11 minute read
JOHN TERRY & HARRY MAGUIRE
JOHN TERRY AND HARRY MAGUIRE: WHAT IT TAKES TO REACH THE NEXT LEVEL
Kem Cetinay sat down with WOW HYDRATE ambassadors John Terry, Former England and Chelsea FC Captain, and Harry Maguire, Manchester United and England centre-back, to talk about leadership, handling pressure and how to take performance to the next level.
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KC: What do you think it takes to be a captain?
JT: I think the on-field stuff has to take care of itself, so those little bits of turning up on time, doing the right thing every day, doing what the manager says, setting those tones and those tempos every single day are massive for the manager. If he’s got his captain not doing all of those bits, that leaves him in a sticky situation. Off the field stuff, obviously setting examples, and doing the right stuff at the right times really. HM: I think John has summed it up well. I think you’ve got to be responsible on the pitch, but also off the pitch as well. You can’t be turning up late, you’ve got to be the first in the training ground. You have got to be seen doing the extra bits, in the gym, and people follow you but yeah I think on the pitch you want consistency, you want availability.
KC: Does it feel like a lot of pressure as a centre back, as you’re the heart and soul of the defence? How do you handle that pressure taking that armband on?
JT: I personally quite enjoyed it. I think why you see a lot of defenders and centre halfs having the arm band is because they pretty much see the whole game so the communication side, you’re seeing everything. You see things develop and evolve in front of you that you can nip in the bud or you can pull people in like I used to – pull people in those positions where you don’t get caught one on one or the team don’t get overloaded, those kind of things. If you had a striker [as captain] –strikers are very selfish and how they process things – and midfielders are the engines of any team, I think with centre halfs they have the consistency, that concentration level.
KC: As a centre back have you got to be very disciplined?
HM: Yes for sure, discipline in a lot of areas. Obviously off the pitch but also on the pitch as well you know as a centre back you have got to be disciplined, you can’t be rash, you can’t be getting silly red cards all the time.
KC: How was it getting to the Euros Harry? It must have been an incredible experience.
HM: We put huge responsibility on ourselves as a group, having come off the back of World Cup semi final we knew that we had to go further and we had to push and try and get that trophy and the lads did everything they could, and obviously a penalthy shoot out stopped us from lifting the trophy which ➡
is devastating when I think back now. I still look at it and it hurts me but it was great memories and it was a great time for the country to get together.
KC: Harry, you’re top goal scorer for a defender. Is that something you work on in training or something that comes naturally to you? Or is it something that you’re always trying to improve on as a defender?
HM: I think set plays are so important in the game, I think over my period at England especially we have prioritised set plays so much. We were a huge threat with them in Russia, we could have been better with them at the Euros, if we were we might have ended up lifting the trophy. I’ve been lucky enough to score a few goals for England. I need more for my club I know that so I still work hard on that in training – I know I can do more.
KC: John Terry, 78 caps for England, how was it watching England in the Euros, get all the way to the final?
JT: I was incredibly proud. A big thank you to the England team for doing it and for making us believe that we can do it! This group of players, I love everything they do both on the pitch and off the pitch. Their togetherness really excites me. I truly believe we have got a great chance in the World Cup.
KC: I have to ask you – who is the best striker you have ever faced?
JT: Henri is the best for me. I just think in his prime – him and Giggs – have gone
down as the best in the Premier League history. He was the only player I had sleepless nights about, the night before the game. Whether it was his pace, his ability to score with his head, both feet, whatever it was he just had that aura about him like you see on TV he’s got that aura where you just think, I am in for a tough game! HM: I can remember playing against Alexis Sánchez when he was at Arsenal. I would have to say he’s the toughest opponent I have played directly against. Neymar when I played against him for England – he was a threat to everyone!
KC: As a footballer, what it is that makes someone get to that next level?
JT: Being at Chelsea for so long, you look at the academy and a certain player and you go – he’s really good and the academy is expecting big things from this player –it’s actually the ones doing the basics really, really well and I know it sounds cliché, but the ones that are making their tackles, making the box, and all the basic bits you go, okay he’s got something. It’s those guys that come through and generally have the stronger career. Again I would always flip to that – have the right attitude, do the basics really well every single day. HM: We talk about ability but you have to pick out the other parts – dedication,
hard work, sacrifice. Mentality is such a big part of the game nowadays – being able to deal with the pressures, the responsibilities, the scrutiny that comes with being a footballer, it changes so much now that you can be on top of the world and then you can be pushed under, so you have got to be able to have that strong mentality. ◆
WHAT IS 'ATHLETIC IDENTITY' AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOUNG ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT?
