FullView Performance Psychology Magazine REAL MADRID CF Mentality Champions THE GAME MITROVICCHANGER TIPS FOR GOAL SETTING
The present magazine, therefore, represents such an attempt. I hope that the effort put into the articles will help the readers understand how sport psychology can be adapted to football and how players can use it to not only deal with the demands of professional sport but most importantly enhance their performance. In doing so, I am not aiming to convince anyone that they should start working with me or any other practitioner. Instead, I aspire to support a wide range of players in fulfilling their potential and achieving career objectives. I hope that the context presented here will stimulate a level of reflective thinking, helping the readers question their current routines and when appropriate find different ways of dealing with various situations.
Dr. Piotr Haluch Accredited Sport Psychologists UEFA A Licensed Coach
Welcome Despite significant developments in recent years, there remains a level of stigma attached to sport psychology within football. This stigmatised thinking and the fear of the unknown are still causing a level of resistance for players when seeking psychological support. Also, one bad experience with sport psychology can often lead to a very negative perception and stop players from engaging with such support again. This is not to suggest that low levels of engagement are only down to players' and coaches' perceptions alone. I think that sport psychologists can also do a better job at translating their work and demonstrating the impact of their support on players' performance and well-being.
Table of Contents What’s Performance Psychology .......................6 The Game Changer…….....................................11 Mentality Champions..…………………………….21 Goal InterviewInterviewSetting…………………………………….....30-AdamBracey..………………….…….36-WilliamBoyle.………………….….….45
What’s Performance Psychology
Achieving peak performance involves more than reaching high physical fitness, technical excellence, and tactical awareness. Also, potential and natural abilities are only part of the equation and do not guarantee success in the professional game. Therefore, mental capabilities are recognised as one of the most vital components in fulfilling potential and reaching peak performance levels consistently. As a result, the field of performance psychology is recognised as a resource to power the inner edge of a player, enhancing their performance and wellbeing. Players at all levels, who are serious about pushing performance limits and releasing the greatest potential, are required to work on the mental aspects of their sport. For instance, players are encouraged to develop psychological skills that will allow them to maintain focus, overcome injury, deal with failure, and handle success.
Why is important?sport psychology so…
Contemporary performance psychology is a diverse field and there are several different interventions to assist players from a wide array of settings, levels of competition, and ages. Indeed, performance psychology is not one theory, but a combination of many overlapping ideas and concepts aimed at addressing players’ personal needs. Performance psychologists conduct detailed needs analysis (e.g., talking to athletes, observing the athletes perform, gathering a variety of observation data) to understand the particular situation and plan how best to help. The work and interventions used by performance psychologists, therefore, are highly individualised and tailored to specific performance objectives. Some of the examples of performance psychology interventions
Enhance players' mental toughness. Performance psychology can help players develop unshakeable beliefs in one’s self, the ability to bounce back from setbacks, and a desire to succeed. Also, players working with a performance psychologist can benefit from an enhanced ability to react positively to situations, remain calm under pressure, and maintain emotional control. Therefore, players can become better equipped at perceiving challenges as learning opportunities and develop strategies for future success.
Help players cope with performance fears. Youth and senior players might often find themselves under a considerable amount of pressure, either external (e.g., coaches, agents, parents, peers) or internal (e.g., players putting high-performance demands on themselves).
Performance psychology, therefore, can help players who might worry too much about what other people think about their performances and help them overcome their fears (e.g., fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, and general performance anxiety).
Help players mentally prepare for training and competitions.
The most common role of performance psychologists is to teach mental skills for enhanced performance. Such interventions aim to help players apply mental skills to specific training and match situations to overcome encountered challenges, play to their full potential and enhance current performance levels. Mastery of psychological skills, therefore, often results in a greater ability to focus on the task at hand and stay focused on the present moment.
Help players develop pregame routines. As part of mental preparation, performance psychology can help players develop mental skills used during preparation for an upcoming match. Players can benefit from focusing on the key aspects of their performance and be more proactive in enhancing their confidence before the competition.
Full View approach to performance enhancement. While the support available to modern footballers regarding performance psychology has never been better, players are often exposed to a multidisciplinary approach rather than an interdisciplinary approach. As a result, the range of aspects required for peak performance is developed in isolation where each discipline (e.g., performance psychology, technical excellence, tactical awareness) becomes the centre of attention. It needs to be highlighted that while mental skills can hold a significant impact on enhancing performances, such skills in isolation might not result in desirable performance outcomes. Therefore, players should look to integrate the development of mental skills into their daily routines and training sessions. More specifically, the understanding, learning, and mastery of psychology should be incorporated into technical/tactical training and incorporated into video analysis sessions. Only such an approach holds potential for enhancing players' understanding of psychophysiological responses to challenges, replacing the dysfunctional responses with positive psychobehavioural changes, and making effective decisions under pressure.
PERFORMANCE
While people in your environment might not always have the best understanding of mental toughness, coaches usually have a rich playing experience and can provide valuable lessons from their playing career. The same can be said about football agents who also often come from a rich playing background and are suitably placed at offering suggestions regarding performance enhancement. Finally, I would advise all players to learn from the experiences of their older colleagues. Senior players within your environment can be a rich source of knowledge and can often provide priceless advice and guidance. Also, they are placed within the same environment as you are, therefore, can perfectly understand the situations that you are describing to them.
