Archive for the ‘Concentration’ Category
Friday, November 18th, 2011
The Quote
“Football success is desire, speed and intelligence – and desire is 85% of it” – Bud Wilkinson (Legendary American Football Coach)
The Lesson
Desire is so much a part of every successful sportsman. It’s what motivates them to go the extra mile to become a champion. You have got to really want it to make it to the top. Without that desire you can never achieve, you will always take the easy option. Desire is the ultimate motivator, greater then any coach or team mate.
Desire puts you in control of your performance. What desire is not is – desperation, fear or obsession. It is a positive energy that we find within ourselves.
The Action
Desire is my motivator. It’s what gets me to work hard and give my best effort everyday.
Tags: commitment, desire, Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
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Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
The Quote
“I enjoy winning, but there are benefits to losing, too. Before you can be a winner you have to learn to lose” – Isiah Thomas (NBA Hall of Famer)
The Lesson
No one really likes to lose, losing is uncomfortable, it can even be embarrassing. However there are always lessons to be learned from defeat. Mistakes or poor decisions can be rectified and improved upon. That can only however if you are honest with yourself in assessing a loss. Don’t look to blame look for reasons.
Learn to lose with good grace and humility, but make it a lesson that increases your determination to win next time around.
The Action
When I Lose, I will take a close look at the reasons why and work on them.
Tags: Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills, rugby player confidence
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Sunday, November 13th, 2011
The Quote
“Once you establish an aggressive mental attitude, you can then start to turn your attention to correct technique” – Wayne Pearce (Former Australian Rugby League International)
The Lesson
Sometimes the best way to make progress when we train or play is to put to one side the technical and tactical aspects of the game and concentrate on our mental fitness. Sometimes all we need is an aggressive attitude – make that tackle no matter what. Ultimately the technical elements don’t matter, it’s all about getting the job done.
Rugby is about confrontation, skill can only get you so far, then it’s down to the “grunt”, the aggressive mental attitude.
The Action
Today at training I will concentrate on both aptitude and attitude.
Tags: aggression, commitment, Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
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Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
The Quote
“I succeed on my own motivation, dedication and commitment. My mindset is that if I’m not out there training… someone else is” – Lynn Jennings (US Olympic distance runner)
The Lesson
There will be days when we may not feel like training, we are only human – it happens. However if we have ambitions to compete at the highest level and achieve our full potential we need to dismiss these thoughts and commit ourselves to putting in that extra effort. The simple fact is that sport does not stand still, new champions emerge every day. If you take the easy option and miss training or put in a below par effort, then be assured that someone somewhere is putting in that extra effort and will get the better of you in the future.
The Action
If I want to compete, I need to be prepared. Because if I don’t prepare my opponents will.
Tags: Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
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Saturday, October 29th, 2011
The Quote
“I’ve always felt the pressure to win, but most of that pressure is from within”- John Elway (NFL Quarter Back)
The Lesson
Sometimes we set impossibly high standards for ourselves. We tend to put more pressure and expectation on ourselves than anyone else. While it is not a bad thing to be hard on ourselves and set high standards we must not let this have the opposite. Our goals need to be realistic, the pressure we put on ourselves proportionate. If we allow ourselves to take on to much pressure it will be debilitating and have a detrimental effect on both our performance and confidence.
The Action
I will be careful not to put too much pressure on myself.
Tags: Mental toughness, rugby goal setting, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
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Friday, October 28th, 2011
The Quote
“To give yourself the best possible chance of playing to your potential, you must prepare for every eventuality. That means practice – there are no shortcuts. You must lay the proper foundation” – Seve Ballesteros (Spanish Golfer)
The Lesson
Practice, Practice, Practice it’s so monotonous, but there is no way to avoid it. Sometimes we might be tempted to miss a training session and think there wil be no consequence. Deep down though we do realise that there is a purpose all the training and practice. We do realise that without it we cannot possibly achieve our potential. It’s therefore necessary to push on when it is difficult and complete that training session in order to meet our objective of being the best we can be.
The Action
Training, although draining at times is invaluable in my quest to reach my full potential.
Tags: Mental toughness, motivation, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
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Monday, October 24th, 2011
The Quote
“Visualization lets you concentrate on all the positive aspects of your game. It also aids your confidence and helps you focus on executing” – Curtis Strange (US Golfer)
The Lesson
Visualization is an effective and valuable training tool for players of all skill levels. Visualization allows us to practice our skills without having to lace up a pair of boots. My using our “Minds Eye” to go through a particular move or skill we can positively reinforce the perfect outcome without even moving. We can also use it to anticipate our opponents and what they may do and how we successfully counter that.
