Remaining confident in sports challenges
After commenting on Barca inspired by Guardiola blog by David Dixon I just had to write an article on something I witnessed and then read about a year ago.
It's regarding cricket and how different actions,in my opinion, can create or destroy confidence in a sprotsperson even at the very highest level.
Micheal Vaughan, former Engalnd captain, and probably my favourite England player in the last 20 years will hopefully be remembered for captaining the Ashes victory of 2005 or how he burst onto the scene scoring massive hundreds against India and then Austrailia. But one memory sticks into my mind all too often.
During the tests last summer against the South African's Vaughan was under immense pressure surrounding him being England Captain, his lack of runs etc. About 30mins after a certain dismissal the image I have is the camera focusing in on Vaughan on the balcony, all alone, looking pretty miserable and also reading a copy of the Daily Star.
I personally am not a fan of news and tabloid press. It only takes a quick flick through to read about murders, rape, terriorist attacks etc to really make you feel like not going outside much. The worst thing is that in the paper were pictures a Vaughan struggling and questions regarding his future. I mean talk about digging a depressing hole. It frustrates me as a player of his quality sould be getting advice on focusing thorugh bad times. We can't do things alone we need guidance which for Vaughan I believe was lacking, especailly at that time in the England sqaud.
On the flip side I read an article about Geoffrey Boycott. Within this was a commet that showed me what players can do in order to maintain momentum and confidence in their games.
When Boycott was out for 265 versus India he immediately collered 4 of his friends and asked i f they would join him in the nets. He then ordered each one of them to bowl (as best they could) the same ball which just got Boycott out so he made sure it did not happen again. How many players would do this after scoring 265? What benefit would it have done Vaughan had he just simply practised and corrcted his mistakes instead of the above?. What also stood out was that Boycott did not beat himslf up and sit wondering what was going on. He was pro-active and got others involved around him to help him.
Confidence is achieved by knowing you have worked hard enough to be at your best and that you can do no more before you compete. Confidence is surrounding yourself with others who can help and support you. Confidence is having positive daily influences. Confidence is believing in your ability but having the mindset to realise you can always improve and get better helping you move forward.
I can't help thinking that toward the end of his reign as England captain Vaughan was missing some of the above which had he had may have prolonged his England reign which I would have loved to see. I feel that if you embrace some of the confidence points above it's much easier to ride through tough times we all go through rather than allowing confidence to be a pane of glass waiting to be broken. It's easy when things are going well but if you stay mentally strong, work hard and surround yourself with help confidence will remain in you.
Steve Brennan
Strauss mentality was key to England victory
It’s not often you hear an England cricket captain say publicly before a test series that “I want my team to win & win well” but this is exactly what Andrew Strauss stated before the start of play against the West Indies, & I believe it was the key factor in England winning the series well.
Strauss’ statement was bold, positive and he declared precisely what he wanted from his team. That gave them all a definite purpose and focus to aim for in the series, all the team pulled together in the same way to complete the goal. It was positive and inspiring word and just what England required, lifting spirits before the Ashes series. Strauss' mentality was one of winning....period. It left no other option available to the team or any doubts and was encouraging to hear.
On, the other hand, out of context or not, West Indies skipper Chris Gayle openly spoke about giving up the captaincy and then went on to blame ‘conditions’ for his teams defeat. I always remember great Australian legend Steve Waugh stating that it’s not conditions or winning the toss that decides games its how you play. Gayle’s negative comments had a detrimental affect on his team. It just shows the power of words influential or harmful to a performance.
It was total opposites in the 2 test matches. England played with confidence and worked for each other, even under pressure in the first day; whilst the Windies body language and general attitude was one of we don’t want to be here.
Any way you look at it you require a foundation to build on. Strauss gave England that foundation, the path to follow which is excellent captaincy. It brought the best out of new & established players and ultimately more of England in general now believes we can compete in crickets most prestigious series starting July.
Steve Brennan
Winning or Performance in Football?
A few months back I sat down to watch a mid table game Burnley v Swansea in the Championship. For the first 15 minutes I saw Burnley touch the ball a handful of times. Not because they were so bad but because the style, skill and technique of Swansea's football was the best I had seen outside the Premier League.It was a pleasure to watch an exciting team pass the ball around crisply and with so much control. It made me think that if I lived anywhere near Swansea I would defiantley watch them week in week out even though I am not a fan. From an outside perspective I just really enjoyed watching them.
The Manager, Roberto Martinez, of Spanish origin, has gelled a sqaud of quality individuals who are all accumplished on the ball, who try to pass the ball every time they get it and play quick neat football much like most of the teams in La Liga and it is a joy to watch.
But it then got me thinking.... how long will Martinez have the chance to do this if his team just end up mid table like this year? Has football become mad enough to focus on winning everything in one season? Will this style of football save a manager if he is building his sqaud up?
It's one thing to have your team playing this good in a few seasons but in these financially unsure times how long will clubs go before winning something in your first year is a must.
It's the same at Arsenal. They play great football but are being criticised for not challenging for the Premier League title with only the Champions Legue semi final a saving grace? They have been a top 4 club for nearly a decade now and people are complaining!
In my point of view I would much rather watch Swansea draw 2-2 playing some excellent football than see (and i mean no dis-respect to anyone) than watch Stoke or Blackburn hit long balls up front and win 1-0. I understand they are playing to thier strengths to survive but they will never get to a higher level, they will always struggle in my opinion. And I don't think it's about money to spend as Martinez has spent very little but brought through some brilliant youngsters a few of which are English too!
If anything money is more important than the game.
I saw a headline in the Independant stating 'Is Martinez the next Wenger?' Possibly he could be if he has the time at Swansea but how many good managers will we see fall because they don't have the time to create a Performance that wins, instead of just survinging by winning regarless of Performance.
