It’s quarter-finals week of the rugby World Cup. And England coach Martin Johnson is having to face down press questions about the off-field behaviour of some of his players. After Tindall’s late-night bar jaunt, we have Haskell, Ashton and Hartley in the dock for inappropriate comments to a female member of the hotel staff. It suggests that mentally, England are not completely tuned-in to the task of winning a World Cup. That they have not yet built the bubble of focus, that automatically directs behaviour. When a team has created a bubble of focus, players off the field behaviour rarely […]
Read More...Sports Psychology Blog
Welcome to the Sports Psychology blog. Here you will find insights on current sporting events, from the perspective of a sports psychologist.
The purpose of this blog, is to get inside the sporting drama…why the player or team do what they they do…their thinking…mindsets…attitudes…their fluctuating state of confidence…and all the other mental and emotional pieces that create the psychology of sports.
The most recent articles are at the top of the List Of Sports Psychology Blogs Index.
Sports Psychology: Adrian Lewis – Concentration!
It’s the first round of the World Grand Prix at Dublin. And World Champion Adrian Lewis is cruising. Five legs in a row against John Part. Lewis is looking the real deal. Then with the match beckoning, Lewis switches off. He lets Part back in and suddenly instead of closing out the match, Lewis is struggling. One all becomes two-one, as Part takes the game in an unexpected about-turn. From cruising to victory, Lewis is heading home. He’s fallen into the trap of assuming victory. It looks as if Lewis hasn’t thought through some varied match strategies in advance. He’s […]
Read More...Sports Psychology: Dave Chisnall – Underperformance!
It’s the first round of the World Matchplay at The Winter Gardens, Blackpool. And Dave Chisnall has finally found some form. Unfortunately, he is 9-1 down against Watford’s Mark Walsh. Chisnall picks off a couple of legs to keep Walsh on his toes, but it’s come too late to turn back the tide. Chisnall is out. After his semi-final performance in the UK Open at Bolton, many judges expected Chisnall to at least match his performance at The Reebok. After all The Reebok was Chisnall’s first TV event since he joined the PDC. He appeared fearless and unperturbed by pressure. […]
Read More...Sports Psychology: Mark Walsh – Motivation!
Mark Walsh has just destroyed Dave Chisnall in the first round of the World Matchplay. Normally, the winning player is taken up to the Sky studio, for a post-match chat with Dave Clarke. Unsurprisingly, we don’t get to hear Walsh’s post-match analysis. In face we rarely do. When he beat Alan Tabern in the second round of last years World Championships, the man from Watford was interviewed somewhere on the floor by Dave Clarke. And Walsh let Clarke know directly what he thought of Sky’s evasive interview policy. ‘We love you really’ was the sycophantic Clarke’s feeble response. But Walsh […]
Read More...Sports Psychology: Dave Chisnall – Underperformance!
It’s the first round of the World Matchplay at The Winter Gardens, Blackpool. And Dave Chisnall has finally found some form. Unfortunately, he is 9-1 down against Watford’s Mark Walsh. Chisnall picks off a couple of legs to keep Walsh on his toes, but it’s come too late to turn back the tide. Chisnall is out. After his semi-final performance in the UK Open at Bolton, many judges expected Chisnall to at least match his performance at The Reebok. After all The Reebok was Chisnall’s first TV event since he joined the PDC. He appeared fearless and unperturbed by pressure. […]
Read More...Golf Psychology: Darren Clarke – Unconscious Putting
So Darren Clarke, supported by two sports psychologists, Bob Rotella and Mike Finnigan, is 2011 Open Champion. Mike Finnigan was working with the Ulsterman on his attitude and motivation. Rotella on the critical details of golf performance. More specifically, Rotella was helping Clarke on his putting. Or Unconscious Putting as the golf psychologist described it. As Darren putted beautifully under pressure on Day Four, the strategy was very successful. But what is Unconscious Putting? And more importantly, how do you do it? Well the key to Unconscious Putting, is having a clear picture of the image or outcome that you […]
Read More...Sports Psychology: Kevin Painter – Luck!
It’s the first round of the World Matchplay at The Winter Gardens, Blackpool. And World Champion Adrian Lewis is under-performing. Kevin Painter has three darts at double-top to defeat the man from Stoke. But he misses. In a titanic struggle Lewis eventually finds his form and rhythm, and eventually overcomes Painter 12-10 to progress to Round Two. In his post-match interview with Sky Sports Rob Stubbs, Painter bemoans his fate, repeating that he doesn’t seem to get the ‘luck’ that other players get. He is implying that he is ‘unlucky’. This is not the mindset of a winner and champion. […]
Read More...Golf Psychology: Graham McDowell – Major Expectations!
It’s day two of the Open Championship, and one of the pre-tournament favourites, Graham McDowell has missed the cut. ‘I was a bit of a mental case out there’, was the Irishman’s description of his 36 hole performance. He also went on the say that ‘I need to care a bit less about the game right now’. Fascinating comments from such a keen and dedicated mental student of the game. But what does Graham mean exactly, by caring less about the game. It suggests that he has lost both his feel and perhaps his love of golf. It’s just no […]
Read More...Golf Psychology: Rory McIlroy – Expectations!
It’s the day before the Open Championship. And, in the absence of Tiger Woods, all the expectations are on the US Open Champion, Rory McIlroy. For many players, this level of expectation would almost certainly result in under-performance. But not McIlroy. This is a player who exudes self-belief. A player who, whilst leading the US Open, wasn’t just content with winning. But wanted to smash Tigers winning-margin record. Expectations are such, that many will be looking to Rory to repeat his briliance at Congressional. A top player thrives on these kind of expectations. Loves the fact that the eyes of […]
Read More...Darts: Raymond Van Barneveld – Attack!
It’s the TV break in the second-round match between Raymond Van Barneveld and Brendan Dolan. Barney is two sets to the good. But he is playing poorly. During the break, his Dutch pal Co Stompe, comes to have an encouraging word. Next thing we know, at the start of set three, Barney has thrown a beautiful nine-darter. The Alexandra Palace is delirious! So what did Co Stompe say, to have such a catalytic effect on Barney’s game? He told him to attack! To throw the darts in a more assertive way. Clearly brilliant advice. But what does Co Stompe mean? […]
Read More...