13 men at one stage, WP managed to go ahead. However with 2 minutes to go Free State equalised taking the score to 49 a piece, which is where it ended, meaning WP went through by virtue of scoring more tries in the game. Hectic!

This is one of those games, where the mind begins to work in overdrive as first of all the nerves are prevalent, and then secondly, fatigue begins to kick in as you approach the 100 minute mark of rugby played. I suppose WP can be both criticised and lauded for their mental approach in this game. Early on it appeared that they were hesitant, un-focused and even perhaps slightly complacent. This is hard to gauge, but they certainly were not in the top gear. What could have happened here is that mistakes could have been made, in trying to be over-relaxed at risk of compounding the nerves people experience in big games, in the build-up to the game. It could also have been a case of fear of failure or a case of having one eye on the final already and forgetting about the task at hand. Then lastly there may have been a slight element of complacency as this team had beaten the Bulls and Sharks in consecutive weeks and were expected to comfortably beat the Cheetahs. I have obviously written this from a WP perspective due to my involvement with them, but it would be narrow-minded not to heap praise on a gallant, passionate Cheetahs side who could easily have walked away with the spoils. They played like true underdogs without the pressure of expectation, and showed hunger to cause an upset. Unfortunately for them, they perhaps did not have the true belief and confidence to close out the game when they could have and were perhaps unlucky.

In games like these however, one has to examine what various individuals are thinking and how they are acting. Thought processes in sportsmen are what we try to alter as mental coaches, as these are what influence the feelings of the players and thus their actions as well. Having chatted briefly to a few of the players after the game, I certainly gained some valuable insight going into the final on the players psyche, and as to how we should prepare. Firstly, in big games the ability to come back from an error is crucial. One certainty in a big game is that something will go wrong, so your ability to react in the best possible way is key if you are to be successful. The WP flyhalf (Gary Van Aswegen) after missing the conversion at the death was able to come back and hit two more tough kicks in extra time, which showed exceptional mental toughness. I also found it fascinating to see the WP outside centre, who managed to score the equalising try, with a huge grin on his face with 2 minutes left to go in extra time whilst on defence. When I asked him about it, he just said to me, “Ag I just try to enjoy it hey Tom”. This attitude clearly works for him as he won man of the match, but is one that not everyone can adopt, or even subscribe to themselves. What is apparent in these big games is that each individual has a very different way of approaching things and thus needs to do his own mental preparation work to ensure he is in the best possible mind space for the game. A lot is done as a team, but with an individual bit of brilliance or failure sometimes being the difference in the result, the individual needs a lot more focus.

A great game, and one that a team can only learn from, whether they won or lost. Well done to both sides and good luck to WP in the final.

The WP boys turn it around!

A 41- 14 defeat, and a bruised ego was what WP u21s took away from Kings Park 8 weeks ago. Needless to say with a home-semi final at stake for both sides, the WP boys managed to turn it around, winning 36 – 9, without conceding a try. This should give the boys some good momentum going into what is going to be a brutally tough semi-final. There is no doubt that both the Sharks and WP are massively talented sides with great resources and opportunities for them to excel. I would like to offer some brief thoughts on why mentally I thought WP were on song, notably the confidence that they had, and the existence of the CTP (Critical Turning Point) in the game.

Firstly, I believe confidence comes in two different ways. Either it comes from previous successes or it comes from putting in the best preparation you can and taking confidence from the fact that you know you are optimally prepared. The WP boys in this case had come off a great win last week which enhanced their belief. However they had lost badly to the Sharks boys before and therefore needed something more than just relying on past successes to gain this win. Their confidence had to come mostly from the work they put in over the previous few weeks. Altering a state of mind is not an easy thing to do and therefore they needed to put in the work both physically and mentally to ensure that they believed strongly enough that they could win. The WP boys certainly have worked incredibly hard physically, and have also been working at their thought processes and energy levels – all of which I believe put them in good stead for the Sharks game. One cannot discount desire and passion from a defeat, but that is never enough without clear thought patterns, a common goal and a focus on process.

Secondly, in many games there are what people term turning points. Often this is a knock on, or a big tackle etc. I also believe there can be mental CTP’s as I call them. I am sure all rugby players, coaches and followers will know of some of these. This is when a team does something in the game, that either ignites more effort or more belief within them. The WP team pride themselves on their effort on defence but were wary of the enormous ability the Sharks had with ball in hand. It was without doubt in the forefront of their minds. In the first 20 minutes of play, WP had to soak up an enormous amount of pressure within their own 22 from the Sharks, during which all the Sharks managed were 3 points. Wave after wave of attack was repelled. And in my mind this was a CTP. Firstly, a strength of WP (their defence) was reinforced in their own minds, secondly they were then able to see that they COULD snuff out the Sharks’ dangerous attack, and thirdly I believe the Sharks may have been disheartened by the fact that their traditional strength was not good enough on the day and lost some crucial energy and belief themselves. Their own self-belief would have been dented.

These are just two of the many points that could be taken from this game. There is still a long way to go in the competition but the WP coaches and players really must take some credit for turning this one around. The Sharks will be back though- of that I am certain. I look forward to any comment!

Beating the Bulls at Loftus

The apparent everest of rugby seemed to rear its head again on Saturday as WP let go of a lead to lose to the Bulls at Loftus. Without doubt what the Bulls have built is admirable and exciting for their loyal supporters, as it seems that their aura at Loftus is worth at least 10 points (could be even more?). I have worked over the last two weeks with the WP u21 side in preparation for their game at the self-same ground against the Bulls. It has been fascinating being involved in the set-up and listening to the thoughts of the WP boys. Therefore it was fantastic to see them coming out on top 42-38 on Saturday in an entertaining and tough game! I thought therefore that I’d give some brief insight into what we focused on, and where I feel teams err in their preparation for the battle up north.

First and foremost, what any team needs to do, is identify the areas that they need to focus on rather than focus entirely on the opponents. It is very tempting to build the game up to your players, by mentioning the enormity of the task and how tough it is going to be. The problem with this, although it may motivate some, is that it can create a monster out of the opponents in the sense that mentally they are perceived as being better than they actually are. Analysis of the opposition is fantastic, but it needs to be done in such a way that it creates more tangible and helpful focus areas for your own team, rather than creating a fear of the opponents. There is no doubt that the Bulls are a top side and that they are tough to beat, but by constantly telling yourself that, you are unlikely to have the belief that they can be beaten. The process here was to identify what it is that makes WP good, and to analyse why it will work- from that base you can then identify what it is YOU can best do, to gain that win.

Secondly, it does not help to try to ignore the ‘Bulls factor’. Some people feel that we should not speak of it at all, and if ignored, there is more likelihood of success coming about. The reality is, that a fear and attitude of doubt does exist amongst players about going and playing at Loftus so there is no way this can be ignored. Think of it this way, if I said to you, all I want you to do is not think about a dancing monkey in a pink tutu outside your window right now, and just to think about work. At no time must you think about that monkey! What are you likely to think about? It’s obvious. Human minds often respond better to the word DO rather than the word, DON’T, and therefore to try to not think about something can often be fruitless, it is better to find out what you must focus on. Therefore the key is to identify what it is that scares us about the Bulls, or what gets in the way of us winning, and then to challenge those beliefs, and see whether they are really of substance and base, or whether they are in fact myths created in the mind? This takes skill, but it something that needs to be done in time. It was fascinating to hear the u21s talk about the BIG Bulls team that they had to encounter and how this could be a problem. The fact was though, that WP were actually 45kg heavier as a side! It is also important to accept the strengths of another side, place them aside mentally, and focus on your own ‘winning way’.
Of course there is no full proof way to beating the Bulls at Loftus, as they are a top outfit, but my question is, are other teams giving themselves a chance, mentally, to actually win the game?

Well done again to the WP boys, it was great to see!

