Archive for the ‘Confidence’ Category
Thursday, November 24th, 2011
The Quote
“Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I’ll show you a guy you can beat every time” – Nigel Benn (English Boxing World Champion)
The Lesson
Any player who’s concerned with anything other than playing and working to the best of his ability is wasting valuable energy that is better spent on the task at hand. Whatever your motivation if you are more concerned with how you look, then you are missing the point. Your only concern should be to focus your mind to executing what is needed for you to perform. No distractions, you need to be fully confident in your abilities, and realise that no matter what other people may think, it’s about what you do first and last.
The Action
I’m not concerned with what others think about how I play.
Tags: Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills, rugby player confidence
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Confidence, Game Preparation, Goal Setting, Mental, Mental toughness, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
Sunday, November 20th, 2011
The Quote
“You can learn little from victory, you can learn everything from defeat” – Brian Clough (English Soccer Manager)
The Lesson
It’s unfortunate but it is true, we do learn more when we are defeated. The euphoria of winning can sometimes mask flaws in our performance. Losing has a habit of focusing our minds on those flaws. We want to know what went wrong, and why.
That of course is the easy bit, working out how to put it right is far more difficult. This is what the great champions can do though – learn the lessons. Think through the solutions and apply them.
The Action
Disappointment from the feeling in defeat, will be examined, lessons learned and improvements made for next time.
Tags: handling defeat, learning from mistakes, Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Confidence, Game Preparation, Goal Setting, Mental, Mental toughness, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
Saturday, November 19th, 2011
The Quote
“It used to be I wanted everything to be perfect. Now I can take the good with the bad. I get to play again next week” – Glenn Hoddle (Former England Soccer Star)
The Lesson
We can’t always enjoy the perfect performance, nor should we expect to. Perfect performances rarely happen. Our performances are like the rest of our daily life, they have ups and downs. We have to accept that not every time we take the field will see us perform well. As long as we can learn from a below par performance we can look to improve next time we play.
Don’t torture yourself over under performing, embrace it and move on.
The Action
I always want to do my best, but if I have an off day I should remember I’ll always get another chance.
Tags: commitment, Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Composure, Concentration, Confidence, Game Preparation, Goal Setting, Mental, Mental toughness, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
The Quote
“Fear is probably the thing that limit performance more than anything – the fear of not doing well, of what people may say. You’ve got to acknowledge those fears, then release them” – Mark Allen (US Triathlete)
The Lesson
We have all at some stage felt a little self-conscious before a game. Worried ourselves about how we might play, or who is watching. This is normal but these feelings will not help or motivate us, they will paralyse us. They will prevent us from rising to the challenge.
Only once we recognise these feels can we then start to work through them by realising they are irrational. Focusing on the positive and past success will help us to reach a frame of mind without fear.
The Action
Today I will acknowledge my fears and work through them.
Tags: Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills, rugby player confidence
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Composure, Concentration, Confidence, Game Preparation, Goal Setting, Mental, Mental toughness, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
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
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
Saturday, November 12th, 2011
The Quote
“There will be days when I play badly and miss an open goal, it doesn’t make me a bad player or a bad person. I have learned to keep things in perspective, there is more to life than hitting the back of the net”- Jurgen Klinsman (German Soccer Player)
The Lesson
It’s not the end of the world if we have a poor game. The great thing about rugby is that there is always next week to put it right. No one is perfect and you cannot be at your best every time you play. Sometimes it can be helpful to just relax and remember the other things that are important in your life. This will help to clear your mind and help you to prepare for the next time.
The Action
Rugby is only a part of my well balanced life.
Tags: commitment, Mental toughness, relaxation, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Composure, Concentration, Confidence, Game Preparation, Goal Setting, Mental, Mental toughness, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
Friday, November 11th, 2011
The Quote
“What’s the worst thing that can happen to a quarterback? He loses his confidence” – Terry Bradshaw (NFL Hall of Fame)
The Lesson
Losing confidence is the worst thing that can happen to any player. When we lose confidence we lose the very foundation to our performance. It’s therefore crucial that we maintain our self belief and faith in ourselves even when things are going badly.
We need to recognise the signs that undermine our confidence and remind ourselves through positive self talk of our past performances that have been special. We should also look to the support of others such as coaches and family to support us and help rebuild our confidence.
The Action
Confidence is my constant companion while I train or play.
Tags: Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills, rugby player confidence
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Confidence, Game Preparation, Goal Setting, Mental, Mental toughness, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
The Quote
“Don’t try to perform beyond your abilities – but never perform below them” – Frank Robinson (Baseball Legend)
The Lesson
Do our best, but don’t overdo it. We’ve all heard that advice. We are encouraged to do our best by our coaches, to strive for our best performance. We do however need to always be realistic in our goals and expectations.
Taking to the field we should always have in our minds that we will give everything we have got. If we fall short then that’s fair enough if we can give no more. We simply need to refocus and try and improve our areas of weakness for the next time.
The Action
Every effort is my best effort
Tags: commitment, Mental toughness, rugby goal setting, 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
Sunday, November 6th, 2011
The Quote
“I always want to do the best that I can do with opportunities I’m given. The only way that you can do that is to give yourself the chance to go as high as you can. If I fall short, then I’m still further ahead than if I hadn’t reached at all” – Don Shula (Miami Dolphins Head Coach)
The Lesson
It’s always better to have tried and failed, than to not have tried at all. We all have potential, but we will only reach our full potential if we aim high and go for it. We should push our talents to the absolute limited.
Every time we train or play this should be the message that we tell ourselves. Grasp your opportunities while you can, because opportunity may not be there tomorrow.
The Action
I’m thankful for my talents, and I will make the most of them.
Tags: Mental toughness, rugby mental preparation, rugby mental qualities, rugby mental skills
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Confidence, Game Preparation, Goal Setting, Mental, Mental toughness, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
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
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Age, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Concentration, Confidence, Game Preparation, Goal Setting, Mental, Mental toughness, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
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