The Confidence Coach's Sports Psychology Articles
On The Couch With Dr. Martin - 442's Sports Psychology Expert
The Confidence Coach's monthly Sports Psychology Article in 442 magazine. This article was written before the start of the 2007-8 Premiership season.
Barrier Breaking Thinking
It’s the start of the new season and Billy Davies is outlining Derby County’s Premier League survival strategy. He intends to 'ram' down his players' throats the number of points he believes they will need to survive their first season back in the top flight. 'And the number I will give to my players is forty-two points'.
We take it that this strategy is simply for public consumption. To lower fans expectations. To set up an ongoing narrative of how the ‘little’ club has somehow survived against the odds. But, internally, he must be setting more profound objectives than simply achieving forty-two points. In this respect, mere survival does not have positive value.
When setting goals it is important to look beyond the base level. So, for example, Billy Davies could set his players a Security Goal [SG] of forty-two points. We will call that the Basic Goal [BG]. The minimum that must be achieved. But there are more possibilities than that.
He could then set a Realistic Goal [RG]- perhaps a mid-table finish. Target, say, fifty points. A goal that would require more belief, more conviction, but can, nevertheless, still be achieved. It is realistic. The players will have been convinced that this is possible.
Then, a third level. A Barrier Breaking Goal [BBG]. A goal to set the pulses racing. Really? We could do that? Wow! A BBG would be a top eight finish. A target of sixty points. A BBG takes players to an hitherto untroden destination. A destination that liberates their sense of ambition. It is an adventure in itself.
It is important that Barrier Breaking Goal must not carry pressure with it, it must not encourage thoughts of failure. But it can offer a sense of possibility. The manager must then explain to his players exactly how and why they can achieve that target. He can plot from game to game explaining how they will win points. This step by step approach, climbing like a ziggurat, will help build belief.
Then he would have to prepare, mentally, his players for the Barrier Breaking Goal. To build imagery of a side that finishes in the top eight, he will create a metaphor of success. The style of football they will play will reflect their virtues. The feeling in the dressing-room will be one of confident anticipation. The fortress that Pride Park would become will make them feel invincible. They will hit the road, securing results when least expected. It can be done. Reading showed the way in 2006-7.
Playing with the mentality of a side preparing for a top eight finish, is very different from that of a side playing for survival, accepting the lowest common denominator. The top eight mentality is cool and calm. It's a physical and emotional state, that even in adversity, doesn't panic. It embraces the positive and leads to fluent, flowing football. Winning football. They will be playing a game without fear eating the soul. It is a mentality where doubt has been cast out. And the team is left with a belief in making the impossible, possible.
When the mentality is right, the results follow. And Barrier Breaking Goals leaves some margin for error. However, the survival mentality leaves no margin for error. It plays on the nerves from day one. And can only lead to crisis through anxiety and mistakes and defeats. The cycle of anxiety is established and is very difficult to break.
Billy Davies can make a name for himself and his team on their Premiership return. It all depends on how daring they are in their thinking. Of course, they are the bookies favourites to go down, but defeating the odds is the very essence of Barrier Breaking Goals.
Martin Perry: Confidence Coach & Sports Psychology - 0044(0)77897 56425