Who is accountable?

In the wake of the ‘performance review’ undertaken by SARU of the incumbent Bok coach, it brought to mind some thoughts as to who exactly is accountable for poor results. The natural inclination is always to blame the coach when things go awry, and that may often be justified, but sometimes I feel we are too quick to jump to conclusions.

I have just seen a headline on a rugby site, stating that players need to control the controllables, and the main controllable is their fitness. As a mental coach I always preach the need to control what you can and accept the things you cannot. However at what stage does a player’s fitness become his job, and at what stage does the responsibility rest with the conditioning coach, or the physio or the biokineticist or his Pilates instructor or personal trainer or indeed the Head coach? At what stage does a player’s skill levels become his responsibility, and when does it rest with the skills coach, the head coach, the coach he had at school etc? Surely, as professional or semi-professional players trying to make it to the top of their game, the accountability of peaking in their performance should rest with them? When players may be battling mentally, I find it is very rare for them to seek out help from a mental coach or psychologist without being prompted by their union, club or school. My underlying point is that although the head coach is indeed in charge of his team and accountable for his results, at some stage accountability needs to rest on the players themselves, and to examine whether they, in line with their job descriptions and performance areas, are meeting their requirements and more importantly doing all they can themselves to meet them.

The second area of accountability, and one that I believe is extremely relevant now, is that of the administrators. In my opinion, sport administration is simply political and removed from true performance evaluation. In the corporate world, recruitment is seen as massively importance, with the hunt for scarce skills and top talent being a vital ingredient of organisational performance. Should the recruitment be poor, the performance will suffer, and major questions will be asked of the recruiters. Now we sit with an obvious skills gap within the Bok coaching structures, and all the blame is pointed at the coaches themselves, whilst the administrators sit ‘giving their full support’ and ‘conducting the due processes’. How often do we see coaches being selected at all levels that are just not up to the job, then when they fail, as they inevitably were going to do, the fingers are all pointed at them, and not the recruiters. When selecting coaches, all sorts of areas need to be examined within their skills range. I have written an article before highlighting what a complete coach should look like in fact. My belief is that often administrators either recruit poorly or support poorly (WP officials complaining about young talent at a time when WP are finally doing well) and thus the coach ends up looking worse than he should do due to poor administration.

I fully agree with performance reviews, and people needing to be accountable when things go wrong, but I would like to challenge who truly is accountable for what in the world of sport. And therefore when things become cut-throat as they often do, the correct people’s reputation suffers, and the correct people carry the can.

Discipline is a must

Increasing talk of empowerment and a movement from autocratic to participative leadership in sport as well as in the working world is very apparent in modern times. Supposedly gone are the days of the ‘Hitleresque’ sports coach or MD, and in have come the relationship-former, the caring-communicator and the facilitator. I use the word supposedly though as I know that some coaches and MD’s still lead by fear or in fact feel that personal issues have no place on the sports field or in the office, and that respect is not an option but rather an obligation. I would stop short of describing a particular style that works for everyone as I’d be way off the mark. With each team having its own characteristics and each leader of a team also possessing his/her own strengths and weaknesses, it is important to create a particular style of environment that suits each team. This comes with one caveat however, without discipline nothing will work.

It has been intriguing to observe sporting teams of late and to see who is succeeding and who isn’t. I believe it is hard to judge a sports team or organisation on a few weeks, so I would hesitate to make definite judgements based on a bad run of form or a purple patch, however there are certain trends that do show up. It has been a breath of fresh air watching the Lions rugby side of late, which seem to be playing with enthusiasm, flair and instinct – all the things Dick Muir has sought from his troops. What is interesting is that it seems John Mitchell has been the one who has extracted this from his group players. This he has done without big-name players. Corrie Van Zyl for many years led the Free State cricket side to trophies and finals also without big-name players and massive budgets. So why has this been the case? Without doubt, these two guys have implemented an immense amount of discipline and structure to their set-ups. One could look at many other teams who have a disciplined set up, and have also shown success in both amateur and professional sport.

Discipline does not necessarily mean fear or autocracy but rather a set way of doing things that is mutually decided upon and stuck to at all costs. Discipline, like excellence, is an all-round thing, it applies to everything that a team does from the way they treat each other, to the way they practice to the way they dress and to the way they stick to their game-plans. You cannot have a team that sticks superbly to their game-plan but has no discipline when it comes to practice attendance or sticking to the team’s values. It is also difficult to have well-disciplined side with a number or ill-disciplined individuals within it. Some people will say, that sweating the small stuff is waste of time, and that what is important is whether the team win or not, and they may have a point. But there is no doubt that a happy, disciplined environment is more than likely going to be a winning one. This may be something that is difficult for players and coaches to accept, as hard-discipline and ‘sweating the small stuff’ may be unnatural for them, but there is no doubt the results will begin to speak for themselves.

The implementation of this discipline is probably best left for another article, but I would be interested to hear of people who have perhaps not focused on this area and failed as a result, or of people who indeed subscribe to a disciplined set-up and it has worked for them. Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great spoke about the need to find what your unique strength is as a team, what you are absolutely passionate about, and what you use to measure success. Once this is found you will know where to focus your energies. He then goes on to mention, that this is all well and good knowing, but if you do not have the discipline to stick 100% to these focus areas, you will not succeed. This discipline may be more on a broader scale, but also shows the necessity for a holistically disciplined approach. Sportsmen thrive in environments where unknowns are kept to a minimum where fairness is a core value. The only way to ensure this is to keep strong discipline.

With this in mind, it is interesting to observe the Boks’ recent plight, the Protea’s inability to win the big trophies, and also the likes of Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson who lead their football sides without compromise in disciplineand values.
All the best and I welcome comment!

The curse of the opponent

In my recent conversations and work with some sports teams, a realisation has become even more apparent – focus too much on the opposition at your peril. In chatting to a professional coach recently, he showed me the amount of analysis they do on their opponents, and I was blown away. Of course this is vital, could well be the difference between winning and losing and should be done. But it really was amazing to see how much information the players need to digest before a game. I also worked recently with a Waterpolo team who has to play in a 3 day tournament involving at least 8 different matches against varying opposition. The difficulty in this format is getting information on your opponents, and knowing when the ‘big’ games are. The team involved seemed to attach a lot of meaning to who their opponents were in terms of how ‘up’ for the game they would be.

Both of these situations affirmed my thinking that although one should always look to be as prepared as possible in analysing and respecting your opponents, your primary focus must always be on yourself. So often teams and players attach a huge amount of meaning to their opponents, play poorly, only for them to look back at the game afterwards and realise that they could easily have had a better result. This is as a result of forming beliefs on opponents that dominate the mind. How often do we see sides perform at a lower level when playing a lower- strength opponent? How often do we see teams underperform in games where the opponents are perceived to be stronger? I can think of many occasions where this has taken place. This often lies in a large focus on result and not the process of obtaining the result. When this takes place, teams will alter their playing intensity or style based on whether they think they have a chance of winning, or whether they think they should win the game or not. I believe that at amateur level, this is extremely prevalent.

So what is the solution you may ask? The solution lies within the team itself. A team with a strong vision and purpose is an absolute must. Without this, you will always be vulnerable to over-emphasising the opposition and weakening your own focus. What is even more important though is having a team that is wholly process-focused. A team that aims to play a certain way and attaches meaning to their way of playing and the values they keep as a team is far more likely to be internally focused and mentally ‘on-the-ball’ for every game. One needs to remember that a team’s own play is far easier to control than that of the opposition, and as we have all heard, teams need to place an emphasis on controlling the controllables. In the pressured environment of sport we should always be looking at ways to stay calm and comfortable and it is for this reason that our primary focus as sportsmen and women needs to be on self and our own standards.

Have a great sporting week and let’s hope the Boks and WP are completely internally-focused and ready to produce their best!

