Sport Psychology in the Media II- the sequel!
Monday's Times carried an article about Padraig Harrington which encouragingly backs up the whole idea of using a proper psychologist. Last year was a fantastic year for Harrington, winning two majors and performing consistently throughout the season. What was his secret? He worked on his mental game. He also went to the top golf psychologist in the world, Bob Rotella.Rotella has written a number of books on golf the most famous of which is probably 'Golf is not a game of perfect' Although you could argue with the grammar, the principle underlying the title is fair and the book itself provides some useful if not stunningly deep insights into how to perform any sport, in terms of the kind of goals that you set and the way in which you prepare for performance.
The key point is that Rotella has done the work in terms of training, academic research etc in order to be able to back up these ideas. He has written his books in an informal style to make them accessible and avoided any kind of overstatement or rash claim about the efficacy of his ideas.
After my dissapointment in the previous article concering amateur dabblers working outside their competence, I am of course delighted to see hard evidence that the real stuff does work. Harrington's amazing approach shot to the 17th in the Open- a five wood from about 265yds to 7 or 8 feet if I remember- was enough on its own to show how well he can handle the mental side of golf. I should be charging Rotella commission for this advertisement but there are a few other trained and qualified practitioners around so why not try one.
Alastair Evans-Gordon M.Sc.
Sports-IQ
Sport Performance Consultancy
alastair@sports-iq.com
07831-426-928
Sport Psychology in the Media
Oh dear, oh dear, another ghastly portrayal of sport psychology in the media!!! In today’s Times, a double page spread about British tennis hopeful, Anne Keothavong relates her experience with an American sport psychologist, who told her to talk to a tree. Well, it is possible that this idea has been taken out of context to dramatise the story. Maybe the tree idea was just a metaphor for understanding all the elements required for elite performance. The result is still the same. Sport psychology is portrayed as new age mumbo-jumbo. Unfortunately the world of sport psychology is clouded by all sorts of untrained individuals armed with a few tricks from a weekend course in the latest fad for life changing nonsense.
The article goes on to say that Miss Keothavong has found some help from Dr De Souza, who is described as a GP and life coach with an interest in sport psychology!!! Well if the LTA has a multi-million pound budget, why is our number one woman tennis player getting her psychological support from an amateur dabbler without formal psychology training? Never mind whether that is within his code of ethics!
The profession of sport psychology, as practised by fully trained psychologists specialising in this area, draws on scientific research and evidence combined with mainstream psychological theories of behaviour change to help athletes with their sport and well-being. Qualified practitioners have made significant contributions to our Olympic success and to many areas of professional sport. They do not use mumbo-jumbo or psychobabble. They work confidentially and professionally and do not rush to the Daily Mail as soon as one of their clients improves three places in the world rankings, and they do not recommend conversations with trees.
All sport performance has a psychological element. There is no need for a debate about whether it constitutes 10 percent, 20 percent or 70 percent. Anyone who is serious about improving their performance needs to consider all of the elements and work on each of them systematically. Winning only requires the tiniest of margins as does losing! To lose because you missed out on a key element of your training and preparation is just naïve.
Each performer contributes their own work on how they think about their sport. Good coaches will understand much of the science of developing psychological skills, but for the full professional service covering performance skills,team dynamics, counselling and support with lifestyle issues, get a
professional.
p.s. I do not have any control over the adverts on this page and would not consider many of them to be formal psychology training.
Alastair Evans-Gordon M.Sc.
Sports-IQ
Sport Performance Consultancy
alastair@sports-iq.com
07831-426-928
Have I got the Yips?
In the golf world, the 'yips' can be used to describe any kind of loss of putting form but amongst golf coaching professionals, it is normally reserved for a serious breakdown in the psycho-neuro-muscular process of hitting the ball at all. Often saying one has the yips becomes a problem in itself. and cements the decline in performance You may not actually have a major malfunction but just think that you can't putt. So one early assessment to make may be asking what exactly you mean by 'having the yips' . Do you not hit it straight? Do you not hit it 'well timed', do you drag left or push right? Do you have any control of length? It may be a good idea to avoid thinking you have the yips because of the perceived view amongst the golfing world of how serious this can be.It is possible that you have simply become too conscious of the mechanism of putting and your attentional focus has moved onto the wrong part of the skill i.e you are trying to do something consciously rather than just allowing yourselves to perform. Some of Timothy Galway's Inner Game techniques may be useful to shut up the conscious mind while letting the putting go ahead( See The Inner Game of Golf by Timothy Galway). You may like to practice putting with your eyes closed, or looking at the hole rather than at the ball. This last technique deliberately moves the focus of attention away from the impact zone and often produces a much better timed strike on the ball. This is of course a fundamental of good putting. Once the feel of the strike has improved, return to normal technique.
Not many golfers have a putting lesson and it is always worth a thorough check of the fundamental technique in terms of alignment, head position and line of putter head through the hitting zone. Put a video camera on the floor behind the putter straight down the line of the putt and watch what the putter head does. Anything not square with the required direction will provide a clue as to where you are going wrong. Head position is crucial.If the eyes are not right over the ball at address, the mind has to work in three dimensions instead of two making the maths much more complicated and therefore more likely to go wrong.
If you would like to discuss these ideas do call or email.
I currently offer a one-hour putting review/lesson dealing with all aspects of putting drawing on my 38 years of golfing( 8 handicap) and my undergraduate dissertation teaching absolute beginners to putt .....oh and my work as a sport psychologist!
regards
Alastair Evans-Gordon M.Sc
Sports-IQ
Sport Perfomance Consultancy
alastair@sports-iq.com
London UK