Let’s talk about… PSYCHOLOGY
I would encourage players of all ages and ability levels to seek support in integrating mental skills training into their football-based sessions. While qualified and accredited performance psychologists are best placed to hold such conversations, players can also seek support from their coaches, parents, agents, and peers. Questions regarding the mental aspects of the game should not be understood from a position of weakness, instead, players should perceive them as a key aspect of their character demonstrating their desire for personal growth and development. Also, such conversations should be phrased around performance aspects (e.g., defending 1v1, finishing with a first touch) rather than specific
The Game MITROVICChanger
Comparing Fulham’s ball possession statistics over the last three seasons, it is hard to find any significant differences. Indeed, we can observe a slight decrease in the number of passes, number of accurate passes, and percentage of accurate passes. However, when it comes to the number of entrances into the opposition half, entrances into the final third, and entrances to the opposition penalty box, these numbers look very similar. As such, going into the 2022/2023 season in the Premier League we can expect similar performances when it comes to Fulham’s ball possession.
While Aleksander Mitrovic has proven that he is capable of thriving in the second tier, up until now, he was not able to reproduce the goal-scoring form in the top flight. Similarly, Fulham was not able to end the “yo-yo’ status. Therefore, in this Premier League season, many may assume that both the player and the club will follow the pattern we got used to over the last several years. However, after breaking Guy Whittingham's record last season and scoring two goals against Liverpool on the opening day of this Premier League season, Mitrovic may finally be playing in a team that would allow him to prove his ability at the top level. Here, I aim to add to such a debate. First, I will present why Mitrovic may play a vital role in Fulham’s efforts of establishing itself in the Premier League. Secondly, I will identify some of the key performance indicators that, in my opinion, may allow Mitrovic to finally prove his doubters wrong.
Can you get us out? P KP KP+ CRS CRS% P+ CRS+ BP BP% BPQ BPD EH ET EB 19/20 577 85% 5 2.4 15 24% 492 3.6 30.37 59% 104 0.18 61 42 16 20/21 513 84% 4.3 2.3 13 29% 431 3.8 27.34 51% 100 0.17 57 38 14 21/22 571 86% 9 4.8 15 31% 488 4.6 29.45 58% 100 0.18 60 43 19
2019-2020 Season 2021-2022 Season
One key difference in Fulham’s performances under Marco Silva is the freedom given to Mitrovic in the team’s build-up play. Indeed, while hold-up play and an ability to bring teammates into attacks was always Mitrovic's strong asset, last season we could observe that he started to drop into the midfield a lot more. The ball receiving map over the last two seasons in the Championship demonstrates an increase in touches in the central areas of the field, with more contacts completed in the own half.
Greater freedom to drop into midfield and get on the ball might not only allow Fulham to get out of pressure, progress up the pitch and build attacks but also might enhance the number of goal-scoring opportunities created by Mitrovic. This was evident last season with Mitrovic producing the greatest number of key passes in his last three seasons at Fulham. However, a deeper starting position may also enable Mitrovic to utilise the space beyond the opposition's defensive line. Indeed, while running behind have not received a lot of attention last season, Mitrovic is more than capable of performing such actions successfully.
19/20 20/21 21/22 Key Passes 0.51 0.4 0.95 Key Passes Accurate 0.21 0.28 0.45
As such, while Championship last season, Fulham demonstrated an excellent ability to progress attacks through the thirds, this season in the Premier League they might be required to look for alternative solutions. Therefore, I am anticipating that this season we will watch Mitrovic performing a range of movements, depending on match situations, playing a vital role in Fulham’s ability to maintain possession and progress up the pitch. This, in turn, may play a key role in enhancing Mitrovic's ability to lose his marker and create goal-scoring Whileopportunities.somemight
argue that such a style of play is suited more to a player that demonstrates high levels of pace, I prefer to focus on understanding the player's game intelligence. It is here, where I was very impressed with Mitrovic last season. For example, his movement to get himself into goal-scoring positions was outstanding. Also, I was very impressed with Mitrovic's ability to recognise available spaces and receive the ball away from pressure. Therefore, I believe that at 27 years of age and after 249 games for Fulham and Newcastle, Mitrovic has developed a game understanding that would allow him to find effective match solutions suited to his physical capabilities.
Another important aspect that will play a key role in enhancing Mitrovic's selfconfidence and self-efficacy is his ability to win the first contacts in the box. Indeed, in the last season in the Championship Mitrovic won 54 % of air challenges in the opposition box. In doing so, Mitrovic demonstrated excellent strength to win the space, hold off the defenders and win the first contact. However, he also demonstrated excellent movement to attack the ball at pace and get in front of the defender.
Fragile confidence After scoring a record-breaking amount of goals in the Championship, demonstrating outstanding form for both the club and the country, and scoring twice on the opening day of a new season, it may be assumed that Mitrovic started the new season full of confidence. Indeed, following several seasons in the two top divisions in England, I am convinced that Mitrovic is aware of his individual qualities and abilities as a player.
