Even before he is officially unveiled, LA Galaxy president Alexei Lalas informs us that David Beckham’s imminent arrival has had an adverse affect on the Major League side. LA Galaxy are near the bottom of the Western Division. The phone-ins are asking the sports psychology experts, ‘So how will Beckham’s arrival impact on the morale and team-spirit of the Galaxy’? It could go two ways: 1) Beckham’s presence and huge wages could cause resentment amongst his colleagues. For his 125m. they will expect him to better than Pele and Maradona combined and win every game by himself. They will feel […]
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.
Football: Chelsea – What Are It’s True Values?
Chelsea Chief Executive, Peter Kenyon, has spoken recently of the need for the club to make, at least, the final of the Champions League in order for them to be acknowledged as a ‘world brand.’ But many diehard fans, who would rather see their team win the Premiership, don’t agree. There may be developing a sense of disconnect between these fans and the club they support. A gap in credibility which refuses to be bridged by clever merchandising. Football clubs have been driven by a deep-rooted set of values which provide the foundation for everything that happens at the club. […]
Read More...Tennis: The Champions Masterclass
It’s the fifth set of the Wimbledon’s mens single final. Rafael Nadal is pounding Roger Federer. He has vital break points at 2-2. It’s a pivotal moment in the game. The champion is on the ropes. Minutes later Federer heads for the chair 3-2 up. There is a spark in his eye. A spring in his step. And with it a sense of knowing. A sense that champions get. That this is it. This is the moment. The turning point. And so it proves. He has taken all Nadal has got to throw at him. Nadal is finally beaten. So what is […]
Read More...Football: Fernando Torres – Know Your History
So Fernando Torres is to join Liverpool from Athletico Madrid for 26m. Is he going to be the catalyst that finally ignites Liverpool’s title challenge? Or will he join Stan Collymore, Emile Heskey, Craig Bellamy and Djibril Cisse, and fail to live up to the publicity and hype? If he is to make a difference, the first thing I would do if I was working with him, would be to steep him in history. I would create a specific induction process for him. An induction into the history of great Liverpool forwards…Liddell, Thompson, Hunt, St. John, Keegan, Toshack, Dalgleish, Rush. […]
Read More...Football: Fernando Torres – Know Your History
So Fernando Torres is to join Liverpool from Athletico Madrid for 26m. Is he going to be the catalyst that finally ignites Liverpool’s title challenge? Or will he join Stan Collymore, Emile Heskey, Craig Bellamy and Djibril Cisse, and fail to live up to the publicity and hype? If he is to make a difference, the first thing I would do if I was working with him, would be to steep him in history. I would create a specific induction process for him. An induction into the history of great Liverpool forwards…Liddell, Thompson, Hunt, St. John, Keegan, Toshack, Dalgleish, Rush. […]
Read More...Tim Henman – And Mr Henman
Another summer. Another Wimbledon. Henman Hill packed with expectant fans. Living on hope. It’s been like this for years. Hope followed by disappointment. So what, if anything could Tim Henman have done differently to have broken his personal stop situation and taken the Wimbledon crown. If I had been providing sports psychology services for Tim, I would have suggested a radical experiment. It is one he may not have liked. I would have asked Tim to tell his father Anthony to stay away. Every year you see Mr. Henman alongside Mrs. Henman and Lucy Henman. Perched right over the court. […]
Read More...GAA: Dublin – The Over Arousal Factor
It’s the Leinster Football Final and Dublin are hosting Laois at Croke Park. It’s an even game when suddenly Dublin score two goals in as many minutes to knock the stuffing out of Laois. After the first goal, Dublin forward Mark Vaughan begins taunting the Laois defender Darren Rooney in an aggressive ‘in your face’ manner. Later on in the game two more Dublin players, Alan Brogan and Kevin Bonner indulge in further taunting of the defeated Laois players. ”You try playing in front of 82,000 people in a Leinster Final” is the response from Dublin’s 1995 All-Ireland winning senior […]
Read More...Intoxicated On Euphoria
It’s the division one play off and the City Ground, Nottingham is buzzing. Forest are eight minutes away from a Wembley assignation which history and destiny seem to demand. Rolling back the years, The Championship is within touching distance. Suddenly, Yeovil pull a goal back and panic sets in. Coach, Colin Calderwood tries to defend his now precarious lead, but it is too late. They have lost the initiative. In extra time Forest are down to nine fit men. Exhausted and dishevelled they are ready to capitulate. Yeovil seize the moment and plunder a fifth goal. At the final whistle […]
Read More...Steve McClaren
Its half time in Englands European Championship qualifier against Andorra and an angry mob has gathered to abuse the underperforming, lifeless, England players. The majority of the venom however is directed at the manager. Its the lowest point yet in Steve McClarens brief tenure as England boss. At the time of McClarens appointment, his predecessor, Sven Goran Erikksson said, I have no doubt that he has all the credentials to be very successful in the job and wish him all the best.” Nine games later, there are online petitions calling for McClarens resignation, and he is being hounded by the […]
Read More...West Ham United
It’s late into West Ham’s vital encounter with Tottenham Hotspur and the Hammers have managed to gain a 3-2 lead with minutes to go. Moments later, the visitors have plundered two goals to snatch the points. In the stands, Icelandic chairman Eggert Magnusson has his heads in his hands. Manager Alan Curbishley is aiming frustrated kicks at his water bottle. The fans are sitting dumb-struck in their seats. Like Newcastle United’s spectacular Premiership capitulation in 1996, it has all the hallmarks of a classic act of self-sabotage. What Would A Sports Psychologist Do?… With the Hammers staring relegation in the […]
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