Mind Games

Having watched last week’s match between Rondebosch and Bishops, and reading the subsequent reports my thoughts turned to what changed from last term’s encounter to this. As someone who does mental coaching for teams and individuals and has worked a lot at schools level I often look at alternative reasons, rather than that of poor scrums, handling errors or incorrect tactics, for the reason behind results. Whether rightly or wrongly I offer some opinions, but I hope to give some thought on issues of the mind in sport on this site going forward.

A 28 point turnaround is certainly a significant one, and although the weather was far different this time around, had some other things changed that perhaps influenced the big derby game? Firstly, did complacency have a part to play in Bishops not winning the game? Statistically Bishops were the stronger side this year and there is always a danger that too much importance is placed on these stats. Perhaps this could have led to Bishops not totally ‘turning up’ mentally on the day. Secondly, when preparing sides for derbies I always emphasise the importance of sticking to what works for you. Sportsmen can learn a lot from past successes and failures, to work out how best to approach games in the future, and one of the powerful things of mental coaching is to unlock what exactly works best for teams and individuals alike. Bishops’ change of approach (yes, conditions may have decided this) was uncharacteristic to say the least and in a pressure situation, it is always best for teams to stick to what they know and to where they feel comfortable. Sport is an uncomfortable space in that it creates pressure and hard-work and thus finding comfort in areas such as preparation, tried and tested game plan, the warm up etc is always advisable. The pressure created by change in an environment like that can be big.

From a Rondebosch point of view, I think a few things worked in their favour mentally too. For starters a good run of form, and the return of their kingpin player made a huge difference and would have injected confidence into them. A settled build up to a big match can have a huge impact, as the things that work for a team are fresh in their minds. Most people gain their confidence from their results in the recent past and thus RBHS’ confidence was higher than usual. However due to recent form, Bishops do seem to have a mental upper-hand on the Bosch lads, which is difficult to overcome. My sense is, had Bishops started down-wind, the result would have been largely different – in fact more like the 1st term result. Often teams like to start into the wind and then have the wind at their backs as players get tired, however I thought it was a blessing for Bosch to have the wind in the 1st half, as it gave them confidence and belief that they could win the game after having that dream start. I often talk about an attitude of ‘owning the field’ in a big game. This is difficult to describe, but it is a sense of one team having a cocky sense about them where they expect things to go their way and back that up with maximum effort, physicality and swagger. I have always felt that Bishops have been one of the best exponents of this, but this seemed to be missing for large parts of the game for some reason.

As I said, without interviewing the players and coaches one cannot decide on exactly what happened in the players’ minds last Saturday, but I have offered some thoughts as to what may well have occurred. The intrigue of big sporting battles keeps many a Saturday evening round the braai going, and will continue to do so. From a mental point of view it will also be interesting to see the Springbok story unfold and to see if they can return to their dominant ways as well, as not all appears 100% well there. I look forward to writing again soon.

Getting a Head Start

Over the past few years in my dealings with sportsmen and teams as well as the greater sporting fraternity I have seen the massive influence that emotion, the mind and thoughts have on sporting performance. Just this last weekend I witnessed a few huge games of rugby that stirred up large amounts of game-changing emotion in both men and boys alike. The psychology of sport is a fascinating field, and for those of you who have followed my Think Tank you will have seen that I like to question methods of coaching, approaches to games, and what the best ways to go about creating happy, winning atmospheres are in sporting teams.

A top mental coach in Australia, Wayne Goldsmith talks about mental coaching by saying,

“The ability to perform under pressure, the capacity to remain confident and resilient when competition conditions get tough, the skill to be able to relax and stay focused when feeling pain and fatigue in competition, concentration, visualization are just some areas of focus. Coaches and athletes are unanimous that spending time developing mental skills is time well spent. However, figuring out the best way to develop mental skills – particularly mental skills which can directly enhance the competition performance of athletes is another matter.”

What is also interesting is to hear coaches and mental coaches alike talk about the need for the two to work hand-in-hand and not as separate entities. The maximum benefit comes in forming partnerships with coaches and players and seeking the best possible route to excellence. Mental coaching is also is not necessarily done ‘on the couch’ nor is it done exclusively with ‘problem teams/individuals’. Everyone has capacity to improve in some way, and often what is needed is the key to unlock that potential.

Here are some key statements that could indicate a need for some mental work to be done.
After an injury, you are physically 100% recovered but cannot perform the same way as you did.
You feel anxious when performing in competition
You perform far better in practice than in competition
Your team has so much potential but doesn’t quite reach it in games
Your team lacks confidence and belief
You maintain doubt about your sport before and during games
You lose focus at crucial times

Having worked at a number of top schools, with some senior sportsmen and coaches and across a number of sporting codes I have decided to formalise my offerings through my company, Head Start Sport. We will aim to work with aspirant teams, individuals and organisations to enhance their performance, through superior preparation from a mental point of view.

Please visit our website at www.headstartsport.co.za for more information or contact tom@headstartsport.co.za. You can continue to follow my articles here on tomsthinktanklive.blogspot.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

“The mind is the athlete; the body is simply the means it uses to run faster or longer, jump higher, shoot straighter, kick better, swim harder, hit further, or box better”. Bryce Courtenay

Roger the Legend!

Make them feel Special and reap the rewards

Over the last two weeks I have worked with 5 different school boy sides from two different sports and some interesting things have occurred to me. In fact numerous things have, but the most marked thing for me therefore, is that if you treat people like they are special, they will often produce special things. Simplistic as it may sound; it rings incredibly true in my mind. Although these guys are at a youthful stage in their life, and you may feel that it is not relevant in the stressful adult environment I feel some common traits can be identified. Pushing new limits, and making it appear that people are gaining extra insight, or are just plain made to feel like superstars, can often have a massive effect.

Psychological studies have been done indicating that just by giving special attention to people, the results that they produce are often of a greater quality. The Hawthorne effect is a known piece of research that shows that people will often perform to greater heights in an experiment situation, as they know that they are being studied, and not for any reason of ability. This has similarities, in my mind, to the notion that increased attention, more specifically positive attention, can produce better performance. As mentioned in a previous article, the more work you put in, the more you are likely to get out, but now I’m also saying that the more positive attention given to players, the more they are likely to put out.

The teams I have recently worked with have done fairly well in the short term. As much as I’d love to attribute this solely to my influence, I’d be a fool to do this. In fact, just by the fact of the team getting someone new in who has a field of expertise that they believe helps their play, their play will improve. On a conscious or subconscious level they feel that they may indeed be better prepared than their opponents thus increasing their confidence. Obviously the information they have learnt about themselves and the added motivation such sessions often bring will also play a part in the improved performance, but I believe the idea of increased attention and making them feel special may be the key factor.

Having seen these teams being pampered and given everything they can possibly want, has shown me that although some people battle to give out too much praise, or don’ t like to have to put in too much ‘extra’ work, this can often be the difference between success and failure. Yes, technical expertise is crucial, but in a competitive world you often find that the more special you can make people feel and the extra mile that you go for your players and colleagues, is far more likely to produce the desired results. Therefore I say - do things differently and make people feel more special with new ideas, harder work or just plain praise and you will be amazed at what comes out.
T

The intrigue of a Derby

This Saturday sees one of the most famed schoolboy derbies in the country take place in the country town of Paarl. Last year I made my first trip to the Faure Street stadium to take it all in and was absolutely blown away by the occasion. The match itself being the climax of an entire week’s worth of celebrations. Special assemblies, old boys’ gatherings and numerous other rituals add to a week of camaraderie, emotion and much more. For 30 boys however, there is a job to be done, and that is to take home the most prized spoils (for their school) of an Interschools win. Where the intrigue comes I believe, is in what does it really take to win these big games?

