Sporting Psychology
What we can learn from sports men and women
Overcoming adversity is sport and likewise is part of life. The sporting life is a lifetime of ups and downs, highs and lows, condensed into a mini-life. With the Tokyo Olympics now in full swing, there has already been plenty of triumphs and disappointments but the overwhelming experience is one of the unifying, uplifting and motivating elements that sport plays in our lives.
We more readily learn about the background stories of well-known winners in sport but those of less successful sports men and women can be just as interesting, if not more so. This Olympics, delayed, with limited crowds and with the shadow of the pandemic hanging over it, has been a much needed break and return to normality, and as well as an opportunity to bask in the entertainment of elite sport, its’s also a chance to see and hear about the trials and tribulations, and personal stories of the athletes’ and their support groups’ journey to Tokyo.
Mentorship and Preparation
Sport is a microcosm of life, and just as a successful life is the result of many elements coming together so it is the same in sport. For most, ambition, application and consistency are more important than talent but the role of the coach, educator or mentor is possibly the most important in guiding the budding athlete to success. Without these people there can be no success.
The wider support group often starts with family or teachers, starting with supportive attendance, reinforcement of the technical, physical and psychological elements comes next. In many sporting cases, a troubled background can often inspire intensity and aggression, which when channelled and focused can be honed into success. Without sport I know I would have ended up in trouble but I had direction very early on and a parent who was more than happy to help and participate with me and my brothers. Having someone who has your back early on in life and supports what you enjoy doing, builds confidence and the potential for success.
Tough love v support
I don’t believe a sports person can achieve without being put under pressure to comprehend what to expect before it happens, and what is needed to be successful. It is always safe to assume that there are plenty of people out there with more talent who are working hard, so the only way to compete is to train harder and gain a competitive advantage via toughness. To genuinely compete in life as in sport, we need training on how to cope with and respond to adversity.
There are some great examples of how tough love from a coach or parent inspires the athlete to greatness but there must be many more where the opposite effect is achieved. Can it also be construed as abuse?
Rafa Nadal was only three when his parents sent him to his Uncle Toni’s tennis academy. Toni Nadal realised immediately that Rafa had potential simply because he stepped towards the tennis ball, in contrast to most kids waiting for the ball to come to them. He then wanted to push his young charge and Toni decided that to make his nephew into a winner, he would need to put him under pressure regularly and demand more from him. He made Rafa train more and after training, he would insist that only he tidy up after everyone. Rafa resented this at various stages but the seeds were planted and 20 grand slam tennis titles later, we can see how this would have helped the young prodigy become more determined and resilient.
Richard Williams, father to Venus & Serena, moved his young family to Compton in California (more famous for gangster rap than tennis and infamous for inner city crime and violence), having already planned his daughters’ tennis domination before they were born, invited people to shout abuse from courtside to his young daughters, Venus and Serena, whilst they trained, so that they would be able to stay focused and cope under any pressure and circumstances.
Whilst many would label such coaching as abuse, the reality is if the athlete doesn’t break it will likely make him or her stronger and better able to cope with adversity.
Failure leads to success
Michael Jordan, the basketball superstar, famously appeared in a Nike commercial and gave a voice over in which is stated that “I have failed over and over again in my life…. and that is why I succeed”. Looking at a sportsman like Jordan it’s hard to equate failure with his career, which was littered with successes and superlatives but the reality is he is right. In sport as in life, we do fail more than we succeed, and how we embrace those failures to inspire us, dictates how we ultimately succeed in life. At least that is my perspective.
it also depends on what success looks like to you. Winning at sport on the ultimate stage was always my motivation but was it realistic for me, because it didn’t happen. Success and failure are personal. Life helps us figure out or accept what we have achieved as success or not.
Mental Health in sport
Success in sport depends on an iron will and strong mental health, dedication and talent. Limits like fears, in life, are often an illusion. When the pressure gets too much, we all need to release the pressure valve, and we go about that in different ways. Sport is often an ever-present pressure, competition often being the most intense. In the last week, we have seen the world’s most famous gymnast, Simone Biles, pulled out of the all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics, citing protecting her mental health as the reason. An athlete must do what is right for them, but it is a shame, on the biggest stage for her to feel that she had not other alternative. Biles’s compatriot, Sunisa Lee, went on to win the all-around gold today but what would have happened if Biles had competed? We will never know.
Naomi Osaka, the face of the Tokyo games, recently pulled out of both the French Open and Wimbledon tennis tournaments also citing her mental health as the reason. She suffered a shock loss in the 3rd round of the Olympics. How did her recent mental health issues affect her ability to compete effectively?
Jessica Ennis was famously the face of the London Games in 2012, and has spoken many times of the immense pressure that she felt under in the run up to and during her competition. When it came to the final discipline of the Heptathlon event, she had an insurmountable lead, but felt the enormity of the pressure even more at that stage. The relief she showed after her wonderful winning performance in that 800m, was her pressure release. Interestingly, she cited her 2016 Silver medal at the Rio Olympics after becoming a Mum as her proudest achievement.
It is safe to say that both Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles have had enormous success in their sporting careers, and have nothing further to prove to anyone, should they never compete again and walk away from their respective sports. They have been widely applauded for their shared stances on Mental Health and they must do what’s best for them. Win or lose, fail or succeed, the only person we really need to answer to is ourselves.
Olympics mental toughness star to watch
I have been thoroughly enjoying a range of sports that I haven’t tuned in for previously including swimming, gymnastics, canoeing and rugby 7s, especially the women’s competition, amongst other events. If you are looking for Olympic motivation, on show in abundance at these games, look no further than 24 year old Lauren Price, a stand-out story for me.
Adopted by her grandparents at 3 days old, Lauren started football and kick-boxing aged 8 after her Grandfather took her to both. She won silver at the world kick-boxing championships aged just 13 going on to win gold 4 times subsequently, earned her first football cap for Wales aged just 16, she retired from football at 18 to concentrate on boxing and fulfil her ambition of competing at the Olympics. The multi-talented Lauren is competing in Tokyo in the middleweight division. With talent and toughness like hers, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her pick up a medal next week. Good luck Lauren!
The author is a co-founder of FitFor, is a former UK Decathlon champion, and is really enjoying a wide range of sports at Tokyo 2020