Going into the new season, both of these constructs should be relatively high in the Mitrovic case. Indeed, analysing situational behaviours in front of the goal, it is evident that Mitrovic demonstrated an excellent ability to win attacking challenges in the opposition penalty box, both in the air and on the ground.
The analysis of Mitrovic's performances demonstrated his excellent ability to get himself on a “blind side” of a defender. On several occasions, it was clear that Mitrovic's movement was purposeful and he wanted to gain a positional advantage with enhanced goal-scoring probabilities. However, in addition to Mitrovic's excellent movement and positioning in attack, it is worth highlighting his excellent ability to anticipate the pass into the box. Indeed, throughout the last season, Mitrovic demonstrated a range of movements, either pulling further back towards the back post or attacking the space in front of him.
Also, following the record-breaking performances in the Championship, he must believe that he is capable of finally making an impact in the Premier League. While confidence has always been identified as one of the key determinants of performance, the success or failure of the upcoming season may be hidden in Mitrovic's perceived level of self-efficacy. More specifically, while self-confidence can be understood as one’s perceived ability to accomplish a certain level of performance, self-efficacy is more situationally specific and can be defined as one’s belief to execute a behaviour required to produce a certain successful outcome.
However, it needs to be highlighted that while self-confidence can be considered a much more stable or fixed trait, self-efficacy is a fluctuating state and is a fragile construct. Therefore, while Mitrovic experienced relatively a lot of success in the last season enhancing his self-confidence and self-efficacy, the upcoming season may pose significant challenges to both of these constructs. More specifically, while maintaining his positional awareness and movement, Mitrovic may experience a significantly lower level of success in terms of winning first contacts, producing shots on goal, and scoring. Therefore, due to a decrease in positive outcomes and success experiences, Mitrovic might experience a lower level of self-confidence and self-efficacy. As a result, he might also start questioning his ability and doubt his capability to impact games in the Premier League.
In particular, his ability to anticipate game situations, utilise the most relevant cues from the game environment and make quick decisions may be a valuable source of positive and successful experiences. This, in turn, may help in believing in a process, staying on track, and decreasing negative emotions (e.g., frustrations, anger, self-doubt, Therefore,anxiety).
a key to a successful season in the Premier League may lie in Mitrovic's ability to focus on evaluating and developing his game intelligence while ignoring the noise, that might result from lower match statistics compared to last season. While putting the ball in the back of the net is an ultimate goal for each striker, Mitrovic should focus on the challenges that both himself and his team may face next season. Next, he should engage in self-evaluation strategies to recognise his ability to overcome such challenges and obstacles. This might play a vital role in helping Mitrovic to develop robust self-confidence and self-efficacy, and therefore, greater emotional control and focus. Psychological skills may play a vital role in overcoming encountered challenges and helping players maintain robust selfconfidence. For example, players may look to set specific and measurable goals, engage in imagery exercises (i.e., picture themselves being successful), start to reframe their experiences, focus on the aspects that they can control, and set specific competition plans. While all of the outlined strategies may contribute to the development and maintenance of robust confidence levels, for Mitrovic, a sound level of self-awareness may be vital in the upcoming season. More specifically, while it is likely that Mitrovic may experience lower levels of success experiences (e.g., first contacts in the box), he should focus on the broader ability to play the game to outmanoeuvre defenders.
While this article focused on discussing some of the potential challenges that Alexander Mitrovic may face next season, I am sure that presented examples may resonate with many players. Therefore, I hope that the readers will be able to understand some of the challenges that might arise from associating one’s selfconfidence and self-efficacy with performance outcomes (e.g., goals, assists, goals conceded). Instead, I anticipate that the present article will encourage players to start paying greater attention to their ability of reading the game and finding solutions to match situations. In other words, I hope that players going into he new season will engage in self-evaluation to better understand the challenges that might arise in the upcoming matches and then focus on enhancing their abilities to overcome such challenges. From my experiences of working with professional players, such an approach is a powerful tool in helping players remain composed, focused and motivated in difficult situations. Also, it provides a clear sense of direction allowing players to identify developmental needs required for successful performance outcomes. Therefore, players are better equipped to find a way and eventually make an impact that that they are capable of having.
FOCUS ON THE PROCESS
CHAMPIONSMENTALITY
It is widely acknowledged that Real Madrid has a special relationship with the Champions League. Indeed, the 1-0 win against Liverpool in Paris was the 14th title in the club's history. Also, Real Madrid won all eight Champions League finals they have been involved in (1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022). While in some of these finals Madrid was able to dominate the match from the first minute to the last, in others they have needed very dramatic late goals to keep their chances of winning alive. Nevertheless, the team from the Spanish capital always managed to find a way of winning. It can be suggested that such a run in the competition might give players a lot of confidence in winning and install a considerable level of respect, and maybe even fear, from other teams. Indeed, as 2002 Champions League winner Santi Solari “Ifconcluded:Madrid has anything, it is faith that they are favourites in finals, and the players take to the pitch knowing they have the weight of history behind them.”