In a conversation with a respected rugby coach on Saturday, he claimed that the form side always wins these games, and perhaps statistically this is the case, but I’m not 100% convinced. The nature of the game is that it creates a lot of talk and hype, which in turn puts extra pressure on the players and coaches. One of the best ways to offset pressure is belief in your ability as a team, and therefore when a team is doing well, it is likely that their self-belief is high and thus best set to cope with the pressure of the big game, enabling more wins. What I’m saying then is that belief is perhaps more important than form. It really all depends which way you look at it. A team who may not be in top form, may still find ways still to have a high level of self belief and thus the form issue becomes less important.
Another generally accepted theory is that the team who wants it more will win. Now this may be the case in some ways, but I have yet to find many teams who cannot motivate themselves for the big game. I believe however, the team who has attached more meaning to the win, or to their season as a whole will be the team who may show the better mindset for the game. They will have discussed the importance of the game, what it means to them personally to win, and all members will have a similar idea of why they want to win and how they will do so. A purpose for a sports team, and attaching meaning to that purpose is one of the first things I would do with any team, as if this base is set clearly, motivation problems rarely exist.
So it will be interesting to see which team shows the greater belief and desire but also which team is able to play for the full game at their optimal levels. Will one of the team’s have tired themselves out in all the build-up, will they find the pressure a little too great to handle or will they put more focus onto the opponents and forget about their own game? We as spectators are just not sure in a big derby which team will be able to hit their straps the best, as the variables are always greater, as mentioned above, but that’s what makes these fixtures so intriguing.
Good luck to both sides, but I’ll be in Blue on Saturday.

The TEAMS won!

The World Cup really showed to be a great spectacle. Great fun, and superb to see some of the best athletes in the world in our back garden.

What fascinated me was to see that the teams who really did well, were the ones who truly were teams. The Uruguayans, for all their failings looked a spirited and united bunch. Both finalists showed throughout that they played together and for each other, having loads of fun whilst doing so. And then the Germans, who were so well-drilled, asked to play out of position sometimes, positive yet humble in the press, and exceptionally enthusiastic, showing us all that the German pragmatism does not interfere with entertainment.

The teams with the coach-blasters, France, Portugal and England all perished early, whilst others did not just have the will-power or skill to crack it at the top. All in all a great lesson was learnt in that the teams who over-achieved were those that were a team, whilst the under-achievers in relation to their talent, went home early to think about next time!

Backs to the Wall is Best?

An extremely disappointing Bok test match started my weekend off with a whimper and left me pondering just what went wrong? Fatigue, jet-lag, lack of preparation time etc all crossed through my mind. The very first thing most people point to when looking for reasons for defeat is lack of motivation or a poor coach. Now I do not subscribe to those as a first resort as I often think there are far more pertinent reasons for defeat in many cases. What interested me, however is that in at least 4 player interviews in the aftermath of the game, the players cited that they had not turned up mentally for the game. None more so than John Smit, who looked and sounded disgusted with Saturday’s loss. This led me to think, what could have been these mental issues on Saturday.

During the week I worked with a top local school’s rugby sides, in what I thought were some excellent sessions, in getting them to think a little about what they had to do in the weeks ahead to achieve their success, by thinking about what they had done in the past to find success. Something that sprung to me is that often when teams are the underdog, or feel they have a point to prove, they possess the greater motivation and perhaps give more. This underdog status is one that is sought by many teams as it takes pressure to perform off, as there is always an excuse that the better side won should they lose, and it creates a strong external motivator of “let’s show others how good we can be”. This is not a bad thing at all and coaches can use this as something to really fire up his troops. With the pressure off and the goal of showing people to be wrong, teams can develop a strong bond and will to succeed.

However, what happens when you are not the underdog, or have little to prove, but rather just the prize of remaining favourites and the ‘top’ side status to gain? Suddenly the pressure mounts as you are now EXPECTED to do well rather than have people hope that you do well. You have also proved all that you needed to prove, and now instead of having to prove to others (external motivation), you rely on proving to yourselves how good you are (an internal motivator) or chasing an even greater success as your primary motivation. This can sometimes be quite tough for teams, as the challenge is not as easily evident, and perhaps it doesn’t sit as easily with them due to their cultural upbringing. I believe if trained properly this can become an even stronger and deep-seated motivator. In the book, the Art of Possibilty, author Ben Zander believes very much in ‘giving people an A’ first and facilitating the path from good to even better, rather than creating undue pressure by working off a zero-base of achievement. Doing this for teams and players could be so valuable.

I believe the key here is to get teams and individuals to truly find out what motivates them, and to acknowledge that both internal and external motivation comes into play in different situations for different teams and individuals. People need to be aware of how they are motivated, as do teams. I would not want to make a definite statement as to why the Boks lost on Saturday, but I truly believe that we as a country sometimes get trapped into thriving on the underdog status, and will to retreat into our laager and “let’s ‘show them” mentality as a first port of call. This leaves the favourites and ‘little to prove’ perch as foreign, scary and not nearly as exciting. I’d be interested to hear any thoughts?

All the best to all schools and club coaches and players with the 2nd half of the season, long may the game where feigning injury and screaming at referees is frowned upon, continue!!

This clown is back!

I don't like to focus on sporting non-excellence. But the man who butchered our national anthem in France last year is back with his new reggae version of Nkosi Sikele. Please give this horror a listen for a laugh!

You Gotta put in the hours!!

I went to a press conference yesterday with the coach, captain and chairman of Ajax Cape Town football club. They were asked what it would take to get more local players into the big European leagues. Straight away they said that all of their players were keen to make the step up, but that this was going to require far more hard work to be put in to get up to the required level. They felt that perhaps the work ethic was not quite there to match their ‘desire’. This got me thinking about how often we hear people in sport, as well as in business talking about how hard work eventually pays off. Now don’t get me wrong, not everyone who works hard will be successful, but very few people who don’t work hard ARE successful. Interview after interview, and biography after biography talk about how hard people have worked for their success, yet it seems that not everyone takes that advice and does the same themselves.

Jonny and Becks


My view on hard work is that it gives you two vital attributes. Firstly, it gives you the increased skill, fitness, strength levels that are required in your specific field. Muscle memory improves and bodies become more susceptible to the demands of the game. Secondly, and I believe even more importantly, through increased practice, comes increased confidence. I have spoken before about how confidence stems from past positive results, as well as from preparation (which if perceived well results in feeling of readiness). There is the view that attitude determines how you prepare, and how you prepare then determines how confident you are, which then determines how well you play. Through this increased hard work that is put in, self-perception and inner dialogue becomes better and more positive. This internal dialogue reinforcing how much work you have put in and how much it will help you will begin to result in confidence. This dialogue will often only take place once you have put in those hard yards! I don’t even need to say how much confidence plays a role in performance, as everyone knows that feeling relaxed, free of fear and ready for the task at hand will improve performance.

I look at people like Morne Steyn and Jonny Wilkinson in rugby, they have been known to be the first at practice and the last to leave. Vijay Singh, a top golfer has still managed to stay at the top of his game for a long period of time due to his propensity for hours on the practice range. Tiger Woods too has been known to spend hours in the gym to get an extra edge. Even Ronaldo and Beckham, people whom you may perceive as being super-talented have been known to be some of the hardest workers on their games. They have honed their skills as best possible, but have also built up a resilience and confidence in their own games due to the knowledge that the hours put in will pay off for them when it counts. In rugby, I always say it is important to be the fittest side, but what is more important is that you know that you are the fittest side so when the game gets tight, you have a confidence in your fitness as a result of the hard work you have put in, which could result in the excellent results you desire.

Hard work therefore cannot be shirked as it is plain to see how important it is in both the skills and attributes gained physically, but also in its immense value mentally. The confidence from hard work will also only transpire if the individual is comfortable with the work they have put in and backs that up with positive dialogue. What must exist for this though- is self-motivation to put the work in. But that’s another story for another day!!