By using visualization we can build on our self-confidence and transfer that into a physical performance that matches our and therefore reinforces that which we have visualized.
The Action
Before I train today, I will visualize myself performing at my best – I will then try to do the same.
Tags: Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills, rugby player confidence, rugby visualization
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Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
The Quote
“I’ve learned you don’t have to win first place to win “- Kim Zmeskal (American Gymnast)
The Lesson
The bigges winners aren’t always the ones with the gold medals. The biggest winners are the ones who make a commitment to improve, and follow up that commitment with action – consistent, positive action. The real winners are the ones with heart who give their all and work their best. They are the ones who take on every challenge with determination and spirit. True winners welcome the opportunity to learn something new, and winners are always willing to share what they know with others.
Winners may not always be first in the rankings or league tables, but if they are first in spirit they will never be losers.
The Action
I am a winner.
Tags: Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Concentration, Confidence, Goal Setting, Mental, Mental toughness, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
Pressure – the very word that puts fear in the hearts of many rugby teams and individuals.
To be great team or a great rugby player you have to learn to handle the stress of pressure!
Pressure comes from two things:
1/ Being unprepared- if you haven’t practiced long and hard the right way, then ultimately you will lose- PRESSURE will cripple you!
2/ Playing ‘Not to lose instead of playing to win’- this will put unnecessary pressure on you and your team- this negative thinking is more concerned with the result than the performance.
Jonny Wilkinson, one of the world’s greatest rugby players, believes that preparation is the key to winning. When asked about his winning drop goal in the Rugby World Cup Final in 2003, (with his right foot), and what was he thinking at the time? He replied ‘I’ve dropped that goal a thousand times in training’
And that’s what makes a truly world class player- they can handle pressure because they have sacrificed on the training field many times- in fact they welcome pressure, they thrive on pressure.
They are confident because they have put the hours in- they know that these pressure moments are inevitable, so they never lose their composure, they block everything out of their minds and concentrate on the basics knowing that what they have to do they have done many times in training.
It’s not rocket science! You want to a great rugby team or great rugby player then prepare, prepare, prepare!
Confidence will result. You will be able to meet pressure head on knowing the chances of you winning are very good.
And over a period of time you will thrive on pressure, you certainly won’t fear it!
Tags: commitment, Mental toughness, playing rugby under pressure, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Concentration, Confidence, Game Preparation, Goal Setting, Mental, Mental toughness, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
Three words spring to mind: Desire, Determination, and Dedication.
The desire must come from within, not from a coach or a parent; either you ‘want it’ or you don’t there is no other choice. The desire must come to you long before you cross the white line on the rugby field, that’s why training is so important; it builds the desire long before the match starts.
It will always starts with a dream, then somehow you must be inspired each day to reach your goals or you will struggle to make it.
You must be hungry, very hungry, hungry for success, hungry for victory and hungry to be the best that you can be.
Once you have the desire, determination and dedication will help on your journey towards your dream and reach your goals. It’s very easy to get sidelined or distracted so it’s important to get your priorities in the order that you want.
The relentless quest, the thing that keeps you going day after day is your determination. Unfortunately there are no shortcuts in the world of sport (and life for that matter) just hard work; beating your opponent or competition or overcoming adversity along the way is not easy.
Setting your goals let you know where you’re going and allows you to determine how far you’ve already come. The difference between where you are now and where you goal/dream is, tells you how much further you have yet to go.
A lack of opportunity is often a lack of direction/planning or purpose. That’s why goal are so valuable.
If you don’t know where you are going, how are going to know when you get there?
Desire:
To win, you have to have the talent and desire- but desire first.
Sam Snead professional golfer
Determination:
To succeed in life one must have the determination and must be prepared to suffer during the process. If one isn’t prepared to suffer during adversities, I don’t see how he can be successful.
Gary Player professional golfer
Dedication:
It was tough. When people look at me today they say, ‘Hey, you are a millionaire now, you’ve got it made.’ They didn’t know me before I was a success and as a result they don’t realize everything that I got I worked for. I did my homework. I went home and practiced punches in the mirror hour after hour after hour….I dedicated myself to be the best.
Marvin Hagler professional boxer
Tags: dedication, desire, determination, jonny wilkinson, rugby development, world cup winner
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