Much is made in rugby of pre-match hype ups before games, and of the potential of passion to win teams games. Coaches often go to great lengths to deliver inspirational speeches, and captains will do their best to get much chest-thumping before the game to ensure all are ready for the battle that is the rugby match. All of this mental preparation and hype can be useful provided it’s channelled and kept in perspective. You hear tales of players being so over-hyped, that they forgot what they actually had to do on the field.
In fact, best is to get a balance in pre-match preparation between the ‘pressure/ anxiety’, and the confident/relaxed levels. In the book, In the Zone, by Tim Goodenough, they talk about the see-saw axis between Anxiety and Confidence, and ensuring that the see-saw remains in a flat line rather than leaning up or down in either direction. Too much anxiety and pressure can lead to players not performing at the desired levels, as can too much confidence and relaxation, which may also lead to weak performance. Therefore the challenge for a coach or captain lies in keeping both the team and the individual in their balanced state. In order to do this it is important to identify where and how each individual reaches this balance, and where the team as a whole reaches its balance. For example, when your team plays its big derby fixture, it’s often best to lessen the hype because the pressure surrounding the occasion is already enough to raise anxiety levels, whilst in the smaller games you may choose to fire up your players with threats or big incentives to create more anxiety for them. Unfortunately what often happens is that coaches and teams often choose to increase the anxiety levels for big games, by changing routines, implementing extra practices, getting in more guest-speakers and talking up the opposition. Identifying where the balance lies comes through talking to the team as a whole, and the players individually, and getting them to identify how this balance can be achieved and thereby finding out for yourself as well.
On the subject of motivational speeches; I see them as important but not the be all and end all of motivation, but it’s evident that coaches and captains do spend a lot of time talking in order to fire-up their players. I use an analogy of a two-layer cake when describing the “any Given Sunday” style speeches on a Saturday afternoon. Your motivational speeches are the icing sugar on the top of the cake. Nice, tasty, important and the finishing touches to a masterpiece, also the stuff that people remember. The icing sugar would be useless however without the substance of the cake. The bottom layer being the goals and direction that your team should have. A general sense of purpose that you as a team possess. The second layer, is the environment that exists within the team. This incorporates the spirit, the values, the energy and enthusiasm. If you can create a positive productive environment with a clear sense of plan and direction, you will have won most of the motivation battle and this is when your motivating speeches will be most effective. They CANNOT however make up for a lack of substance in the base of the cake.
Some tips for keeping the guys motivated:
• Be as positive as possible and use positive motivators i.e achievements, rewards etc more than using fear, pressure etc as motivators.
• Pick out individuals for special praise in a group environment, ensuring that this praise is spread across the team throughout the season.
• Prepare your talks. An ad lib speech may miss getting a good, clear message across. One or two important points are far more effective than long-winded multi-message speeches.
All the best and enjoy it!!
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