A tired lesson from the World Cup

An issue that I would like to talk about, is player’s mental fatigue. We, in rugby, often talk about player fatigue, and I personally subscribe to Tim Noakes’ views on resting top players. Now in soccer, these guys play even more games in a year. Let’s take your top premiership player at a club like Chelsea – 38 league games, 10 European games, 6 FA cup games, 5 league cup games, 10 internationals and a few pre-season friendlies, that is a huge amount of soccer played. Physically elite athletes are pushed to their limits and this is where most of the focus lies from the general public.

With conditioning being as good as it is, I believe these guys’ bodies can handle the strain for quite some time. However, where I think they can battle is with mental fatigue. Steven Pienaar was complaining about it and it showed in his performances. I believe there is no hard and fast rule as to when a player will tire mentally. This will have a lot to do with his physical fitness, his internal motivation, his team’s performances and many more factors. For this reason, each case needs to be taken individually. But what is true is that although these guys earn the top dollar they are very likely to experience mental fatigue at some stage. This World Cup has shown up some teams to be very fatigued, and the effects of this fatigue are more evident within the teams that perhaps are having other problems in team morale (France and England are great examples). What we see is the glamour and glory of sport, but often we do not see the endless monotony of hotel rooms, airports and training grounds that can all be very draining. Mental fatigue is an issue that needs to be addressed and not dismissed. To raise oneself for big game after big game is a major challenge, and I truly believe that mental fatigue is something that is not properly addressed at all levels of sport. A coach, captain and staff need to ensure that proper stimulation is kept up and the needs of the players seen to. Bafana Bafana even are beginning to show signs of disharmony and this may have just as much to do with fatigue as it does to the pressure they are under. Fatigue is not a bad thing or something unacceptable, but something that is real and will often be the greatest enemy of success.

In this World Cup we have seen upsets a plenty, as it appears that the big sides, all with players that have been pushed to the max throughout the season, are tiring not only in the legs but in the mind. The pressure that is created through sport can begin to drain a player and if proper management of a player’s psyche is not done, mental fatigue can set in. Players also need to be schooled in being able to manage their thought processes so that they can switch on and off at the appropriate times and allow themselves ‘rest’ time. I think we are going to see more and more reference to tiredness in the World Cup, but we will also hear all sorts of other excuses thrown around about reasons for losses in the coming weeks. We will hear lots of people bemoan the fact that these players are citing fatigue and see it at as ridiculous, but the truth is, fatigue is out and open and plain for all to see.

Soccer Passion

For starters, I would like to say that I am just loving this atmosphere. It has become fashionable to be patriotic, and although as a country we still perhaps (and sometimes rightly so) belittle our national football side these past two weeks have shown patriotism at its best. I watched the Bafana game on Wednesday in the company of 2000 people, probably 90% of them white, and witnessed scenes that are rarely seen in this country, with respect to the rugby fraternity. Huge amounts of patriotism, a sea of yellow, face paint, vuvuzelas, flags and anything else people could manufacture in our rainbow flag colours. Then on Friday, a sea of white and red as the passionate English descended onto the fair Cape, with gusto. Soccer has many failings, I know of a few schools in England that don’t allow soccer because their boys begin to act differently when they play it and their values go out the window so to speak, but what it really does do, is bring out huge passion and support. So all in all, how great it has been to have the World in South Africa. Let’s hope this tournament acts as a catalyst for soccer excellence in South Africa.

What do the Stats say?

Last night I watched an interesting game of rugby last night between Villagers and UCT. UCT went down by a single point, having missed two shots at goal to win it in the last 5 minutes, on top of another 4 kicks were missed prior to that. Now I am not going to criticize either of UCT’s two kickers, as they are both mates of mine and pressure is not an easy thing, but what’s more, they are both fine young rugby players. But it got me thinking about who in fact is best placed to take a last minute kick to win the game- the regular kicker, or the back up?

Just to paint the picture, the 1st choice kicker missed a few kicks at goal and then the back-up (who does kick some longer shots occasionally) took over, with marginal success. Then when the crunch kick came he was still entrusted with the duties and unfortunately missed both attempts, which would have won them the game. But should he have taken them? Would it not have been better for the 1st choice kicker, who practices more, has been in that situation before and is a known to kicker to have attempted those, despite him being off-colour on the night?

I read a great story about a top basketball player who was the star in his team, but in the final of their championship, he was massively off-form and missed free throws continuously. Eventually it got to the end of the game, and the team needed to score to win it. The coach called a time-out , and began to explain a play that would get someone else to attempt a shot on goal to win them the game. Before he could finish, the star player intervened and stated that he himself wanted to be set up to take the shot. He got his way, and eventually scored the crucial score. In the aftermath he was asked why he was so confident to take the throw. His retort was merely that in practice he was successful 50% of the time, and seeing as though that night he was way below that, the odds told him that he would be successful with that particular throw! An interesting theory indeed, but one that worked for him.
The message here is a simple one- the player obviously had a superb sense of self-confidence, but more than that he was able to create a positive perception of himself in that situation. He believed what he wanted to believe, and in doing so was able to feel confident when it counted. He had also visualized the successful kicks over and over which too gave him that confidence. Now this leads me back to the point about the UCT kickers- surely the stats pointed to the 1st choice kicker being the best bet, and having been in similar scenarios before, would it not have been better for him to create in his mind a positive perception of self and therefore an increased confidence and taken the kick. Despite him having missed a few, I may have gone back to him, depending on his mind-frame of course, and supported him- as the statistically best kicker to take it.

Some may say, you need to go with form on the night, and this may be valid, however sometimes I believe the stats cannot be ignored, and more so how able is the player in creating those positive thoughts and messages internally when the big moment comes? Often what happens is the internal demons take over, and the thoughts are more counter-productive than helpful.

The final thought- back the best in a big moment! No doubt though an argument that may be met with opposition?

Give yourself permission, or welcome to the awesome world of ordinary

In working recently with a schoolboy rugby side, I came across some interesting findings which actually got me thinking about human nature per se. How often do we give ourselves true permission to be brilliant? In a recent book, Tribes, by Seth Godin he talks about the world needing leaders and people who challenge the status quo, not just people who follow and do as always has been done. In another of his books, The Purple Cow (a favourite of Paul Treu), he talks about success coming from being remarkable, not ordinary, but remarkable - something or someone who causes people to talk by being different and exceptional.

So when we play/watch sport, do we ever think of doing the remarkable, do we think of challenging the norm, do we think of achieving things that are against what your ‘potential’, or perceived potential, should allow you to do. As the superb poem goes ,“ What is your deepest fear, our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond all measure”. So often the inability to picture greatness or achieving above the norm hampers the ability to do so. What also hampers greatness is the comfort of being good, or good enough to not attract attention. Sometimes being an exceptional team/individual can bring with it unwanted pressure- ask Tiger Woods or any team at the top of the ICC cricket rankings (G Smith!). The Stormers for example had far more pressure on them recently against the Sharks, than say the Stormers of last year would have had at this stage. They have created that pressure by giving themselves permission to be excellent this year, but with that it has forced them out of any comfort zone.

So my question goes to all individuals and teams, as to whether they are willing to go beyond being good, and attempting to be great. Are teams ready to bracket themselves outside of the underdog category and become favourites? Are sportsmen and women happy to become someone who is expected to do well rather than someone who surprises with their success? These seem like easy questions, but actually I would love to know deep down, whether true permission has been given to take that step from good to excellent.

