Presented in Rome the documentary about Gino Bartali: “My italian secret” by Oren Jacoby. What can I say about him that it has not already been said, Bartali continues to be an example for me as a individual and athlete, a true legend.
Monthly Archive for October, 2014
Page 2 of 3
Around the world sailing without a ladder. Him, the blonde and the brunette. A godsend if it were not that the blonde and the brunette do the egg and they are chickens. Matteo Miceli leaves to day to from Roma his personal non-stop world tour, without assistance, in complete energy and food autonomy.
Dear psychologists,
“I’m still here … Yeah …” he says Vasco Rossi (Italian rock star) and each of us where he/shet’s? Yeah … the perseverance engaging in something that we do not know whether it will succeed. We say to the others: stay focused on performance and not on the result … we should teach us, we are capable of?
The world that I would or reality: what I mean? As I push on the accelerator but brake before slamming? I can do it?
I know that “Nothing is impossible” is bullshit but as I teach to realize the dreams?
What it’s more imporant: “Take the time you need” or “To this date, you have to know how to do.”
Do you know the difference between being promoted, be good and excel?
My mentor John Salmela asked me “How much do you want to be good? The best in Rome or in Italy or to be recognized at the international level”, have you ever asked yourself?
Think please
University Master in “Sport Psycology”
organized by Università Telematica San Raffaele, Roma, Italy
under the patronage of AISP – Associazione Italiana Psicologia dello Sport
2014/2015, 1° edition
1.500 hours of online lessons, workshops and professional stage
registration deadline: November 1 2014
information and registration:
The US track&field Michael Johnson, who won five gold medals at the Olympics and eight-time world champion, summed up the importance of motivation:
“My best motivation has always come from the pure joy of running and racing, it’s the same thrill that I had as a child of 10 years. Have you ever met a 10 year old child sickened by what he does? You have to find your own initial motivation. This is the secret of perseverance. ”
Sport activities should allow the emergence of an attitude that can be summed up in the following sentence:
“It’s thanks to my commitment and the pleasure I feel that I become more and more skilled at what I do.”
The activities motivated by an inner strength are based on the subjective perception of satisfaction coming from performing a specific task.
On the contrary, any external intervention in the athlete tending to reduce this inner awareness will negatively affect the motivation. It happens when an athlete performs only to receive material rewards (winning a trophy, money) or recognition from others (“I do it for my parents or for the coach who will be so happy or because I will be more admired by my fellow”). Sport performance becomes only a means to achieve another purpose that becomes, instead, the true purpose of the action: the young is not acting for the pleasure it provides sport but to receive a certain recognition. Therefore, the external reinforcements encouraging the athlete to perform for external reasons will reduce the internal motivation.
The coaches should not make use of reinforcements perceived by the athletes as most important than their performances, but they should provide useful suggestions to increase the feeling of satisfaction to perform at their best.
Sport results that are perceived to be the result of internal personal factors, such as the ability, dedication, commitment rather than external factors (luck, reduced ability of opponents, referees’ decisions) are associated with satisfaction feelings and pride.
The Brazilian striker Leandro Damião has taken simulation to a whole new level by appearing to pull his own shirt in Criciuma’s 3-0 win over Santos in an attempt to deceive the referee. The 25-year-old Santos forward, linked with a move to Tottenham in recent years, attempted the shameful act at a free-kick for his side during their Brazilian Serie A defeat but fortunately the referee was not duped.
We know that in Italy football is played mainly by males, so it’s obviously more frequent that I find to talk with mothers of sons. These moms are often accused to have too intense relations with them that seem to be the cause of any problem. “You should leave him more free” is the phrase more often repeated to the mothers, this is like for a mother to hear: “You love him too much.” Mothers love too much? Today how to be as a mother to grow the best son to cope with the future?
To think at the mothers as the cause of every problem is an hasty and superficial point of view that judges without to support. The mothers need help and not just a critical assessment. This is why I decided to talk to the many mothers of the players to give practical support and not judgments.