The journey as a young athlete is an unpredictable one. Former professional footballer and Elite Athlete Education Officer at Minerva's Virtual Academy, Fabian Spiess, looks into providing flexible, full-time educations to fit around an athletes sporting commitments.
The journey as a young athlete is an unpredictable one. Growing up, we play a sport we love. Out in the streets, we run around and compete with our friends in the hope of one day becoming the athlete we see on matchday or on our TV screen. As a parent, it can be hard to know what’s best for your child if they have big sporting ambitions. Is this the right future for them? Are they good enough? What happens if they get dropped by their Academy? What about injuries, contracts, finding a trustworthy agent? And what about… their education?
Being a top student and top athlete isn’t easy. Families often feel they have to choose one or the other. Depending on the sport, a young athlete will have different training commitments. Some sports require very long hours of training at a young age, like swimming, rowing, and gymnastics. Others, like tennis or golf, require a lot of travel. Others take up most evenings of the week, on a very consistent basis, throughout the entire year, such as football or rugby. As a child growing up, I would leave school at 4PM, jump on a 1-hour taxi to training and get back home at 9PM at night. I remember thinking: there are not enough hours in the day. As young athletes grow; their sport becomes increasingly competitive. It can become increasingly hard to stay focused on other elements of life. This is what sports psychologists and academics call ‘Athletic identity’.
I am an athlete. I am a footballer. This is who I am.
Athlete Identity is natural. It is how I perceived myself. It’s how thousands of other young footballers just like me perceived themselves. But what happens when this identity is threatened? A bad game or injury can be all it takes to shatter a young player’s sense of self. By telling themselves that they are ‘an athlete’ and little else, psychological research shows young players are more prone to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.
How do we solve this? With a balanced approach, we should ensure that young players have a well-rounded education, a good degree of self-awareness, a supportive network, and good social life.
I am good at maths. I have great friends who don’t just see me as a football player. I won a science competition.
These are identities, too. They are extremely helpful when the main ‘Athletic identity’ is threatened. Doing well at school means a young player can still feel positive after being dropped from the starting squad or taken off at halftime. It can help them recover faster and creates a much stronger psychological framework on which to develop.
Nevertheless, maintaining multiple identities can be a challenge, especially when intense training and travel time between school and the sporting ground is taken into account. This is why so often
compromises are made and education takes a back seat.
Traditional schools have at times struggled to adapt to sporting schedules or day release programs. Some schools are often very accommodating to the needs of the families whilst others have opposed students leaving school, thereby causing a breakdown in the relationship between school and family. For parents, taking a child out of class for a sporting tournament can cause a rift between family and school. Missing just one or two lessons can be the start of a slippery slope.
So where do we go from here? Online schools are fast becoming the new normal for parents of sporty children. There are immediate advantages. Zero travel time between the sports ground and school. Young athletes can learn around their training schedule, not the other way around. They can re-watch lessons at a time that suits them, and they can learn anywhere in the world, at any time. Rather than a 8-3PM school day, a child at an online school might train in the morning, have a lesson 9 -10AM, then work on a virtual learning platform, then have a
second training session from 1PM-3PM and log back into school until 6 PM.
Of course, the big question is the social aspect of online education. But if children are efficient in their studies, it can lead to a better social life, healthier days, better structure, more family time, and more time with friends.
Online schools won’t be for everyone. But for young athletes, they have fantastic potential. During lockdown, many parents became converted to the power of online schooling. For some pupils, education without the chaos of the classroom was a revolutionary experience.
At Minerva’s Virtual Academy, we work with an ever-growing number of athletes in the UK and across Europe, helping them to get brilliant GCSE and A Level results without sacrificing time in their sport. Minerva’s programme also includes unique mentoring and extra-curricular learning opportunities for young players to broaden their interests outside of sport. We understand that an all-round holistic education can really help young prospects develop into successful individuals both on and off the pitch.
The interest in online alternatives is rapidly expanding as we become more accustomed to the world of remote working and learning. There are many benefits to it and when balanced well presents excellent results for all parties involved. At Minerva the number of sports organisations we work with continues to grow as we present a flexible and holistic option for young athletes, families, and academies.
