Focused for Rugby Adam R. Nicholls Jon Callard Human Kinetics Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nicholls, Adam R. Focused for rugby / Adam Nicholls, Jon Callard. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-4504-0212-5 (soft cover) -- ISBN 1-4504-0212-7 (soft cover) 1. Rugby football--Psychological aspects. 2. Rugby football--Training. I. Callard, Jon, 1966- II. Title. GV945.85.P75N54 2012 796.333’8--dc23 2011047312 ISBN-10: 1-4504-0212-7 (print) ISBN-13: 978-1-4504-0212-5 (print) Copyright © 2012 by Adam R. Nicholls and Jon Callard All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. 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Box 80 Windsor, ON N8Y 2L5 Torrens Park, South Australia 5062 800-465-7301 (in Canada only) 0800 222 062 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Europe: Human Kinetics 107 Bradford Road Stanningley Leeds LS28 6AT, United Kingdom +44 (0) 113 255 5665 e-mail: [email protected] E5302 To my parents, George and Christine, thank you for all the support you have given me over the years. —Adam To my three lovely daughters, Georgia, Francesca, and Alexa, who put up with me, and to my wife, Gail, without whose support I would not be allowed to pursue my dreams in the sport of rugby. —Jon contents Foreword vii ● Introduction ix 1 Goal Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 Performance Profiling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3 Preparing for Peak Performance. . . . . . . . . 29 4 Developing Mental Toughness. . . . . . . . . . . 43 5 Coping Effectively With Stress . . . . . . . . . . . 53 6 Using Mental Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 7 Building Confidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 iv 8 Avoiding Choking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 9 Getting in the Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 10 Managing Anger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 11 Responding to Injury and Undergoing Rehabilitation. . . . . . . . . 135 12 Using Progressive Muscular Relaxation . . 153 13 Overtraining and Underperforming. . . . . . 159 14 Improving the Coach–Athlete Relationship . . . . . . . . 169 15 Leading Effectively. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 References 193 ● About the Authors 198 v This page intentionally left blank. Foreword I am delighted to have been asked to contribute the foreword for Focused for Rugby. I have known Jon Callard for more than 20 years, both as a player I coached and as a coach I worked alongside. One of Jon’s great strengths was his goal-kicking ability, a skill in which players stand alone in the big arena with all the attendant pressures that it can bring. Performing this technique successfully at all levels requires real mental clarity. Focused for Rugby is an interactive book for both players and coaches, whatever their age and experience. This book also sets out all the information simply and explains why the mental side of the game is so important. I have to put my hand on my heart and say that I am not a massive fan of the term sport psychology, but I am a fervent believer in the importance of developing the mental skills that enable players to focus solely on the task at hand whilst actions and thoughts fight to interfere with successful execution of the job. Rugby has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, but I suspect that for the major- ity of coaches and players, the mental side of the game—the glue that holds together the technical, physical, and tactical sides of the game under the most hostile pressure—is the least understood and practised, which is why Focused for Rugby is very much needed! Many coaches and players equate mental toughness with physical tough- ness. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have all witnessed the macho player doing the most ridiculously off-task things in the heat of battle, to the detriment of his companions and the outcome of a game. The mental side of the game demands as much regular practice as all the other elements of high-level performance. It requires much more than just dabbling now and again. The skill involves honing a mindset of great clarity under intense scrutiny to enable consistent success and not in a haphazard fashion. This skill is emphasised in Focused for Rugby as you are encouraged to practice psychological skills and monitor your own progress. In my mind, I am perfectly clear about one thing. A coach and a group of play- ers who use the techniques that you will read about in Focused for Rugby will be on the road to success in the sport. Enjoy reading Focused for Rugby, and enjoy the success! Good luck. —Brian Ashton, MBE vii This page intentionally left blank. Introduction The purpose of this introduction is to explain what sport psychology is, discuss the myths surrounding it, the potential benefits of sport psychology in rugby, and how to use this book effectively. Psychology is concerned with the mind and the reasons why people think and act the way that they do. Sport psychology is concerned with the way that athletes think and behave whilst playing sport. The two primary goals of sport psychology are to (a) ensure the well-being of athletes whilst playing sport and (b) enhance their performance. Many athletes, coaches, and sport commentators seem to misunderstand sport psychology, which often gives this discipline a negative reputation. This stigma is partly fueled by unqualified individuals who practise as sport psychologists and give the players whom they work with false expectations. Seeing a sport psychologist is not like having a magic wand waved in front of you. Sport psy- chologists don’t have any special powers! Reading this book will not transform you or your performance within seconds. This book offers techniques that, when practiced, will enable you to fulfil your potential during training and matches, in addition to enhancing your emotional well-being. Some players or coaches view seeing a sport psychologist as a weakness. Yet rugby players spend many hours working on physical, technical, and tactical aspects of their game, so why should they not work on the mental side, too? After all, we have all seen players who perform very well in training but not in matches. So what stops a player from being good in training but not in matches? Physically, the athlete is the same player, so it could be the mental side of his or her game. Learning sport psychology skills will enable players to perform during the heat of the battle and even excel during matches. Callard the Player We had just been awarded the penalty, just in the Scotland half. I knew the game was nearing the end, and I thought it could be the last chance to win it. I started to focus on the process and not the outcome. I had previously missed two kicks, and I knew why these had missed. I focused on getting a sweet swing, controlling the sequence, and a having a clear understanding of where I was aiming. I took my paces back from the ball, steadied myself, took a deep breath to calm myself down, centred my body, and focused on not being quick and striking the sweet spot. . . .The flags were raised, England’s hopes of grand slam lived on, and we won the match 15-14. ix x introduction Negative thoughts, fear of failure, and concerns about what other players or coaches think are some of the factors that stop rugby players from performing at their best. The aim of this book is to teach you psychological techniques that you can use whilst playing, training, or preparing to play and train to help you maintain emotional well-being and perform at your best. In short, the benefits of sport psychology will be discussed. This book has been written to give players and coaches of all levels an under- standing and practical advice about how to do sport psychology yourself or, if you are a coach, to teach your players psychological techniques. The book is structured so that you do not have to read each chapter. You can look at the contents page and decide which chapters are most appropriate for you. For instance, if you think that you do not cope as well with stress as you could during matches, chapter 5 will be useful to you. If you struggle to control your temper, chapter 10 may be an interesting chapter for you to read. Additionally, blank training table templates dispersed throughout the book can be found at http://tinyurl.com/7cft58w. As we said previously, sport psychology is not magic. We make no guarantees about the effects of this book on your performance. We do not claim that read- ing this book will improve your performance by 10 percent. But we do offer techniques and ideas that you can use based on our backgrounds of research, consultancy, playing, and coaching. You may even find ways of adapting the techniques that we have suggested, which is fine. We hope that you find Focused for Rugby informative and practical, and we wish you every success in using some of the techniques that we have suggested.