While Real Madrid's outstanding record in the finals may enhance players' belief in a successful outcome, there also might be other contributing factors. Therefore, the objective of the present article is to have a closer look at a wide range of aspects that can play a vital role in winning the finals. In particular, I will provide an analysis of the latest final from a perspective of different psychological constructs.
While in the knockout games leading to a final, Real Madrid had not looked convincing, they managed to produce some key moments against PSG, Chelsea, and Manchester City. These key moments have also proven to be vital in the 2021/2022 final against Liverpool. Indeed, the interventions from Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Junior's goal were key in Madrid’s win. However, to fully understand the significance of these moments we need to have a look at the game as a whole. It is fair to say that on the night Liverpool was a better team. The team from Merseyside produce 21 shots with 9 on target compared to Madrid’s 2 shots and only 1 on target. Also, Liverpool’s expected goals (xG) in the final were 2.6 compared to Madrid’s 0.7.
Finally, Liverpool recorded more entrances to the opposition half, the final third, and the penalty box compared to Madrid. It is all about the key moments
Liverpool FC Real Madrid Entrance to the opposition half 76 38 Entrance to the final third 51 21 Entrance to the penalty box 25 7 As such, Madrid’s performance was far away from a beautiful display demonstrated by Barcelona in 2011 or Ajax in 1994. Instead, Madrid showed great organisation out of possession, getting the best out of key moments in both boxes.
In the first 16 minutes of the first half, we could observe complete dominance from the Liverpool team. From the first minute, they demonstrated outstanding energy in their press, preventing Madrid to build their attacks from the back. Indeed, Madrid was often forced to look for long passes as a means of progressing up the pitch. The intensity of Liverpool's press also resulted in them often regaining possession in Madrid’s half, ensuring that majority of the first half was played in Madrid's defensive third.
IT ON
It is here where I was particularly impressed with Tony Cross, who despite Liverpool’s dominance constantly looked to get on the ball and initiate Madrid’s attacks. The same can be said about Luka Modric, who from the 18th minute started to drop deeper to also get on the ball more.
One aspect that I was particularly impressed with when analysing Madrid's performance was their composure and ability to remain calm under pressure. Yes, this Madrid team had the club history and records behind them. Yes, in the previous matches they have produced some astonishing comebacks. However, once the match starts I am not sure how much the players think about such things. I would rather argue that they need to stay in the present and focus on the task at hand, and this was something that particularly impressed me.
BRING
While after the first 15 minutes of the final it would be easy to hide. While it would be easy to accept the dominance of the rival. While it would be easy to keep playing long and trying to survive, Madrid’s players rose to a challenge. In particular, Modric showed an incredible level of courage to take on the responsibility and attempt to solve the problems that the team was facing!
In the second half, Modric continued to play a key role in Madrid’s positional attacks, dropping deep, identifying pockets of space, getting on the ball, and completing forward passes. As a result, at the start of the second half, Madrid started to enjoy more success in their positional play. Indeed, they started to progress through the third much easier and performed fewer long-range passes, compared to the first half. Such a shift in the style of play played a key role in Madrid’s goal in this game. Indeed, it was Modric positioning and desire to get on the ball that forced Andy Robertson to come out of his zone and press the Croatian playmaker. It was Modric that started a move that forced Virgil out wide leaving Liverpool’s defense vulnerable. It was Modric composure and an ability to stay calm under pressure that eventually lead Madrid into creating a 4v4 situation in the opposition box and scoring a match-winning goal!
IT COMES
While I am sceptical in believing that Madrid’s history in the Champions League played a major role in the club's success in the 2021/2022 season, I am convinced that the experience of some of the players in a white shirt was crucial. In particular, I would like to discuss here the concept of emotional control (or: emotional regulation), which refers to all conscious and non-conscious regulatory strategies by which physiological, behavioural, or subjective components of emotional response are altered or controlled. Here, I will present emotional regulation as a set of decisions about actions that players need to take to achieve a desired emotional state. Also, I would argue that in players with a significant level of experience (e.g., Modric, Kroos), emotional regulatory actions occur consciously rather than non-consciously. More specifically, I will present how experienced and self-aware players continuously monitor and adjust their emotional control strategies to achieve a desired emotional state. From such a perspective, I will characterise emotional control as a dynamic conceptualisation of optimal actions. Also, I will highlight the significance of learning and prior knowledge. The experiences of some of Madrid’s players are truly astonishing. For example, since joining the club in the 2012/2013 season, Modric played in five Champions League finals and a World Cup final with Croatia. Such experiences, therefore, may play a key role in players learning and optimisation of situational actions. When it comes to emotional regulation, players can either use delayed reward signals that are being presented to them after an event (i.e., following a match) or immediate reward/ punishment (i.e., emotions experienced after passing the ball). Such explorations and evaluations of emotion, in turn, always result in either positive (encouragement) or negative (disappointment) feedback. Therefore, players can continually evaluate the discrepancy between the expected and actual emotional state. Also, they can assess if the chosen emotional control strategy did or did not result in the desired emotional outcome.
