So England finally move into the world of 21st century football. A sports psychologist should be a critical part of any high level performance team. Not a late after-thought. There has been a strong consensus of support for the appoinment of Dr Steve Peters. England’s big tournament failings have consistently been caused by psychological weakness. And it is expected that his work will focus on the psychology of the penalty shoot-out. But there are other key areas that he can focus on to help England overcome their long-standing tournament inhibitions. The first and most important task should be to work […]
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 Psychology: England – Psychovation!
It’s one of the great unresolved riddles in world football. That is, the inability of England to win penalty shoot-outs in big international tournaments. There are many interesting theories, psychological and scientific based resolutions being raised to overcome this problem. But there is one that rarely gets spoken about. In 1990 Stuart Pearce famously missed from the spot, in the World Cup semi-final shoot out with Germany. It took six years before this passionate and proud Englishman, had a chance to put things right. The Euro’96 quarter final with Spain went to pens. Manager Terry Venables gathered his players around […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Jose Mourinho – The Master Of Mind Games
Managerial mind-games. Can they win football matches and league titles? Unto themselves no. But can they be influential? Yes they can. That’s why Jose Mourinho’s broadside at Arsene Wenger yesterday, was significant. Mourinho called Wenger a ‘specialist in failure’, after the Frenchman suggested the title was Chelsea’s to lose. Once the players cross the white-line you would imagine that such jibes carry no weight. But they are subtle. Mourinho knows his players are watching him. And so they go into the run-in, knowing that their manager is currently holding the mental edge over his Emirates rival. Thus their trust in […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Manchester United – Strength Of Character!
It’s the closing minutes of Manchester United Champions League game at Olympiakos. Two goals down, a priceless chance suddenly falls to Robin Van Persie. You expect him to score. But no. Lacking his normal composure, he blazes the chance over the bar. Afterwards, The Dutchman complains about other United players occupying the spaces he would normally take up. Mounting frustration has clearly caused him to strike wildly at his chance. The pressure is mounting on David Moyes. The journey to grow into being a Manchester United manager is a slow one. It may take a few years. In the meantime, […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology: England – Integrating Mavericks!
Does every successful team need a Maverick player in it? No – probably not. You can win collectively with organization, discipline, and team-spirit. But a Maverick player brings something else into a team. They bring the X Factor,. The ability to do things differently to everyone else. And it’s this sense of ‘difference’ that can make the integration of a Maverick into a team, both rewarding and challenging. A team is made up of a set of individuals. And the stronger the individuals are, the more that the leadership need to help the strengths of those individuals be allied towards […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology: England – Understanding Kevin
England’s less than successful cricket tour to Australia ended a couple of weeks ago. But the recriminations are still rumbling on. After a week of speculation on who said what about who, The ECB finally took the bull by the horns and sacked Kevin Pietersen as a contracted player. The debate about whether this was the correct course of action, perhaps won’t be resolved until England get down to the business of winning cricket matches again. But the Pietersen affair raises plenty of interesting issues, as to how you handle maverick players. In some ways it has similarities with the […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Sam Allardyce – Us v Them!
Injustice. Anger. Frustration. The feelings of West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce, following his talisman striker Andy Carroll’s red card against Swansea City, and the subsequent upholding of the three game ban by The FA. West Ham have threated legal action to get the ban overturned, and an FA tribunal will now sit in judgement. There are obvious reasons for The Hammers to try to overturn the ban. Firstly, Carroll is central to their struggle to remain in The Premier League. And a three game ban does not serve that cause. But more than that, taking on The FA is […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Fulham FC – Rock Bottom!
It’s the last minute of extra time in Fulham’s FA Cup tie with Sheffield United. It all appears to be heading for sudden death, when The Blades win a corner. Fulham’s Clint Dempsey is taking a defensive position marking United’s Shaun Miller. However, when the cross is headed back across the box by Harry Maguire, Dempsey runs away from his man, leaving him free to head the winner. It’s a strange decision from the experienced American, and one that should sound alarm bells for Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen. Dempsey has either had a bad lapse of concentration, or been so […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology: England – A Team With No Mind!
The holy grail for any team or collective is to be of one mind. United in thought and deed. All working towards the same outcome. A team dynamic where everyone feels important and a key part of the group. Where the individual is given clear roles and responsibilities. And thus they know exactly how their contribution aids the collective success. On the other hand you can have a team with two minds. Where divisiveness holds sway. Where cliques form, and there is a feeling of enemies within. Thus the factions within the team pull against each other. And this is […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology: Andy Flower – Leadership Fatigue!
So despite a declared intention to remain the Team Director of the England cricket team, Andy Flower will no longer be at the helm as England rebuild following the Ashes debacle. It could be argued that Flower had earnt the opportunity to put right the wrongs of Australia. That having led England to the coveted position of number one in the world, he knows what it takes to build a successful team. But something has gone badly wrong Down Under. On his watch England have significantly under-performed. Players have openly admitted to a lowering of standards off the field. One […]
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