Some scintilating tries from Bishops

Great to see the Schoolboys playing with such flair on their tour. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTuDFnrWe7U

Incredible Excellence- Check out the link!!

http://www.sportsillustrated.co.za/uncategorized/20100503/the-best-breakdancer-in-the-world/

Some schools thoughts

Over the last few weeks, I’ve followed the schools rugby scene with interest, taking in festivals at KES and St Stithians, and then at Wynberg Boys this weekend. I have also followed results at other festivals. It is always great to see the boys going hammer and tongs at each other to collect the spoils, and is very refreshing to see that in schoolboy rugby, there is no such thing as a ‘dead rubber’, and every result matters! What got me thinking however, is how often is the result determined before the game has even kicked off? How much of a stranglehold do some schools have on others psychologically?

Being more up to speed with the Western Cape schools scene, there is no doubt in my mind that a slightly different rugby culture and psyche exists between the big rugby schools down here. At risk of offending the schools I’ll keep my opinions down to a minimum, but I have no doubt that, and I have witnessed it, some teams are scared off by the thought of playing another team before they’ve even run on the field, just through sheer weight of the school’s reputation. The Southern Suburbs schools often talk about the ‘N1 syndrome’, referring to playing the schools from the Northern Suburbs, and recent results, where the Southern suburbs schools have won 1 or 2 games across the school on a Saturday suggests that this ‘syndrome’ is alive and well.

I recently coached a side at UCT, where I had 9 Rondebosch Old Boys, 8 from Bishops, and a few others from other boys schools, and I could definitely see a marked difference in the approaches and psyche of the guys based on the way they brought up from a rugby perspective. Now this culture at a school is built up over the years, but often is one that is very entrenched. In fact to change a rugby culture at a school, for better or worse, takes a major shift in behaviours and communication over a protracted period of time. This is identical to the reputation that a school builds up- a school will maintain a certain reputation until, for a protracted period of time, their results begin to change and the ‘talk’ around the school begins to turn.

I have no doubt, and I believe we will see it unfold this season, that certain schools have pre-conceived ideas of how other teams play and how good they are, based often only on reputation and perception. With very few games being televised this is fuelled, as information on opponents is hard to come by. I found myself guilty of this myself, having watched St Stithians up in Jo’burg, and thinking they really were a formidable outfit based on what I had seen and their school name, but obviously I had not taken into account other factors, as they were both soundly beaten by Cape schools over the weekend. This pre-conception of a school’s ability can be very harmful for sides, as they miss out on potential wins due to being fearful of a team due to their reputation, or on the flip side are complacent due to a negative perception of their opponents.

What needs to be guarded against, is the fact that the perceptions created in the mind of a school/team based on reputation can harm motivation, game-plan adherence, enjoyment and intensity. What needs to be emphasized is the fact that reputation is often not based on facts, and that what is most important is to focus on your specific game and not the reputation of others.

I will talk more about the actual culture that schools have built up for themselves internally in my next article, but remember that often what exists internally at a school is different to what you may perceive from the outside.

Some pearlers for your leisure!!

some of the more interesting team talks I've seen. Not for sensitive ears though.

Exploring the Dark side

A superb article written by Rowan Belchers, a consultant to organisations on a number of topics around optimizing performance, and a fellow sports nut. I think there is some great insight here, so enjoy the read!

Gary Kirsten couldn’t play the short ball until he admitted to himself that he was scared of it. As soon as he acknowledged his own fear he was able to develop a technique that helped him get on top if it. Or under it, more appropriately…

That’s not the kind of admission you hear from professional sportsmen a lot, is it? Broadly generalizing a bit here, but the dialogue around pro sports is more likely to offer up self-praise, bravado, and threats. And quite possibly rightly so – the heat of the battle has rarely rewarded the humble or faint of heart, so this self-confidence is both understandable and necessary on some level.

But what else might there be to this? In the “system” of sports performance and the dynamics that take place in the human mind, is there anything else that might be worth exploring around other outlooks or attitudes? For starters, might there be something to learn from Gary in taking a look at fallibility and weakness?

A question of that nature would probably make the Blue Bulls coaches from the mid-80’s spin in their graves. Watching the old Currie Cup games from the early 90’s on ESPN Classic (the greatest sports channel in the history of mankind, I might add …) I was amazed to see these guys sitting on the sidelines, short collared shirt, club tie, one cigarette after another being sucked in – it struck me how things had changed so completely in a pretty short space of time and how things have come along from a professional standpoint so fast. But, getting back to my original question: would the coaches of today have found it any easier to acknowledge (let along work with) the concept of fear than the chain-smoking amateur coaches of 15 years ago? I think not.

Rather than judge, let’s explore. There is a term that is used in psychology called the ‘shadow’. In clinical terms it means what we ‘hide, repress or deny’. In real terms, shadow refers to the parts of ourselves that we’d rather not look at or face up to. It’s easier not to because looking at our shadow might mean acknowledging something about ourselves that we’d rather not. The good parts of ourselves sit more easily with our ego than the bad parts – so affirmation comes a lot easier than criticism.

But what might be the impact of not looking at our shadow? In diagrammatic terms, think of the shadow as a force that is out of view and thus beyond our control. We are then affected by it, rather than being able to control it. So, the theory is to bring shadow out in front of you where it can be controlled, rather than have it behind you where it controls you.

Getting away from the theory for a moment, let’s consider an example. It took 6 visits from Jos Vantsiphout to Ernie Els (and quite a bit of confrontation and upset too, apparently) before Ernie admitted that there were things he was doing that weren’t helping him. I don’t know this for sure, but the story is that Ernie’s shadow is around enjoying a few too many cold beers and glasses of red wine, and too little dedication to physical fitness. As soon as he started working with Jos (and I’m completing my own picture here, so forgive the armchair psychology) he admitted this, dedicated himself to a different approach and promptly won two majors. Retief Gooden apparently had a similar experience before winning his two majors.

There are other examples to consider who might have benfitted from working with their shadow: Jean Alesi, one of the most talented drivers of all time but with an inability to make sensible driving decisions in favour of out-and-out speed; Marat Safin, a preposterously talented tennis player but unable to control his moods swings; John Daly, in mental terms, a little boy who’s never been challenged about his lack of maturity and inability to hold himself accountable.

In local terms – and I’m possibly sticking my neck out too far here as I have close friends on the coaching staff who I don’t want to offend – but I’ve wondered if there aren’t some shadowy dynamics around UCT rugby and their inability to win at Stellenbosch? Just a thought and no judgment here, but it’s an area I’d love to explore.

Anyway, hope that makes sense. Summary thought: from a psychology point of view, if people (myself included) were more able to work with their weakness, fears and destructive tendencies, they might unlock latent potential in the form of better performance and better results.

The Challenge Culture

If you read my earlier article about ‘vibe’, you would have seen that I believe a good team spirit and ‘mate-ship’ in the team is important. This mate-ship is something the Australian cricket side speak about when asked about the bond that exists within their team. This spirit, as indicated before, is very important. But another factor, which can be somewhat contradictory, is ensuring that the team members create a culture of challenge within the team. A culture where the people within the team are pushing each other to the limits of their potential, a culture where good is accepted but great is truly sought after. Like the great saying goes, “ A loser says,’ I’m better than a lot of other people’, whilst a winner says, ‘ I’m not as good as I ought to be”. This could display a true culture of challenge.

I have just read a fascinating study on people who climbed Mount Everest. They looked to identify the key things that these people did to conquer this mammoth task. Key things came up, such as visual preparation, small goals, confidence and belief, but one that was of interest to me was their need to challenge themselves in training to a)toughen themselves mentally for future tasks, an b)to give them the belief that they can conquer what’s put in front of them. I feel this can translate to many team sports as well. Without a culture of challenge your teams will not develop their mental capabilities well enough.