EXPERIENCEWITH
One of the key emotional control strategies that players can evaluate is reappraisal, which targets the appraisal stage and involves changing one’s interpretation of the stimuli. In other words, cognitive reappraisal is a skill where players recognise the negative pattern that their thoughts have fallen into and find a way of changing that pattern into one that is more helpful and positive. Therefore, once able to change their thoughts, players are then able to change their emotions. As such, this strategy can be especially helpful in creating more positive and meaningful perceptions of an event or Itsituation.ishere, that I want to suggest that based on experiences, Modric learned how to effectively control his emotions and potentially engage effectively in a reappraisal process. More specifically, when faced with significance pressure from Liverpool players and dominating in the first 20 minutes of the final in Paris, Modric could easily experience a range of negative emotions (e.g., fear of failure). Such appraisal of match situations, in turn, could potentially lead to avoidance behaviours and shying away from the responsibility. However, analysis of the match demonstrated that Liverpool’s dominance was perceived by Modric as a source of motivation. Indeed, it was clear that after the first 20 minutes, Modric recognised the challenges posed by the opposition and took greater responsibility for Madrid’s build-up play. Therefore, it can be assumed throughout his career, Modric learned how to consciously manage emotional control strategies (e.g., reappraisal) to achieve a desirable emotional state and ultimately highperformance levels.
EMOTIONAL STRATEGIESCONTROL
YOU CAN DO IT!
The objective of the present article was to evaluate Real Madrid's performance in the 2021/2022 Champions League final. In doing so, I paid significant attention to Luka Modric as a player who had a significant impact on the game. By focusing on Modric I also aspired to enhance readers understanding of emotional control strategies and their importance in high performance. Therefore, I hope that this article will encourage readers to pay greater attention to the way they appraise match situations and help them achieve desirable emotional states in matches.
SETTINGGOAL
Goal setting is a frequently utilised tool within sport and performance that can lead to enhanced performance. Recommendations for goal setting have been widely accepted by players, coaches, and practitioners operating within the elite and grassroots settings. A range of short-, medium-, and long-term goals, which may relate to winning a league (outcome goals), achieving a personal best (performance goals), or improving technique (process goals) are regularly pursued by players of all ages and ability levels. These goals can be either used in isolation (i.e., only setting outcome goals), or as a combination (i.e., setting outcome, performance, and process goals that might be associated with the same objectives). However, the goals set by players may often be too simplistic and players may lack an understanding of the complexity of goal setting in practice. For example, players, coaches, and practitioners may overlook the personal differences, contextual and environmental factors, and the characteristics of the goals being pursued. Therefore, the objective of the present article is to enhance the readers' understanding of how goal setting operates in sport environments. Upon such understanding, it is anticipated that the readers will be able to develop and execute programmes and interventions that will allow them to maximise performance and enhance personal growth.
backaTakestep
However, what does all of that have to do with goal setting? Well, players striving towards a goal, such as performing more successful dribbles, need to understand the key performance indicators and focus on the process of goal achievement. A capacity to attend to, recognise and examine one’s thoughts, physiological sensations, emotions, and behavioural reactions, either as they occur or retrospectively, is a vital component of high performance. Therefore, I always encourage players to take a step back from the technical and tactical aspects of their performance and pay greater attention to the mental aspects of the game.
Usually at the start of the new season players jump into the goal setting process, identifying some key objectives that they would like to achieve in the next stage of their career. Such a process often takes a few hours, if not minutes! Yes, the goals set in this manner are position specific, seem individualised and realistic, and focus on specific aspects of performance. However, based on my experience of working with professional players, I would argue that the process just outlined only scratches the surface. Therefore, I always advise players to take a step back when engaging in a goal setting process. More specifically, I challenge them if they have the required skills and abilities to set effective goals in the first place, or if that is the first item on their agenda ahead of the new season.
Reflective practice is one of such areas that should play a key role in any goal setting process. While striving to enhance their performance, players should strive to understand their experiences to gain new insights into the self and one’s behaviour. Therefore, players should recall experiences and reprocess them critically to gain a new understanding and potentially improve future practice. By establishing the critical links between emotions, thoughts, and actions, players are better able to embrace a shift in mindset as self-awareness increases, and allow that shift to impact behaviours. Indeed, increased self-awareness is the key component for facilitating behaviour change in players by allowing them to recognise what to change and why.
The internal and external analysis provides an effective framework for identifying and formulating goals, helping players make more informed and strategic decisions regarding their professional development. It allows players to gather resources and actions in their strengths and most opportunities, making the goal setting process strategically clearer. Also, players who engage in such a process are more likely to achieve cognitive and emotional control, including clarity and control of thoughts. This, in turn, leads to a greater number of positive indicators of well-being and fewer negative indicators of ill-being, as such players are more likely to sustain and improve psychological functioning. Only in such a mental state players can maintain and progress towards improving performance and achieving goals.
