The Sports Psychology Blog
This Sports Psychology blog comes as Havant & Waterloville travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in the FA Cup
Football: Havant & Waterlooville - No Camcorders Please!
So Havant & Waterlooville travel up to Anfield today to face Liverpool. We learn that some of the players will be carrying camcorders to make a visual record of the trip. And who can blame them. It's a rare opportunity in the life of a non-league footballer. The urge to capture every moment for the grandchildren.
But what if this was a mistake? What if there was never a better time to go to Anfield. Where off-field shenanigans are impacting on performance. Where, in truth, right now, Liverpool are vulnerable.
What if Havant didn't travel up planning strategies for who wiil swap shirts with who? But went as professional giant-killers. Without camcorders. Not caring about coming home with Torres's or Gerrard's shirt. But with only one thing on their minds. Coming away from Anfield with a result.
The diet of Rocky movies should put them in the right frame of mind. A mindset that senses Liverpool's vulnerability. Believes an upset can happen. And that you are part of it. This is your moment in footballing history.
No camcorders. No shirt swapping. But backing yourselves. It requires a total commitment to the fact that this is not a day out. But you are here on a mission.
In a battle of skill, Liverpool will come out on top every time. But in the mental battle, Havant & Waterlooville can be Liverpool's equal. And Havant can also match Liverpool in team-spirit. Can match them in will. Can match them in effort.
It is this kind of assay that can lend Havant hope. This kind of assay that will give Havant strength of purpose in front of the biggest crowd they will have ever faced.
It may, of course, not be enough against the former European Champions. But if Havant see that they are travelling to Anfield on merit, then the impossible can happen. There is still magic to be squeezed out of the FA Cup. It takes a capacity to believe in the impossible to unlock that magic.
Note - Of course, this is not as straightforward as this is made to appear. If you play in front of 600 people every week, it will seem not normal to perform to a crowd of 40,000. You therefore have to make the mental transition as a team to handle that difference. That is why you have to be very clear about your collective strengths. As an individual you may feel daunted by the difference. But the collective strengths can bridge that difference.