Support of team mates and making friends is a vital ingredient of team work, but this should never be at the expense of achieving what you want to/can do. One of the Everest climbers spoke of how there was one person in his group that he really disliked, however there came a stage when he had had enough and wanted to turn around, and this particular guy with whom has did not get on, was the one who actually managed to lift him and re-direct him on the path upwards. This is an example where conflict was translated into success later on. Conflict is often not always the worst thing to have in a team, as it can often do short-term damage but then lead to long-term betterment of the team make-up. Just like a muscle that gets broken down in the gym and then re-strengthened, a team when challenged with issues or conflict that are then resolved can grow enormously. The key is not however to try and create conflict, but rather to let it be known that challenging each other within an environment is the norm and not the exception. It should not be seen as rocking the boat, or being disruptive if a team member begins to challenge ineffective behaviours, or the status quo, in fact sometimes this is exactly what a team needs as its internal method to ensure that the correct intensity is kept up.

As a coach, or captain, or even just as a player, you should be examining all your processes, practice techniques and methods to see whether you in fact are creating a challenge culture, and pushing people to their limits. I once heard it said, that sports teams should get ‘comfortable being uncomfortable’ as essentially the pressure of sport is not a comfortable situation. Building this philosophy into your team, is more than likely (if and I mean only if, proper evaluation is done after a specific challenge) to build up a mental toughness within the set up. Obviously competition for places is always a great way of keeping a challenge culture in place, but there are plenty of other, less obvious ways of doing things as well to ensure that all are continually being challenged, pushed and subsequently strengthened. Vibe is important but not at the expense of excellence!
Enjoy and Good luck

A quick recommendation

RugbyIq.com is a fantastic rugby website for coaches and players alike. It shows tips on all aspects of the game, including mental toughness. Tim Goodenough, author of the book, In the Zone, is the writer and his recent article about what to do when your coach tells you that you are not good enough, is well worth a read. Check it out!

The importance of Vibe

On the sidelines of sports fields, in the columns of newspapers and out of the mouths of coaches all over, you hear talk of how the ‘spirit in the camp’ is so great, and ‘it’s so much fun to be playing in this team’. In the days of professionalism and as results of sports matches become ever more important in terms of financial impact, it can be easy to lose sight of the importance of team spirit. But there is no doubt that it has a huge influence on the way teams play.


This last weekend I went away with a rugby team that I’ll be working with this year, on a team-building weekend. This was an opportunity for the guys to bond, relax together, and be put through their paces on the rugby field. I also conducted a few sessions on mental preparation as well as facilitating their goal setting session. It was massively encouraging to hear them talk about their ‘vibe’ in the team and the respect that they have for each other being important, rather than putting figures of desired wins and uncontrollable aspects up on the list of important things. Reading an interview with Bafana Bafana Midfielder, Steven Pienaar, he spoke of the great team spirit at Everton FC and how that encourages him to stay there and seek success. So many teams seem to place an importance on this team spirit, but one wonders how much effort they put into creating that spirit, and deciding on desired team behaviours- and then sticking to them! There is no doubt that sport can create some of the greatest bonds people will ever have, but these like any relationship need to be worked on, and a team as a whole need to place extra effort into creating this special team spirit.

Why, you may ask? Surely if everyone just plays to the best of their ability the team will succeed? I believe firstly, that team spirit alone is not enough to make a team successful. It must co-exist with effective and efficient processes within the team as run by the management staff and of course the players themselves, as well as specific inspirational goals and outputs that all are aware of and can attain. The mixture, of spirit, processes and outputs all bound together by solid and strong leadership is what leads to success.

The true impact of that team spirit, I believe comes on a more subconscious level. Without doubt, it is different at a professional level where money can be a motivator for some, but I choose to look at the purest form of sport, where people undertake sacrifices, driven by their specific internal motivators to play their particular sport for no monetary gain. Some people’s driver to play and work hard in their sport is stronger than others’ but this is another subject for another day. When it comes to putting in just that slight bit of extra effort at a practice session, or sacrificing another desirable activity because of your sporting commitments - these are often determined by your perception of team spirit and togetherness. If one looks at getting more out of people than they ‘need’ to give this is often determined by their feeling of belonging to a team and this feeling is often borne out of a strong team spirit. In my opinion, so many teams train the same, think the same and have access to a similar standard of facilities, that the true variable apart from the obvious, the players ability, is the team spirit that you are able to foster causing people to push themselves that extra mile, without complaint or fear of being ridiculed. The spirit that enables people to feel so comfortable with their team mates that they are able to perform to a level that is above what they thought they were capable of, the spirit that creates an atmosphere in the team where outside criticism is not as important as internal criticism and where players take joy out of each others’ success and not just their own.

For me it is never easy to put a generic method together on how to forge this spirit, due to the variability of people, but there are some common traits that I believe can forge a good team spirit in chronological order.

1. The acknowledgement by the team, that a team spirit is important and that they’ll work hard to put in place desirable behaviours to lead to a good spirit.
2. The discussion around what is necessary to create a good spirit, and the setting of values and behaviours.
3. Strong leadership from coach and captain that keeps everyone focused and happy within the team environment. This leadership also needs to allow for people to have their say and should be caring of people’s needs.
4. An environment that encourages people to push themselves hard, but also rewards success well.
5. An environment where people are honest with each other.
6. The determination of everyone to pursue their goals, with fun being a key part of the process.

Good luck!
T

What to do now, to help later

I came up with a few ideas as to what I think school and club coaches should be doing now in preparation for the winter season ahead. Take a look!

The rugby season is all but upon us now and no doubt huge preparation has been taking place across the schools and clubs. Everyone trying to prepare their teams as best possible so as to have that dream season. I believe that there are a few things that should be done now, if they have not already been done, to make sure that the season goes as well as possible. Have a read below and feel free to give feedback.
The Target
Most coaches will try and set some goals with their teams, but whether they do this correctly or not is debatable. A lot of goals are based on results and not on the process of attaining a greater goal. I have spoken in earlier articles about the need to try and focus attention on the processes required for success and not success itself. Also, coaches should allow the team to set their own goals and to dream big dreams. These dreams are what motivates them, and they should be encouraged. Remember, something to aim at is crucial in all aspects of life and sport is no different. Also remember that if you don’t reach your target it is fine, perhaps you just need to change the process of how to reach it rather than the target itself.
Expectations
‘The Greatest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place’. Even if you think, as a coach that your players know what you expect from them in terms of play, and in terms of behaviours, clarify it again, and do this early so that the problems that could occur later, never do occur. Boundaries need to be established early, as do targets for each player so that they know exactly what to work towards. Proper evaluation cannot be done unless a sound expectation/job description is given at the start.
Team Building- Properly
Raft-building and drumming sessions are great ways for teams to relax, get to know each other and have some fun, but they are not team-building in its entirety. They need to be done in conjunction with quality conversations where teammates open up to each other on various issues surrounding the team. Try to engage your players on how they would react if they lose 3 games in a row, what will happen if a few guys start slacking, or as to how they will prepare for a big game. All these things start to create an honesty in the side that is crucial for true team spirit to be formed. In amateur sport, team spirit can often be attributed to the success of a team and is so crucial. Team-building should therefore not be taken lightly at all, and lots of work should be done on forming and shaping your team.
Leadership
I am convinced that this is a make-or-break area of a team. A team without solid leadership is very seldom a successful one. Ensure that you find the best captain but also that you identify other leaders in the team and give them meaningful roles. They must be seen to have an influence and you must evaluate them on their work as a leader and on their role as a player. Be careful of letting people vote for captain, as you as a coach need to be able to work with them, but also be careful of being to autocratic in selecting him and alienating your players. Think of the 5E’s of leadership when selecting your captains. Enthusiasm is a must, energy is important as a the extra work load of being captain will require extra emotional and physical energy. Empathy is crucial if you want your captain to be able to get the best out of the players. Excellent communication is also important as the messages that the captain wants to get across must actually get across and be acknowledged by all. Then lastly, excellence, the captain does not have to be the best player but he must have some outstanding quality that earns him the respect of his team.
Make up your mind
It is important that you as a coach come up with a way of playing and sell it to the players well. I believe that sometimes even if a game plan is not the best, but all the players truly believe in it, and in you, it is likely to succeed. Try to make up your mind early as to what you want as a coach and stick to that. Of course, it is necessary to be adaptable as the season goes by, but there is nothing worse than a coach who seemingly panics when things go wrong, and they probably went wrong because he had failed to plan and come up with a quality game plan early on. I have mentioned in earlier articles that to be truly great, according to Jim Collins in the book, Good to Great, you need to do things that you can be the absolute best at, and things that you are 100% passionate about. Therefore if you feel that you can be the best side in terms of fitness and skill in your league, then you must build your game around that, and not around a physical, defence-oriented game or another that looks great on paper, but is not your strength. You also need to gauge what it is that makes your team tick. Are they a side that gets really excited about new innovations and methods of attack, or are they passionate about over-powering opponents and defending like Trojans. Yes, we are all passionate about winning, but there will be an aspect of the game or sport that your side is really passionate about. Find out that passion, and your key unique strength and work your game around those, not the other way round.