Improving Psychological Functioning
Achieving a competitive advantage
Overall, at the start of a new season, players typically set goals to motivate themselves and direct their focus toward goal-related actions. However, such a process is often overly simplistic and focused only on the outcome goals (i.e., number of assists). As a result, players lack clear strategies that would allow them to achieve the desired objectives. Also, players often fail to recognise a range of different factors that they can or cannot control during the pursuit of performance enhancement. As such, with the start of competitive matches, players either tend to quickly forget about the goals they have set or pay little attention to them. Instead, the whole attention is shifted towards winning or keeping a place in the starting lineup and winning football matches. Therefore, players are encouraged to take a step back from the technical, tactical, and physical aspects of their performance and engage in an ongoing process of internal and external analysis. At the start of the season, players should engage in a sense-making process of their past experiences to better understand themselves and their reactions to encountered contextual situations. Such sense-making, in turn, should form the basis of the goal setting process, where players identify their mental strengths and areas for development. Therefore, paying attention to the inner world should form the basis of every goal setting programme. Such an approach holds the potential for enhancing players' ability to pay attention, on purpose, in the present moment to thought, emotions, and physiological sensations. As a result, players are better equipped to evaluate the performance outcomes and increase their chance of achieving a competitive advantage.
BraceyAdam Performance Psychologist INTERVIEW
While the integration of sport psychology services within football has traditionally lagged behind a focus on tactical, technical, and physical aspects, in recent years we could observe an increasing recognition and acceptance. Indeed, a greater number of clubs started to employ sport psychologists at an academy and firstteam level. Also, a significant group of players seeks additional support outside of their club setting. Despite such an increased presence of sport psychology within football, however, it remains unclear what sport psychologists do and how they utilise their skills to support the players. While uniform content or standard of delivery is difficult to achieve, the objective of the present article is to outline to the readers some of the key aspects of sport psychology support. To achieve this I spoke with Adam Bracey who is a British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited sport psychologist. In the last ten years of his career, Adam worked at several clubs within the Premier League and Championship.
A coach is often the first person that players look to for advice, guidance, and support when they are experiencing difficulty. Indeed, coaches are still considered a key source of support, who are often the “first line of defense” in dealing with psychological concerns. Also, due to their extensive experience, coaches are often well placed to provide unique insights into the psychological characteristics required for a player to succeed. Therefore, coaches often play a key role in supporting players to enhance their performance and well-being. However, while coaches should play an important role in enhancing players' psychological capabilities, Adam Bracey recognised some of the challenges and key differences between a coach and sport psychologists: “There are coaches that are very good at building strong and positive relationships with players, but we need to remember about these different power dynamics that are within that. So, they are “the selector” and someone who is ultimately holding players careers in their hands. The coach holds so much responsibility for selecting the team and making sure that this team is winning football matches. Because of this power dynamics, the player might not be able to be completely open and be vulnerable about different aspects of their career.”
Therefore, while acknowledging the positive impact that coaches may have on players' psychological development, we also need to be aware of the power dynamics within the coach-player relationships. Also, due to the nature of the game and challenges within it, we cannot expect coaches to constantly assess situations through a psychological lens. As such, while striving to understand the role of sport psychologists in football, we can assume that they are best positioned to provide support for both players and coaches, helping them overcome the demands of the professional game. Also, accordingly to Adam “a sport psychologist is best placed to provide a safe and secure space for people to express their emotions and how they perceive certain situations.”
Coaches as the key source of support
“When we look at football, there are a lot of emotions involved in the game. So again, coaches often might have that emotional attachment to the results and match situations, which are then affecting their communication and behaviours.”
How do different things impact you and your ability to perform at your best?
“As we all know in football, and in life in general, any journey is complex, it is not easy. So, you will be deselected; you will have games where you will not start and be on the bench; you are going to have injuries, you will have bereavements; you will have agents that will make it difficult; you are going to have difficult conversations around contracts and money and you will feel undervalued at times; you will feel like people favour other over you; you are going to fall out with other players and coaches. There are so many things that can happen and that occur in football. So, if we know that all of these challenges are around the corner, how can we prepare for them and make sure that they will not have a negative effect on performance?”
Considering the financial implications of promotion, relegation, and winning trophies, players are under increased pressure to sustain team performance to maximise club profitability and status. While staying in the team and winning football matches is one of the biggest challenges faced by players, there is a wide range of obstacles that players might face on their journey.
“So, how can you perform at your best if your contract is up in two months and you are playing for your livelihood? If you are in this situation and you are making a mistake it is very easy for your mind to go “aww no they are watching I cannot be making mistakes like that if I want to get a new contract, this is not looking great for me, I am not going to get a new contract at the back of that, I am going to lose all my money, what clubs are going to want me, I will need to go down the leagues.” If all of these thoughts come into your mind then how can you perform at your best and demonstrate your ability? How can you do your job specific to your position? How can you achieve your goals if your thought, attention, and decisions making are not focused on the task in 100%?”
While discussing some of the challenges that players might experience as well as the unique approach that a sport psychologist can provide, Adam suggested: “The sport psychologist should have only one motivation and that is to help people and there should not be any other alternative or any other driver for their personal gain. For me, this is something really valuable when you are trying to be open and honest in the relationship with a player.”
Sport psychologists can bring security, trust, and openness.
