A game of few laughs? Sports psychologist says joy is Englandβs missing ingredient
Lacklustre Euro 2024 performances may prompt faddish quick fixes but the real key to success may lie in replacing fear with the fun players felt as 10-year-olds
Sporting success isnβt down to pickle juice, according to a leading sports psychologist. The secret isnβt to be found in the inflatable unicorns Englandβs players famously mounted to recuperate in the pool. Or the Β£3,400 electric bikes they pedalled to boost their post-match recovery. Itβs not even about the manager.
βInstead, what Iβm going to say will horrify you,β said Michael Caulfield, who has worked in professional sport for more than 25 years. βFootball is β or should be β only about joy.β
Take your mind away from the consequences of your action and focus on the action. Anxiety, fear, stress are projections of the future: concentrate on the present.
Learn how to change your perceived reality. Premier League footballers learn to shut out fans if they feel oppressed by them. This could help people who donβt like public speaking, for example, who can see their audience as more intimidating than they may actually be.
Find a ritual to recover from disappointment that creates positivity.
Learn from those you admire. Stay close to them and be forgiving of their mistakes and failures.
Donβt have top tips, said Caulfield, because by tomorrow someone else will have come up with five other tips and βyouβll be completely confusedβ. βA good grandparent is better than any tip,β he said. βTurn to grey hair because the chances are theyβve been through a bit. Theyβre not right or wrong but theyβll ask the right questions and help you sort things out.β
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