The Crowd

Sport has always had the knack of drawing people to watch it. Some sports more so than others, but often a crowd (or smattering of people if it's a small provincial game of cricket or a Sunday game of Netball) will go and attend a sporting fixture. This all adds to the atmosphere, and creates an ' added importance' to the game. But does it really? Do players raise their games when people are watching? Do crowds not distract players, or create added pressure that hinders them from getting 'into the zone'? These are questions that I would just love to be able to answer, but one feels that perhaps it is different for different individuals and teams and thus not that answerable.

Just last week I worked with a cricket side, who had to play a game of huge significance, for their school, in front of a crowd, for the first time. From usually playing in front of 20 to 30 enthsiastic parents, they now had to play in front of 1000 enthusiatic school mates as well. Despite them being clear favourites on paper and having beaten the same opponents easily just a week previously, they were feeling pressure and nerves. Why? Because a big crowd would be there to see them fail should they do so!! Professional sportsmen these days, are entertainers, in fact they probably have become blase about crowds and instead should there be a very small turn out, they may battle to raise their game to the desired level. But one feels that at amateur level the players have not yet gotten used to these crowds, and thus are affected differently. This very evening, I will be venturing off to watch two amateur rugby sides take part in a crunch match in front of 15 000 people. What impact is this likely to have on the match itself, and on the players as individuals?

I have often believed at amateur level, that crowds can be a burden, and a distraction that is too hard to handle. Yes, there is no doubt that a crowd can serve as a motivator, but I believe that often sides are motivated by just playing for each other and by having fun. The presence of the crowd only serves to tip the balance towards the players becoming over-hyped. The fear of failure is one of the biggest fears faced by all sportsmen, and even if thousands/millions or billions of people are watching on television, there is something about having a live crowd in that can enhance that fear even more.

I look forward to watching this intervarsity clash this evening, and seeing which side is able to harness the positives of the big occasion by being motivated and focused, but can shut out the exciteable crowd well enough to stay focused on the task at hand. I have always maintained that the best sides are those that can play to the same level in front of 1 or 1000 people, as they are truly motivated by bettering their own standards, and playing just for each other, rather than just trying to entertain crowds. I welcome feedback from those who have witnessed crowd influence first hand.

Cheers
T

The consistency question

How many sports teams have we seen that do well one week, or play the game of their lives, and then the very next week look like a shadow of their former selves. In reading an interview with a top schoolboy coach the other day, he spoke about how this was one of his biggest battles from a coaching point of view. Some teams get it right, whilst others don't. The Australian cricket side is probably one of the most consistent sports teams in recent history.

I think I would be foolish to think I had the cure to inconsistency, but obviously there are things that I believe can assist in guarding against it.

1. The Dream
Often one game in isolation can serve up little motivation to a team, and this is where you often see inconsistency in the quality of play. I believe that any team needs a dream, a bigger picture or vision that serves as motivation and direction for them to perform to the best of their ability. Every person has it within them to want to achieve something, and this is the same with a team. If they can paint their own picture or dream their own dream of what they want to achieve, that game in isolation becomes more important, as they are aware that it is part of a bigger 'dream'. This dream then needs to be reinforced before every game, and the context of the game then becomes more important. This can guard against inconsistency.

2. A Value set
Just as a dream is set for the team, so should a set of values and behaviours be set that are desired throughout. These could include humility ( to guard against complacency) as well as belief (to guard against the fear of strong opponents). If these values are entrenched in everything the team does, you may find that those slip ups become less. The more ingrained values are, the more likely the desired behaviours are to occur.

3. The Brutal Facts
I believe too often we gloss over those 'easy' games, with the comments like ' every game is a tough one' or 'they are a wounded animal'. Tough games are often met with, 'We believe we can compete well', 'We have improved a lot this week in practice'. All of these cliches do not serve to address the true feelings that the players have. Many players have been in siutations before where they were fearful or complacent and the outcomes were poor. They should have learned from this, and the team should be encouraged to talk through these and find a solution before it happens. I would encourage teams to admit openly that the side they are playing against is weak for example, but then I would ask them to come up with goals for the game and how they propose to achieve them. Be brutally honest about a game, and you will see results.

4. Remember the game
Tim Goodenough in "In the Zone" , speaks about 3 things that create significance to a game. Opponent, Occasion and Venue. These three things need to be weighed up when thinking about how to get your team into the best state of mind for any game. If the occasion and opponent is one that brings pressure, for example, then it is best to make sure that the players are as relaxed as possible, and aware of the goals for the game. If for example, you are at home, and you are playing an easy fixture, it is crucial to emphasise the importance of the dream, to re-emphasise the values set, and to set challenging goals for the players. The key is to identify the significance of each of the three factors, then to weigh up how you can go about creating the best environment for that game taking those factors into account.

There are definitely more solutions to inconsistency and I'd be keen to hear comment, but these are just a few that may indeed help in keeping the team at a desired level for as long as possible.

Cheers
T

Research on Mental readiness

I came across a great web site called, 'The Zone Of excellence', written by an experienced man in the field of sports performance, called Tim Orlick. There are some fascinating articles there on the field, but I thought I'd include his summarised thoughts on the mental links to excellence. The article is well worth a read and I've posted the link, but here are the summarised thoughts based on his interviews with numerous elite olympian athletes. http://www.zoneofexcellence.ca/free/excellence/mental%20links%20to%20excellence.pdf

1. Mental readiness is an extremely important factor influencing an athlete's
performance. In fact, of the three major readiness factors rated by the
athletes-mental, physical, technical-mental readiness provided the only
statistically significant link with final Olympic ranking.
2. A large percentage of Olympic athletes did not perform to potential at the
Olympic Games because they were not prepared well enough for the distractions
they faced.
3. Mental readying is derived from a number of learned mental skills that must
be continually practiced and refined for an athlete to perform to potential and on
a consistent basis.
4. Attentional focus and the quality and control of performance imagery were
the most important statistically significant athlete skills directly related to high
level performance at the Olympic Games.
5. The following common elements of success were operational for the
best athletes (i.e., Olympic medalists and world champions) in virtually all sports: (a)
total commitment to pursuing excellence, (b) quality training that included
setting daily goals and engaging in regular competition simulation and imagery
training, and (c) quality mental preparation for competition, which included a
refined competition plan, a competition focus plan, an ongoing postcompetition
evaluation procedure, and a plan for dealing with distractions.
6. The three major performance blocks that interfered with high level
performance at the Olympic Games were (a) changing patterns that work, (b) late
selection, and (c) an inability to refocus in the face of distractions.
7. Coaches could play a more meaningful role in helping athletes with their
mental readiness for major events.
This study gives a clear indication of the mental components of excellence that are
necessary for performing to potential at high profile events such as the Olympic
Games. It pinpoints the mental skills that need to be developed and refined for
consistent high level performance.