When reflecting on the impact of sport psychology support, Adam reflected: “I think that when you are embedded within the environment all the time you can get caught up in a certain way of thinking and the biases of these environments and the narrow-minded thinking. So, I think that it is very important, not only for a sport psychologist but also for other members of the staff (e.g., physiotherapists, sport scientists, assistant coaches) to step back and think about the environment and the situation differently. So yeah, you see that managers often take people with them when they move clubs, like a scout or a head of recruitment that always come with them, and this is because they challenge them and allow them to think about things differently. They can communicate that in a helpful way and the manager will listen to it - even when they do not agree with it, they will still listen.”
Such motivation for supporting people, therefore, highlights the caring and people-oriented characteristics of sport psychology. Therefore, the readers of the present article are encouraged to see sport psychology provision as a space to express their weaknesses, doubts, and fears. Also, while striving to improve their performances on the pitch, players should start by enhancing their professional self-understanding. This may include understanding their mentality as well as their position within their team or environment. Accordingly, to Adam one of the biggest parts of his job is to help people “think about themselves in a different way, to increase their self-awareness and their ability to regulate their own behaviours in different situations.”
“I think that when I work with individuals, so players or individual coaches - I think that I can help them think about themselves differently. It is not all about building people up and making them feel ten feet tall but also helping them to think critically and be a bit more negative to help them identify what they are doing wrong and how they could improve. So, asking good questions, listening to people, and understanding how they view the world through their eyes. Then helping them view situations differently and help them identify what they can do to achieve their objectives and career aspirations. Helping people understand what is motivating them. At the same time, when things do get difficult, helping them understand why they are finding certain situations difficult and what they could do to overcome encountered challenges. So yeah, helping people understand that it is not easy, that it is a complex journey, and if they are going to achieve their goals they need to make sure that they are working on their mentality to give themselves the best chance of getting to the highest level.”
While being a big advocate for sport psychology within football, Adam acknowledged that not all players may enjoy or benefit from working with sport psychologists. In Adam’s own words: “I am not saying that sport psychology is for everyone! Some people might know exactly how to get the best out of themselves and they might have their routines in place, that is fine. Some players might have their routines set early on in their career and they might get a lot of success from them. However, as their career progresses, certain things might change and they might need to adapt to different
See what works to get the best out of yourself.
While some players might be able to perform at their best despite the complexities related to football, this is something that can be very very hard at times.
The objective of the present article is not to suggest that all players should be working with a sport psychologist. I need to highlight that everyone is different and everyone reacts differently to certain situations. Therefore, while faced with some of the challenges outlined here, some players may be better equipped than others to overcome them themselves. Also, some players may have outstanding coaches around them that can provide a great level of support. I hope, however, that this article will spark some interest in sport psychology, not only as a means of dealing with the nature of professional football but also as a tool to enhance professional self-understanding. An ability to understand oneself can be a vital component in enhancing one’s performance and I hope that this article will stimulate some level of self-reflection and encourage the readers to better understand one’s sense-making.
Player INTERVIEW
BoyleWilliam
In this issue of Full View Magazine, I spoke with Huddersfield Town player William Boyle. I have been working with Will for the last three seasons since he was a Cheltenham Town player in League Two. Throughout that time, Will achieved promotion to League One with Cheltenham Town and has recently moved to a club in the Championship. It is a journey that many players are likely to take in their careers. A significant number of players are required to gain playing experience in either League Two or League One, either on loan or a permanent basis, before reaching the Championship or Premier League. Therefore, the present article aims to present to the readers some of the challenges that players may face along the way and different ways of dealing with them. Particular attention is given to the potential benefits of private consultancy and how working with someone like myself can help players take their game to the next level.
It is widely accepted that psychological factors underpin players' ability to translate potential into top-class performance. Indeed, psychological factors are constantly identified as the key determinants of those who emerged as talented and maintained excellence. Considerable research findings demonstrate that successful players have high levels of commitment and an inner desire to succeed. Indeed, players who make a successful transition from academy to professional football possess a high level of self-direction from an early age, demonstrating extraordinary levels of commitment towards the pursuit of excellence. These players constantly set targets and goals that they want to achieve in training sessions and competitive matches. Also, they demonstrate high levels of selfmotivation, aggression, and fighting spirit to always give their all. Finally, to progress through the academy system and establish themselves in the first team environment players are required to develop a willingness to move out of their comfort zone to drive their performance levels. It can be assumed that upon successful transition into the first team setup, players possess all the necessary psychological capabilities to strive in the professional environment. However, when discussing the psychological factors within professional football, the media has given significant attention to the fear of failure. While striving for excellence and pushing the boundaries lies at the heart of professional football, an increasing number of players speak about avoidance motivation. As such, when entering the first team environment players quickly learn about the consequences of mistakes. For instance, by giving the ball away and costing the team a goal a player may quickly lose their place in the squad and struggle for playing time. Therefore, players may quickly learn to perceive failure as threatening and experience fear when evaluating match situations. This, in turn, may lead to the development of certain threatening beliefs about the consequences of failure (e.g., uncertain future). The strength of players’ beliefs that some adverse consequences will occur after failure, often indicates the level of fear that they may experience.
