There have been many reasons put forward for Ireland’s exit from the World Cup. Over expectation; poor tactics; rustiness; superior opposition. All the above may be contributing factors. To the observer, it appeared that the Irish lacked energy; pizzaz; dynamism; an unfettered passion that could burn off doubt. As if there was a sluggishness running through the team that cast a shadow over their moments in the sun. This was a team that seemed ‘bothered’ by something. Whatever that ‘something’ was, it did not look as if the Irish team had the foresight or the wit to clear things up. […]
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.
Rugby: Australia – We Hate England!
There are still group games to be played, but already Australia are cranking up the pressure ahead of a potential World Cup quarter-final with England. ‘We all hate England’. That’s from the Australian Chief Executive John O’Neill. For England this is perfect. A motivational gift has just landed on the porch. Thank you! You are hated. Great. There is no problem locating the enemy then. No problem in finding someone to ram the words back down their throats. To prove them wrong. It’s like having an extra player. Having a THEM to focus all your energy brings the US together. […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Hull City – A Lesson In Belief
‘The difference wasn’t necessarily technical. It was about belief’. The words of Hull City manager Phil Brown after their four goal defeat to Chelsea. So what Phil really means is that Chelsea had four times the belief that Hull City did. Belief means that you don’t stand and watch whilst the opposition demonstrate how good they are. It’s about imposing yourself on the game. Remember the belief that Wimbledon had when they shocked the football world in the 1988 FA Cup Final. They exuded no doubt. They backed themselves. They backed each other. They knew that their team-spirit was second […]
Read More...Rugby: Ireland – I Believe?
It’s six days before the World Cup crunch match with Argentina and Irish centre Gordon D’Arcy is asked whether Ireland can score the four tries necessary for progression. ‘We have to believe we can’ he replies. Whilst this is reasonable comment, the notion of ‘having to believe’ doesn’t carry the same weight of power as a team who do believe. Having to believe informs us that this team need to go on a mental and emotional journey to reach the state of belief from which they have to play. We have to believe doesn’t mean we will. Belief is a […]
Read More...Cricket: Youvraj Singh – Disrespect Me!
There are three overs left in the England – India Twenty-20 encounter when Andrew Flintoff and Youvraj Singh start exchanging words. At one point, Youvraj starts advancing towards Flintoff with his bat. The next over, bowled by Stuart Broad, goes for thirty six runs. Six consecutive sixes. Whatever Andrew Flintoff said, he did the perfect job in firing Youvraj Singh up. From wanting to go out a hit quick runs to suddenly being totally committed to doing so. It was as if he crossed a line. All his power and energy were galvanised to the one cause. Suddenly Youvraj had […]
Read More...Football: Chelsea – Life After Jose
So what now for Chelsea after the departure of Jose Mourinho? Two scenarios present themselves. The first is that the club goes from strength to strength. The players, under a new manager, play the brand of stylish Champions League winning football the owner dreams of. The second is that, the players, feeling sorry for themselves, simply fall back into the Premier League pack and the dream fades. So – which will it be? The answer partly depends on how the players respond to Mourinho’s departure. If he has created a culture full of self-leaders, charged with making their own decisions, […]
Read More...Rugby: France – Overaroused?
By what distortion, by what confusion of values, could anyone compare the game of rugby to the Resistance?” asked Nicolas Gurgand in the French magazine L’Express. The question refers to the letter that was read out by the French team in advance of their fragile performance in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup. The letter at the centre of the controversy was written by Guy Muquet, a 17-year-old Resistance hero, just before his execution in 1941. It begins: “My little adored mummy, my adored baby brother, my little daddy, whom I love so much, I am going to […]
Read More...Rugby: Ireland – Overcoached?
It was expected to be a game Ireland would win with points to spare. Dispensing the minnows. Building confidence in preparation for sterner tests to come. In the end, Ireland were hanging on against the robust Georgians. So what has happened to Ireland’s ‘A’ game? Where is the team carrying their nations hope and dreams? It is not that Ireland lack the experience. It is not that they lack the skill. What they may be encumbered by is over-preparation. Over-preparation by manager Eddie O’Sullivan. These are players who look as if they are having too much to think about. Too […]
Read More...The Ring Of Confidence
Having won nothing since 1991, to narrowly miss the play offs was an achievement to be lauded, but it cannot be enough for the club with the largest fan base outside the premier league. This season, pundits were predicting a possible return to the Premier League. But, four games into the Championship season, and Sheffield Wednesday are without a point. Four games; four defeats. Although earlier season form may not be an accurate herald of what could follow, it generates, nevertheless, uncertainty and lack of objectivity. We might want to describe such a state as an equation: high expectancy + […]
Read More...Football: Derby County – The Fear Of Added Time
So Derby County are out of the Carling Cup after conceding goals late into full time and extra time. But why should a Premiership side be prone to the concession of last minute goals against Championship opposition? When a side starts conceding last minute goals its a sure sign of over-anxiety. A team that has forgotten how to win. Which Derby have. Last years Championship play-off final probably seems a lifetime ago now. The intensity of the Premiership quickly establishes new habits and patterns. Including losing. With defeat comes lack of confidence. With the lack of confidence grows doubt. Doubt of course, […]
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