I feel overall that a team playing good football will be successful in the long run and will retain and increase club support and following easier.
What do you think?
Steveo
Jenson on the Button
Now before I start I don't write for any national tabloid with a heading like that, however on Sunday, Jenson was really 'on the button' with his near perfect drive to win the Melbourne grand prix.
I for one was delighted to see him win, but it wasn't just the drive that was great, it was the sheer journey that the man has been on over the last few years that made it even more incredible.
For those who don't watch F1, Jenson has always been rated as one of the best drivers on the circuit, but before Sunday he had a record of just 1 win in 153 races! 153 races! This mainly boiled down to Jenson commiting to the now abandoned Honda team (see below) and spending years battling at the back of the grid due to the fact the team could not match the pace of Ferrari & McLaren dominated as they dominated racing in the last decade.
As well as this it seems crazy that only 1 month ago Jenson Button had no driving job. With Honda pulling out of Formula 1 becasue of the financial crisis and no take over imminent Button was left hanging and his F1 future near vanished.
Incredibly through all his frustration of not competing in races, all too often in a slow car, and then having to come to terms with the fact he was not driving in the 2009 season, it is testiment to his mental strength to keep going. Ross Brawn picked up the pieces and created a new team (Brawn) and in next to know time, with Jenson heading up his driving team, they had created the fastest car and not only did they win the race the gained second place also.
To put in a performance like that after all his struggle makes me believe his intrinsic motivation must have been burning throughout his career, always striving to do more, determined and focused on what he wanted whilst keeping his frustrations away from anyone else when struggling.
How many people would have thrown in the towel just a month ago and would have missed the opportunity? I know one thing...Jenson kept his dreams alive and in my eyes, you deserve what you put in and that was certainly the case on Sunday. May it long continue.
Steve Brennan
What a difference!
It's been over 18 months since my last post on this site. June 07 I joined istadia. For those with a tremendous memory I was writing about Thundercats, Scarborough and getting into the blogging idea.I have to say what a difference I have noticed on the site. You guys really have been working hard and building a great network of like minded people. I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.
All I can say is that when you see how far a site can come in over 18months it makes me think how far each one of us has come and can go. Take time to think where you were this time 18months back. Are you further forward, what have you overcome or what inspiration have you taken in the last year and a half.
In our busy lives I meet so many who forget this on a daily basis. For me personally the last 2 years have been an immense struggle but one thing I take is that I am still here and have grown so much trough this time I am more focused, mentally tougher and have far more experience than before.
So if you feel stuck, discouraged or require a boost, just take a step back, reflect, like I have when I saw the istadia site, and realise how far things have come, how far you have come and how much better you will be in 18 months time.
Steve Brennan
Takeover or Takeaway?
Hi All,
Sorry I have not blogged for a bit now. We have just had our first child, born last Monday. Sarah Louise weighed 6lbs 6ozs. The last few weeks have been a huge learning curve, especially at 3 in the morning.
I thought I would see what reaction this would get...
Considering all the football takeovers & high investments made into football clubs in the last few months i.e. Manchester City, Birmingham and Newcastle etc where does the future lie? And considering that my local team, Scarborough, who in under 5 yrs went from a 4th round berth in the FA Cup against millionaires Chelsea to out of Business I can't help but feel that this could be an all to familiar occurrence in the game.
Whilst takeovers may bring the best players to the Premier league we all too often forget that there are another 72 teams scrapping for their lives financially hoping for a big cup draw or Sky TV appearance. Is this influx of cash taking away opportunities for grass roots development of smaller teams? And there is no room for poor management at lower level where each penny is crucial just to survive. This was Scarborough's downfall having bad leaders at the helm. You only have to look at Leeds Utd to see what can happen if things go wrong as well.
So what can you see? The Gulf between big & small increasing even faster than the last 10 years? 92 foreign billionaires owning clubs? Or 20 - 30 more clubs out of business in the next 10 years?
Steven Brennan
Thundercats are go!!!
Over the last week the Thundercat World Championships have been taking place on Scarborough's South Beach. There has been a mix of Thundercat racing, with Jet Ski action and stunts. It has been a pretty cool event for the area.
So what is Thundercats Racing?
Well before you say it, it has nothing to do with the Cartoon! It is quite straightforward. You have 2 men in a small open powerboat. One steers and the other uses his body to help pull the boat around corners. The boats are fairly small but do go fairly quick, and lets be honest... who wants to be thrown into the nice cold North Sea at about 40mph apart from these guys!!! Teams compete around a circuit in the water.
British Team Entry, big enough for 2!
Anyway I thought these guys would be tough, mentally tough & physically prepared for anything. However it seems that a lot of them were struggling to cope with UK conditions. As one Australian steward said to me, "some of the guys have been hit pretty hard", so I replied, "What... going off into the water?" which he laughed at and said "No mate... the 18 Degrees weather here!"
I was stood next to him in a short sleeve T-Shirt while he was wearing a thick padded jacket, and it was made even more true with one of the competitors seen visibly shaking next to his boat! (I don't think he was nervous anyway).
So I thought there maybe a good chance the UK entry would take advantage of this! OK maybe not then! The South Africans are bloody good at this. It was created there so that says something, but is now global having teams from New Zealand, Australia, USA, Sweden, UK & S.Africa all competing.
Below is the Swedish Boat being persude
The Thundercats were exciting to watch as the come pretty close to the beach so views are premium. I would have liked to see longer races as they tend to last 10 mins and then break for 30 - 40 mins but all in all it was great fun!
I must say it looked dangerous until I got home, switched on the Canadian GP & saw Kubica have that awful crash!
