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There are three factors that influence our sporting ability; our fitness, our technical skills and our mental skills. Although many sports performers will spend a lot of their time on their fitness and technical skills, the mental side of the game is often neglected. And yet it is amazing how good we can be at using our minds to work against us. Even before we start an activity, we can can often find a number of reasons for failure - doubt, bad weather, lack of practice, tiredness, anxiety, stress - and find ourselves living up (or 'down') to our expectations.
Sport psychology preformance-enhancing techniques in football are increasingly well recognised for their value. Having discovered what motivates you ( volition ), found a mission or creed, and set goals, there are several perfomance-enhancing techniques to help achieve these goals. These include relaxation and breathing techniques, mental imagery, concentration and focus, positive self-talk, and confidence building.
Better breathing increases blood flow, improves the circulation, reduces risk of injury, and decreases the recovery time after a match or training session. Two useful techniques are circle breathing and progressive relaxation. Clear the mind of all distractions, and relax. Then, breathe slowly in through the nose from the centre of the body, which is behind the belly button, drawing air upwards to fill the lungs. Breathe in for about four seconds, hold for about two seconds, and then breathe slowly out for four seconds. Repeat 5-10 times.
Progressive relaxation involves tensing and relaxing each muscle from the neck to the ankles. Tense the muscle whilst breathing in, hold, and relax on exhaling. The aim is to gradually relax each muscle, and so relax the whole body. There are other relaxation methods, such as meditation, and also methods of controlling the circulation and heart rate.
Imagery involves imagining a particular action in your mind before actually doing it. For example, before attempting to take a penalty, imagine yourself scoring by kicking the ball exactly where you want it to go. This method can also be used in learning new skills, such as a dribbling trick.
Concentration is all about being focused on the task in hand, and not having your mind cluttered with other thoughts. Footballers, who are focused, are concentrating only on the game to the extent that they might not know what the time is or what the crowd is doing.
Confidence in your ability is an important psychological quality, and can be built up by positive self-talk and team building . Optimism is important. Linked to this topic is the idea of cohesion. The Western Samoan rugby team is famous for their "war dance" prior to matches, and in industry, many companies now have group outings to build cohesion and team spirit. A team that criticses each other and contains personalities that dislike each other never plays at its best.
Essentially, we can find ourselves performing badly because we are not using our minds in a positive way. As a result, we can form limiting beliefs about ourselves which leave us expecting failure rather than success.
By changing how we use our minds when we approach a game - by enhancing self-belief, dealing with how we respond to committing errors, setting goals and maintaining a positive attitude - it is possible to make a significant impact on our performance levels.
The importance of sport psychology in football or soccer is becoming increasingly well recognised with many professional clubs employing psychologists. Sport psychology is sometimes called mental preparation or training, mind games, or mind over matter. The aim is for the team to play football at peak performance in every match.
Mental training or sport psychology is no substitute for skills, and it is vital to emphasise the importance of skills, particularly when coaching youth football. Since the main aim of psychological training is to attain peak performance, it will not help much if your peak performance is poor!
The first step is to decide what you want to achieve. Do you have a dream that you wish to make a reality? It's important to discover what motivates you, and to write down a mission statement or creed to provide motivation.
Goals should be set for the long term, short term, and daily. A simple example of a goal is to obtain a regular place in the school team, or the town or county team. A daily goal might be to run an extra quarter mile, or to learn a new skill. A short term goal might be to run an extra five miles, score a certain number of goals, or master a set of new skills. It is important to set realistic goals. Becoming a professional footballer is a wish of many young footballers, but few are successful. It is better to set challenging, but achievable short-term goals.
After setting goals and finding out what motivates you, there are several perfomance-enhancing techniques to help achieve those goals:
Relaxation and breathing.
Imagery .
Concentration
Confidence building through positive self talk and team building.
Sport psychology preformance-enhancing techniques in football are increasingly well recognised for their value. Having discovered what motivates you ( volition ), found a mission or creed, and set goals, there are several perfomance-enhancing techniques to help achieve these goals. These include relaxation and breathing techniques, mental imagery, concentration and focus, positive self-talk, and confidence building.
Better breathing increases blood flow, improves the circulation, reduces risk of injury, and decreases the recovery time after a match or training session. Two useful techniques are circle breathing and progressive relaxation. Clear the mind of all distractions, and relax. Then, breathe slowly in through the nose from the centre of the body, which is behind the belly button, drawing air upwards to fill the lungs. Breathe in for about four seconds, hold for about two seconds, and then breathe slowly out for four seconds. Repeat 5-10 times.
Progressive relaxation involves tensing and relaxing each muscle from the neck to the ankles. Tense the muscle whilst breathing in, hold, and relax on exhaling. The aim is to gradually relax each muscle, and so relax the whole body. There are other relaxation methods, such as meditation, and also methods of controlling the circulation and heart rate.
Imagery involves imagining a particular action in your mind before actually doing it. For example, before attempting to take a penalty, imagine yourself scoring by kicking the ball exactly where you want it to go. This method can also be used in learning new skills, such as a dribbling trick.
Concentration is all about being focused on the task in hand, and not having your mind cluttered with other thoughts. Footballers, who are focused, are concentrating only on the game to the extent that they might not know what the time is or what the crowd is doing.
Confidence in your ability is an important psychological quality, and can be built up by positive self-talk and team building . Optimism is important. Linked to this topic is the idea of cohesion. The Western Samoan rugby team is famous for their "war dance" prior to matches, and in industry, many companies now have group outings to build cohesion and team spirit. A team that criticses each other and contains personalities that dislike each other never plays at its best.
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