Raising a son means to discuss about the study, dose the playstation, cry to replace room or be to say “this house is not a hotel,” but raising a male child also means supporting every day with the difficult task of being able to find the right response at the right time, without sounding hasty or worse petulant. Sometimes even the most loving parent can be inconvenient because only the experience over time will help you to understand how he is a male child. The words chosen to educate mark the road as a mother you have decided to take.
Here are some things you should know:
- You cannot provide the precise vocabulary to say what is best with a male child, but it is certainly important to know that a male is more sensitive to the phrases insisting on what he did, rather than what he is. Tell that he is good, lovely or wonderful makes him happy but if you talk about the one thing he has done, an event that proved to be up he will understand even more your speech. Inevitably, they are more likely to understand the claims about what they did rather than on what they are.
- It is important to remember that every guy has always a real picture of himself and if a mother will tend not to see the problems of the child, he probably will emphasize them. For this reason it is important to make comments enabling a real vision of himself. If he play well and win a game it will be better to say “You must be proud of you” rather than “I’m proud of you.”
- A boy is a powder keg of emotions ready to explode and blow it up it can often be even one tiny spark. Lock the explosion is not easy and it is certainly good to know that there arenot the long speeches to extinguish the fuse, but, even more than with a daughter, you have to be careful not to criticize the behavior automatically. The males are sensitive to criticism, but also to the support that it’s provided.
- The boys are more aggressive both in behaviors and the emotions, for this reason it’s often the mom critics a are perceived as an aggression instead as positive advices.
- A boy waits for his mother understands his feelings and he will express them more often with behaviors rather than words.
- A guy accept more often the demands of the mother if she will avoid too global speeches, and showing practically what to do and how to act in the face of the situations.
To conclude at the mothers I want to say:
- Male expresses them more physically than verbally. For this reason, very often the disciplinary problems and the lack of attention depend on just the limited physical activity, which it does not allow to spend an adequate level of energy . This explains why the decision to ban the sport to remedy the school shortcomings does not make the situation better, creating a vicious cycle in which the punishment feeds the behavior punished.
(by Daniela Sepio)
The motivators and mental coaches without a degree in psychology are spreading in the sport as well as in business. They are people who are involved in these worlds by leveraging on the need for success. Winning is, today, the only thing that counts and too many athletes are duped by people who like change strategies based on the insults or make them walk on hot coals, as if it was an event needed to believe in himself. Unfortunately, some of these motivators are successful, because sport organizations (Olympic Committee, clubs and sport associations) do not do anything to help the athletes and coaches to choose. In fact, sometimes these organizations are glad to this autonomy of the athletes, because in this way they save money and they have not to face the problem of choosing a professional who should also to pay.
The starting point of this reflection came from an interview with the motivator of football player Bonucci (reported by a connoisseur of the sport and of the human soul which is Gianni Mura with the article “The garlic motivates Bonucci but the breath does not make the monk “in which he talked how he worked with him. Everything would be funny if it were not a joke but a counseling job. Of course, every individual can choose who he wants as a personal mentor or mental coach, but as psychologists we have the duty to assert that the individual improving goes through competent and qualified professionals and not by people who are appointed by themselves as motivators, mental coach or whatever just based on personal considerations. The profession of psychologist, as that of the doctor, lawyer or others is subject to strict rules and no one can exercise it without proper qualification. Not surprisingly those who have decided to do without these requirements have had to invent new words to be defined, and so the term “motivator “and” mental coach ” were born. Anyone can be defined in this way, even the barman near our house and he will not be prosecuted by law.
It’s necessary that the Psychologist Roster as well as the Olympic Committee and sports federations are at the forefront of spreading a professionally correct approach to mental coaching, otherwise the sports culture will be affected and only who will be more aggressive on the market will win.
To an athlete is not enough the talent to win. It is not enough to have the best physique. Not to be the smarter. These are all aspects useful but not decisive to win.
Winners adapt themselves better and more quickly to competitive situations coming moment to moment.
Athletes continuing to be successful are innovators in training and competition in a concrete, achievable and challenging way.
