The psychology of professional sport and those that are at, or have been at, the very top of their games is an area that I find fascinating and it’s something that we don’t discuss on a regular basis.
A short time ago Canterbury ran a session with four of their ambassadors designed to dive into the psychology of an elite athlete and I jumped at the chance to be there. Will Greenwood, Danielle Waterman, Geoff Paling and Kevin Sinfield were all incredibly open about their feelings and emotions and I think you’ll find their experiences and honesty fascinating and if you have family members that are aspiring to reach the top level then they might feel assured or comforted by the some of the feelings articulated by the four.
As I mentioned when you’re watching professional athletes partake in a match at the weekend the best make it look effortless and yet all four shared that self-doubt plagued them throughout their careers. England’s Rugby World Cup victory at the Telstra Stadium back in 2003 is something that will never be forgotten, it was the greatest achievement by an England side, yet Will considered not being part of it:
“I couldn’t eat, felt physically sick the day before a Test match. I haven’t said this very regularly but I considered pulling my calf muscle in training the week before the World Cup Final because I was terrified.”Those feelings of concern are ones that Kevin Sinfield, arguably the greatest Rugby League player of all time, also knew extremely well and went through countless occasions during his career in the build up to matches.
“So I struggled eating, butterflies like you wouldn’t believe and wouldn’t be able to sleep properly. All those things but I actually at times, as I got older, I tried to embrace them because that nervousness and ‘excitement’ for want of a better word let me know that I genuinely cared about what I was about to go and do.
“Having that drive and nervousness certainly gave me an edge. Towards the back end of my career I felt that I’d put myself through that so many times that when I got onto the field I wasn’t going to let anything stop me, or stop the team, from achieving. If I’ve got to go through all of that to make sure that we win today then so be it.
“I think self-doubt is quite common, people question themselves no matter how good you get at something there’s always something in the back of your mind that says ‘I’m going to get found out, I’m a fraud’. Even though you’ve put in hours and hours of work you look at yourself and still see that young lad that’s trying to get somewhere.”
Between the four of them they’ve won domestic titles, World Cups and European trophies and yet when they all look back on their careers the moments that stick in the minds aren’t necessarily the ones that you would think:
“It goes too quickly,” added Kevin. “Winning trophies and that feeling of satisfaction is gone 40 minutes after the game. When you lose, when you get it wrong it is still with you now.”
All four could remember their ‘that’ moment, the one that they still relive in their minds no matter how many years have gone by and think ‘what if’. I was taken aback by the openness of Geoff who discussed his feelings about the final moments of the game against Wales at Twickenham last October:
“A pretty well known one is the Wales game in the Rugby World Cup. At the end of the game the decision to kick for the corner, I backed the decision and I called the lineout to the front. It gets rolled backwards, we don’t set up the drive and we don’t score.
“I’ve played games after that obviously, called loads of lineouts to the front and we’ve scored and it’s been completely fine. The reason that it didn’t work was because they hit it really early, it was a dead set penalty to us, they hit when Robbo’s feet were probably two feet in the air.
“But, that might not have happened if I had called it in the middle. So I would still use that call again but it still does really play in my mind that actually I could have called it somewhere else and we might have snuck over.”
So what was their advice to young players coming through the ranks and looking to wrangle with their own psychology, nerves, self-doubt or critique. Well, Danielle articulated that it’s not just about an individual’s work, a team should be involved too:
“It’s actually about creating an environment that encourages errors and encourages making mistakes because if you make those then it means that you’re trying. The difficultly is not when you’re in the game, it’s afterwards and it’s the constantly critic of yourself.
“I play a game over and over again. I was just to 14 minutes of putting stuff to bed [during Rio] but now I have 80 odd minutes to play before I can go sleep.
“As a youngster it’s encouraging them to try and draw a line under a game quickly and focus on the next game or improvements next time.”
Throughout this discussion what struck me, alongside the four individuals’ honesty, was the fact that even those that are at, or have been at, the very top of the tree all performed while combatting often overwhelming emotions. Elite sportspeople aren't super human instead learn to manage and deal with things in their own manner. There's no hard and fast rule when it comes to preparing for a match or training instead finding your own way to manage emotions and the psychological side is part of the process of maturing as an athlete.
Physical strength can be seen on the field of play but all four have learned their own way to gain mental strength. Without question the psychological side of sport is vital for performance and ensuring that players are mentally strong will go a long way to developing and an effective, and winning, team. Just ask Eddie Jones where a big area of focus has been with his current England side!
Geoff Parling, Kevin Sinfiled, Danielle Waterman and Will Greenwood were speaking at Canterbury’s Mental Training Masterclass. Canterbury’s 2017 Training Range is available in the new year. Visit www.canterbury.com
