SPORT

THE CORNERSTONE OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND THE HEART OF THE KINGSMAN | R. BEGG

“Successful leaders balance pride with humility: absolute pride in performance, total humility before the magnitude of the task” -

James Kerr

Why on earth do we do sports?

Can I not use this time to study? To get that 99 ATAR?

Spending eight or more hours in the sun playing cricket, spending eighty minutes being pummelled by props in Rugby, and waking up at 4 in the morning for a full day of rowing Battling on the ergs, battling in the sun, battling in the mind. For many, sport is merely a physical challenge that inhibits our time for studying and to achieve academic excellence

However, this is not why we play sports. As much as sport is certainly a very physical activity, the mind and sports psychology are of equal importance Sports psychology is what makes elite athletes world class, and binds great teams together And as I will discuss in this article, it is the same psychology that is perhaps the pathway to academic success.

Elite sports performance is the amalgamation of confidence produced by strenuous and consistent training, and having the mental toughness to replicate these acquired and obvious skills in a game environment. Yet, how often do we hear of incredibly gifted, diligent athletes ‘choking’ on the biggest stage?

In the 2021 Olympic games in Japan, we saw the 100m favourite Fred Kerley false start, and his dreams crumble. Jordy Barrett in the Rugby World Cup final missed a game deciding kick, and captain Sam Cane was sent off for acting recklessly before the thirty minute mark as the all-conquering All Black’s capitulated to defeat But what if we can master the mind? What if we can perform under the pressure?

Cricket fans need only to cast their minds back to the World Cup last year as they heart wrenchingly watched Australia crumble 7-91 against Afghanistan. A semi-final placement on the line, the weight of a country on his back We witnessed one of the greatest innings of all times Glenn Maxwell scored 201 not out, battling through cramps and the searing pressure to produce one of the greatest sporting successes of our generation.

Last year, one and a half billion spectators watched as Lionel Messi finally lifted the Football World Cup. The defining moment was a brilliant save from goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who held his nerve against Randal Kolo Muani in perhaps the most pressurised moment in recent football history.

Across all sports, the power of the mind is what enables awesome performances under such crushing pressure So how can we prepare our mind to withstand such pressure?

The answer is simple Practice To perform under pressure, elite athletes know the importance of being uncomfortable so that they are comfortable when it matters most So, if we want to perform in exams, under the pressure of a report card, an ATAR, or whatever it may be - we must be psychologically prepared.

Like any gym goer will attest, if you want to strengthen a certain muscle, you must perform exercises specific to that muscle. If you want to perform under pressure, what better place to practise than the sporting field?

Additionally, when playing sport, we are under pressure to perform not merely for ourselves, but also our teammates It is this selfless ambition that often breeds the best performances If you want to perform under pressure, play for others

In James Kerr’s revelatory book ‘Legacy’, which follows the customs and traditions of perhaps the most effective performing organisation under pressure of all times, the All Blacks, he argues for the importance of selflessness through the Greek proverb;

‘A society grows great when Old Men plant trees whose shade they shall never sit in’.

The All Blacks understand that to be an effective team they must not only play for each other, but for the legacy of their jersey. The science of this philosophy is revolutionary for sports psychology, and for our own academic lives When we are performing with the wellbeing of others in mind, the chemical oxytocin is produced The same chemical that Simon Sinek, in his book Leaders Eat Last, reveals is responsible for kindness, empathy, trust: traits that Sinek argues, have been responsible for the rise of empires like Apple and the downfall of others

As much as our own undefeated premiership winning First XV was star-studded this year with the likes of Australian representatives Austin Durbridge, Boston Fakafanua, Tyrese Lokeni and Hadley Tonga

‘This year’s about brotherhood’Fraser Wait, First XV Captain (2023)

I ask you to consider just what might happen if you adopted the same philosophy? If instead of performing to be the man of the match, or to top an exam - we lived life for brotherhood. If we were selfless in our ambitions and opened ourselves up to failure instead of hiding from our fears. We are stronger together, and sport is the catalyst for this strength to blossom.

As Helen Keller once said, ‘Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much’.

This is the secret to success. This is the trick for a 99 ATAR, this is what premierships are made of. This is two-thousand Kingsmen lining the banks of SIRC, cheering our First VIII at the Head of the River. This is true King’s culture

When we rally around each other there is no limit to what we can achieve, this is the challenge of King’s. This is why sport is so central to our identity. To forge brotherhood, excellence, and a resistance to pressure found only through togetherness

So, is sports psychology the framework for academic success? I certainly think so. If we want to achieve, if we want to be resistant to the pressure of a World Cup final or an English Exam, we must master the mind We must practise under pressure, we must work with and for each other, we must have a team mentality.

As Kerr concludes in his book Legacy, “no All-Black owns their jersey” They are merely custodians of the jersey for the games they play With a rich history of that jersey behind them, and a rich history to come, only one thing is certain, their time is now It’s their history to write.

We have at best 6 years to thrive for our academic goals, to try and fail to make the 1sts, the debating team, the lead in the musical, that 99 ATAR. It seems that the pursuit of excellence can be overwhelming. The pressure all encompassing That we are alone in our struggle.

This is the importance of sport To know that we are not alone. To rise above the pressure To write the best version of ourselves.