David James' Secret Weapon Is Sports Psychology?
Possibly one of the best ways to treat the slings and arrows of poor goalkeeping performance is a visit to the sports shrink? At least that is what England and Pompey No.1 David James recommends. In James' own words:
"I do it in the hotel room before the game, do it on the bus and do it on the pitch..." (Source: BBC Sport, 19th Feb, 2008)
Ok then, thanks for the details David!
Now, before I remind you all to get your mind out of the gutter, I think that what James is recommending is spot on...the sports psychology thing, that is (ahem).
On a serious note, what James is alluding to in the above statement is mental preparation, and it is the life blood of goalkeeping success. Elite clubs utilize sports psychologists in a big way. When you think of the mental pressure of international performance, the heavy weighting of chasing the big dollars and shiny silverware in European competition, and the demands of club investors, officials and fans relying on your performance to keep them in the top flight, then you can begin to see the importance of sports psychology for the competitive goalkeeper.
Sports psychology, especially when it comes to the performance of the competitive goalkeeper is a massive tool to utilize, when you consider how blunders can be amplified many times over in the international spotlight and the effect these mistakes can have on the goalkeeper and the team unit as a whole.
When considering the ramifications of costly blunders, a sports psychologist will look at a few key tools in their diagnosis and assessment, following is some terminology that sports psychologists utilize when trying to help iron out weaknesses in an athletes performance:
- Cohesion - What Factors contributed to an individual or team success?
- Imagery – Using your mental imagery to enhance your performance.
- Attention Focus – Being able to block everything out, e.g., a crowd.
- Motivation – There are two types of motivation: intrinsic motivation, meaning inner motivation, e.g., self accomplishment, and extrinsic motivation, meaning outer motivation, e.g., money or awards.
(Source: Wikipedia; Sports Psychology).
One key concept to grasp is that of "resilience" which relates to the need for a goalkeeper to "...remain composed, confident and consistent in the face of errors." Solomon, G.B. Overcoming Performance Errors with Resilience, (Association for Applied Sports Psychology). Being able to get focused on the next task at hand during the competitive match, focusing on positive aspects of your game and learning from mistakes as an opportunity to grow and exceed in your position.
Another great concept to utilize is ARSE...as in, get your "ARSE" in gear! Developed by Solomon & Becker (2004), it adheres to the following principles, and although originally developed for softball players, can easily be adhered to by the competitive goalkeeper:
Visiting a qualified sports psychologist when you're game is in the doldrums, is a sure way of getting back on track, re-focused and playing to the best of your ability. If it is good enough for the best goalkeepers in the game to help them enhance their performance, then it is sure enough good for players at any level get to the next echelon of their development.
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John Stevanja
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