The Sports
Psychology Blog
Today's Sports Psychology blog comes after Steven Gerrard's comments on England's defeat to Croatia.
Football: Steven Gerrard - Bouncing Back!
''
From the player's point of view, we've got to take the criticism, get
on with it, and try and bounce back. But it's going to hurt for a long
time. There's a lot more football to play in the future and we've got
to bounce back. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. Obviously we're disappointed
and the moment, but we've got to try and get it out of our system. But
it will be difficult." - The words of England captain Steven Gerrard
after defeat to Croatia.
Whilst it is possible to have every sympathy with Gerrard, the notion of bouncing back is reminiscent of the comments England players would regularly make during the Ashes whitewash to Australia - 'We've got to look to take the positives out of the defeat'.
Bouncing Back and Taking the Positives. These will soon become sports psychology cliches. Empty words. Lacking in any real meaning. There's another game coming up soon. No time to focus on defeat. No time for inward reflection. We have to be ready for the next challenge. Whereby the next game provides a consuming focus and distraction for the players. A distraction away from the truth.
Forget bouncing back. Bouncing back with the same reset patterns will result in exactly the same outcomes. This calibre of defeat requires deep thinking and analysis. From all parties. A think-tank of senior players. Making their report to the FA. Why we blew it. A critical analysis of the teams performance. Honest. What were the factors that led to under-performance.
The players will know why this debacle has happened. The question is, have they the self-leadership to sit down and analyse it. To personally ensure that England never again hit this rock bottom. Forget the next game. Now is the time for knowing where you are and how you got there. Facing the uncomfortable truth. Not pleasant. Not comfortable. Nor should it be. But rock bottom can be and should be a catalyst for change. If you have the courage to face it.