Significance of psychological factors
the impact of fear of failure on players' sense-making, William Boyle suggested: “It stops you from taking responsibility and directs your focus towards not wanting to make mistakes. Because of the fear of failure, you would not put yourself in certain positions and you will try to avoid certain situations on the pitch. So basically, you are doing everything to make sure that you are not getting exposed to potential perceived mistakes.”
According to William Boyle, such a sense-making may lead players to “revert to certain things, deciding on how to act based on a fear of making mistakes and a fear of being not good enough.”
Whenaccomplishments.reflectingon
Fear of failure may often overshadow the psychological characteristics discussed earlier in the present article. Indeed, while striving for excellence, players may fear to open up to a coach and speak about the aspects of their game that they would like to develop. More specifically, due to their threatening beliefs, players may be afraid to show any signs of weakness, being afraid that such exposure may have negative consequences on their position within the team. Consequently, players may shy away from moving out of their comfort zone and “play it safe” to ensure that they will not risk things that they have worked so hard for all their lives (e.g., professional status).
A possible consequence of a fear of failure is that players may modify their motivation and achievement goals to avoid the negative outcomes and reduce this fear. Therefore, players' motivation may become more avoidance related - striving to avoid doing worse than one has done previously and/or striving to avoid doing worse than others. Also, fear of failure can influence players’ time perspective (i.e., one’s ability to focus their thinking on their past, present, or future). More specifically, rather than focusing on future time, perspective players may predominately direct their attention towards past-positive time perspectives (e.g., becoming satisfied with already achieved results and levels of performance). Such a time perspective may be underpinned by players' desire to reduce the sense of fear and enhance their levels of self-efficacy by focusing on past performance
It is not impossible but it is not easy This is not to suggest that all of the players share these experiences. Also, some environments and coaches may provide high levels of support for the players to take the pressure off them and give them licence to stretch themselves. However, this is not something that is achieved easily. Some of the main challenges may include a range of things that coaches are required to deal with. Indeed, when outlining their decision to utilise the support of Full View Psychology William Boyle suggested:
“I do not think that coaches have the time to go into the level of detail that you do with an individual player, breaking down the game and then how a player thinks about different things within the game. You are impartial and you are not picking the team. So, it is much easier to open up and be honest about the mistakes that I have made in the game. I think that I can lay everything on the table and you do not need to hold anything back. For example, someone might not be quick enough and they might see it as a weakness. They are naturally going to try to hide that and sort of counter it in different ways. Also, they might not open up about this to someone at the club because they might be feeling like they are being judged constantly. So, they might be afraid that it is going to affect their position in the team. Because of that, it is much easier to speak to someone who is completely impartial and someone that does not pick the team.”
“So, that is how I see our journey and how it is going. The psychological safety helped with all of these aspects in terms of setting goals, building self-belief, and positive self-talk. So, looking at the techniques that work for me on the pitch allowed me to think more clearly in the game and under pressure.”
Dealing with the demands of professional football
Therefore, while players entering the professional level may be faced with a lack of security that can stem from short-term contracts, frequent changes of the manager, and competition for places, private consultancy may help them to deal with such demands better. Also, by working with someone outside of their club setting, players can openly speak about their vulnerabilities and find different ways to improve. According to William Boyle, some of the benefits of working with a private consultancy such as Full View Psychology include: “This is a psychologically safe space for me as a player. It allows me to share some of the things in terms of what I am thinking on the pitch, which then allows me to enhance my emotional self-control and self-awareness off the back of that. Another big thing for me is enhancing my ability to think within the game. I think that you need to have the psychological foundations to think within the game clearly and understand things tactically and then apply that in the game setting. You definitely helped me achieve that. Thinking about space and time and the cognitive skills that I would class them as - how quickly can you think and how quickly can you see things? Thinking about what should you be looking for on the pitch, where should you be scanning and what are you scanning for. This level of detail is something that I have not been coached on before, for example, considering where and what should I be scanning for during a game. You definitely helped me understand why I should be doing things like that and how to do them as well.”
Benefits of private consultancy
Discussing the benefits of working with Full View Psychology, therefore, William Boyle concluded: “We started working together because I wanted to give more and I knew that there was a deeper level of improvement and things that I could add to my game, that was something that I thought - I knew how much it would improve me.”
“It has helped me enjoy the game a lot more because rather than playing with fear it allows me to see everything as a challenge and chance to improve. Seeing my own game as a project almost and constantly trying to improve rather than trying to measure myself against other players, and other players' pathways. Instead, it allowed me to focus solely on myself and gave me the confidence to do that and not worry about other people.”
“It has been the biggest influence on my career out of all the coaches that I have had. It is almost like a big challenge and adventure and not many people I have come across within professional football perceive the game that way, in my opinion, this is because of the pressure that comes with being a professional player”.
Overall, while possessing a range of vital psychological characteristics players may find it challenging to deal with the demands of professional football. These demands, in turn, may lead to fear of failure that can prevent players from playing to their full potential and enhance their performance levels. Due to the nature of the professional sport, players may find it hard to overcome such challenges while working with staff embedded within their settings. Therefore, players may benefit from working with someone impartial and outside of the club environment.
The value of additional support
FullView Performance Psychology Magazine www.fullviewpsychology.com
