It’s day two of the Open Championship, and one of the pre-tournament favourites, Graham McDowell has missed the cut. ‘I was a bit of a mental case out there’, was the Irishman’s description of his 36 hole performance. He also went on the say that ‘I need to care a bit less about the game right now’. Fascinating comments from such a keen and dedicated mental student of the game. But what does Graham mean exactly, by caring less about the game. It suggests that he has lost both his feel and perhaps his love of golf. It’s just no […]
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.
Golf Psychology: Rory McIlroy – Expectations!
It’s the day before the Open Championship. And, in the absence of Tiger Woods, all the expectations are on the US Open Champion, Rory McIlroy. For many players, this level of expectation would almost certainly result in under-performance. But not McIlroy. This is a player who exudes self-belief. A player who, whilst leading the US Open, wasn’t just content with winning. But wanted to smash Tigers winning-margin record. Expectations are such, that many will be looking to Rory to repeat his briliance at Congressional. A top player thrives on these kind of expectations. Loves the fact that the eyes of […]
Read More...Darts: Raymond Van Barneveld – Attack!
It’s the TV break in the second-round match between Raymond Van Barneveld and Brendan Dolan. Barney is two sets to the good. But he is playing poorly. During the break, his Dutch pal Co Stompe, comes to have an encouraging word. Next thing we know, at the start of set three, Barney has thrown a beautiful nine-darter. The Alexandra Palace is delirious! So what did Co Stompe say, to have such a catalytic effect on Barney’s game? He told him to attack! To throw the darts in a more assertive way. Clearly brilliant advice. But what does Co Stompe mean? […]
Read More...Tennis Psychology – Andy Murray & The Beatability Factor
So Andy Murray’s quest for that first elusive Grand Slam continues. A very winnable third round encounter at Flushing Meadows with Stanislas Wawrinka ends in defeat. Murray looks both frustrated and bemused at his press conference. Frustrated in defeat, but bemused as to why his game has let him down, when he needed it the most. With each defeat, Murrays ability to claim a Grand Slam diminshes. For he becomes ‘beatable’. That is, his opponents know that if they proble long and hard enough, they will find chinks in his armour. Either technical chinks, or mental ones. And the mental […]
Read More...Football Psychology – The Sacking Of Alan Pardew
It’s four games into the League One season. Southampton have just recorded their first win of the season, smashing Bristol Rovers by four goals to nil, at The Memorial Ground. The Saints are up and running, and ready to build on last seasons excellent effort to overturn a massive points deduction. Then, out of the blue, manager Alan Pardew is sacked. Unless there has been shenanigans behind the scenes, this is a bizarre decision. Last seasons results, clearly indicate that Pardew has what it takes to take the Saints to promotion. He is steeped in the know-how of building a […]
Read More...Football Psychology – The Psychological Problems Of West Ham United!
‘This team carried a lot of psychological problems’. The words of West Ham United manager Avram Grant, after his teams edgy win over League Two’s Oxford United in the Carling Cup. What is Avram talking about? This is a team who, over the last year has forgotten how to win. Therefore, the players expect things to go wrong. And they do! There are not enough leaders in the team to overcome challenges. West Ham United now tend to sign players from overseas. Do these players speak good English? If not, are they given a timescale by which they have to? […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology – Who Picks The Leicester Team?
There is nothing more fascinating for the sporting public, than a row to break-out from within a teams dressing room. Where matters that should be private and confidential, enter the public domain. In this case, its the Leicester CCC captain Matthew Hoggard and coach Tim Boon, in a spat with county chairman Neil Davidson. Davidson has apparently, been interfering in team affairs. Hoggard and Boon want him to stand down. The chairman cites poor results as a valid reason for his concern re team selection. It’s a mess. There is no unity, collectivity or mutuality on display at Grace(less) Rd. […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology – The Mystery Of Kevin Pietersen
Its the penultimate round of County Championship matches. Glamorgan are on the verge of promotion back to Division One. A win at Surrey may secure their elevation. But in the Surrey ranks, making his debut, is Kevin Pietersen. Dropped from the England 20/20 squad, Pietersen has been asked to return to the county ranks to discover his form. But how has it come to this? Pietersen is a hugely talented and gifted individual. He is capable of taking any bowling attack apart, at any level. But with huge talent, comes arrogance. A total and utter belief in ones own abilities. […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology – Alastair Cook & The Trigger Movements
So another failure for Alastair Cook in the test series against Pakistan. The debate around the England opener, has centred around Cook’s trigger movements. A batsman’s trigger movements are designed to help him both get in position, and then react to the ball. But trigger movements are meant to provide stability, like a golfer and their pre-shot routine. They give a sense of security to the batsman. It means that they do the same thing, each time to each ball. But they are not essential. If Alastair Cook is having to think about, or remember his trigger movements when he […]
Read More...Football Psychology – Keigan Parker And The Unfulfilled Talent
It’s tuesday night at Fleetwood Town football club. The small fishing town now have a team in the Conference, one division outside the Football League. A fantastic achievement. Tonight they are hosting Mansfield Town, who only recently were in a League Two play-off final. And up-front for Mansfield, is a small pacy striker, who in 2007 scored one of the goals of the season. In the year Blackpool went up from League One to The Championship, Keigan Parker scored a memorable winner in the play-off final against Yeovil. Chipping the ball deftly past Steve Mildenhall from 25 yards, Parker was […]
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