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The Mental Approach

The Mental Approach

I had an interesting early morning listening to sports psych guru Gary Hermansson a recently. Hermansson was in town as a member of the Central Districts Cricket coaching team and obviously had his hands full at the time. In this science that deals with so many variables there are never any guarantees.

A first class rugby player and cricketer himself, Hermansson introduced the mental side of the game to the Manawatu rugby squad in the early 1990’s under the coaching of former All Black Mark Donaldson.

It was more of a ‘dabble’ in those days, as many individuals saw it as a sign of weakness if they were being helped by a psychologist and it certainly wasn’t the way things were done in New Zealand.

Of course, the mental world is far more accepted and recognized as an important part of a player’s armoury these days with many players believing that this can be the defining focus that determines success or failure.canes.jpg

For rugby players at almost every level it is a matter of getting really fit so that the confidence is in place each week. All Blacks of yore were generally regarded as fitter and so mentally stronger than any opposition and sevens legend Sir Gordon Tietjens bases his sevens coaching on this theory.

However, with the advent of professional rugby all teams have ample time to develop fitter and stronger individuals so the physical edge is now only one aspect of all that is necessary to produce a well rounded rugby player. The modern athlete receives coaching input in the technical, tactical, psychological, nutritional and even social aspects of the game and if those providing the input don’t get it right then there can be an even greater potential to stuff things up.

So where the likes of the New Zealand Super Rugby do franchises, the Chiefs apart, head to now after indifferent beginnings to their seasons?How do they replicate what the Chiefs are doing and what part does the psychological aspect play in this?

In all honesty the squad make ups are not all that different from one another with the Crusaders, Hurricanes and Blues all possessing any number of All Blacks or potential All Blacks, and the Highlanders in possession of a few high calibre key individuals, so why do unheralded players at the Chiefs play at a higher level than similar ability players in other franchises.

‘Belief’ is the key ingredient. There can be little doubt that the players at the Chiefs have a great deal of confidence in their coaching staff and that the coaching staff are able to act with certainty because they possess inner belief in their abilities.

This has created a sound platform from which to start for every player. They have clarity of direction and individual requirements, they trust those around them, and hence they are well on the way to being mentally strong. Mentally strong players make good decisions and are decisive in their actions.

Outwardly all coaches and players possess this confidence, but in all reality there is conflict in the mind of those who are not playing well and losing a lot. Part of the answer is in controlling the mind by managing it with certain techniques which need to be practiced regularly, with the aim of becoming calm and focused.

At junior level just talking positively, offering encouragement and having fun at training is a first step in preparing the player to be mentally strong each week. As players move up through the grades and are required to remember more game plans and personal requirements, things that may make them tentative and nervous, teaching the player to breathe and stay calm so that he is focused on what he has to do next and not worry about his mistake could be a first step. The main idea is that the player is not to worry at all.

There are many ways of managing the mental coaching side of things and the introduction of this can be a lot of fun for the coach as he reads and studies the processes and drip feeds his charges who will be excited by learning another method of improving their game.

Keep an eye on the half time breaks in Super Rugby and see which players and coaches are focused and which ones are over aroused or under aroused.It’s interesting stuff.There’s a new world out there.