By John Morrison
THE National League in gaelic games, the All-Ireland Leagues in rugby, local soccer leagues and the Premiership in England are reaching the crucial stages where players' attitude towards pressure (anxiety) will go a long way to a title or promotion is achieved or relegation is avoided for their team.
Attitude Management is about teaching the mind to view the demands imposed by the stressful situation in a CONTROLLABLE as opposed to an uncontrollable way.
If players focus on the outcome (result) in a stressful situation, they are probably going to experience anxiety.
If, however, they are able to focus on how the stress challenges them to perform to the best of their abilities, the stress becomes more controllable and anxiety is less likely to take over.
If players accept that thoughts govern action and emotion, surely attitude governs thought (you are what you think).
If this is true, the attitude of the player is critical to everything.
In sport, achievements such as winning, beating the opposition, gaining a medal, improving ranking etc are uncontrollable whereas controllable components/skills such as quality of passing, pace, acceleration, decision- making, concentration, ability to stay positive, physical and mental effort, emotional control are controllable.
Coaches should help players realise how readily they can use what they can control, e.g. aspects of personal performance such as refocusing before they take a penalty.
Thus the secret is to focus on the controllable rather than the uncontrollable.
If players learn to change attitudes to focus on controllable performance factors rather than uncontrollable outcome factors - in life as well as sport - this attitude will POSITIVELY influence the quality of their thoughts in a specific pressure situation.
So, general attitude influences competition attitude, which in turn influences how the player handles the pressure situation.
- Attitude to sport: focus on uncontrollable = ‘I'll only be successful if I win' changed to a focus on controllable thoughts, ‘I'll only be successful if I train hard and keep improving my personal best'.
- Attitude to competition: ‘Winning this game is the only goal changes positively to ‘I'll give 100% effort to play to the best of my current ability'.
- Attitude to specific pressure situation: ‘If I lose - I'll not be selected' changes positively to ‘I'll stay calm and be first to every ball'.
Players need to practice their performance and process-oriented attitudes to different stressful situations that arise in their sport.
To do so in training the first stage involves CONTINGENCY PLANNING where players are presented, perhaps in a group setting, with a range of ‘WHAT IF?' scenarios which can provoke stress by preventing them from achieving an uncontrollable goal:
- e.g. ‘What if we arrive late for a full warm-up?'
- e.g. ‘What if we go behind early?'
- e.g. ‘What if we or the opposition score a goal just before half-time?'
- e.g. ‘What if we are gaining/losing a big lead?'
The key to attitude management is to work CALMLY through these in advance, devising controllable performer and process-based strategies (to be used in training) to increase the controllability of ‘the stress in competition.
Stage two then involves coaches helping players to individually devise, develop and manage appropriate attitudes to stressful situations via contingency planning and simulation training.
‘What if you know tomorrow will be a stressful day, use ‘what if? today to devise ways to ensure it will be a more positive day.
Forewarned is fore-armed.
So, what if things are beyond your control? Don't worry
What if things within your control are under control? - Don't worry.
