Archive for the 'Calcio' Category

To establish an advanced psychological training program, it is essential to understand the typical psychological implications of a specific sport discipline. In general terms, it can be stated that sports that are predominantly tactical and situational, as well as precision sports, require lower levels of activation compared to those characterized by power and speed, which demand high levels of activation. However, this is not valid for all sports; for example, rugby, a team sport, requires particularly high levels of activation.

When analyzing different groups of sports, it can be stated that:

• Endurance sports (e.g., long-distance running, marathon, race walking, road cycling, rowing, canoeing, windsurfing, swimming, cross-country skiing) require the ability to tolerate and manage physical fatigue during competition. They necessitate a strong awareness of bodily sensations to recognize and anticipate critical moments in the race.

• Precision sports (e.g., archery, clay shooting, target shooting, golf, billiards, curling, bocce) require a combination of technical precision and speed, meaning concentration must be entirely focused on execution. These sports require intermediate or low activation levels, to the extent that heart rate decreases before executing a shot, and athletes perform in a semi-apnea state. In these disciplines, the only way to recover from a mistake is to wait for opponents to make errors.

• Sports involving body coordination in space (e.g., artistic gymnastics, figure skating, dance, synchronized swimming, diving, slalom skiing, giant slalom, snowboarding, free climbing) aim for an ideal execution, although athletes acknowledge that achieving perfection is nearly impossible. Even minor errors can lower performance quality and the score given by the judges.

• Short-duration sports (e.g., 100m and 200m sprints, relays, 400m, swimming, jumps, throws, ski jumping, weightlifting) require total concentration for the entire event duration. The ability to effectively manage impulsiveness and avoid premature reactions at the starting signal is crucial.

• Combat sports (e.g., fencing, boxing, martial arts, wrestling) demand a high level of mental and physical reactivity throughout the fight. The ability to anticipate the opponent’s moves is highly important. Due to the short duration of the matches, it is essential for athletes to feel engaged and perform effectively from the very first moments of the fight.

• Team sports (e.g., soccer, volleyball, basketball, handball, water polo, rugby, hockey, American football, baseball) require the development of tactical thinking within a collaborative team environment, with moderate activation levels.

• Individual opposition sports with a tactical focus (e.g., tennis, table tennis, badminton) require the development of tactical thinking tailored to the athlete’s personal skills and the opponent’s characteristics. These sports demand high activation levels due to the high number of exchanges and the fast pace of play.

12° ISSP Master Class Series

HOW TO WIN: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF SUCCESS

Dr. Kate Hays

April 23, 2025

Language: English (Translated live available)

Register Here: https://issponline.org/meetings-resources/webinar/

Dr Kate Hays is The FA’s Head of Women’s Psychology. Vastly experienced in performance psychology and being part of multidisciplinary teams for 20 years, she has worked across a range of different sports and supported title winning athletes and teams competing in major global events including World Championships, Olympics and the professional equivalent – most recently among the team behind the football England team at the Women’s Euros 2022 and World Cup 2023.

Kate joined The FA after more than seven years in a similar role with the UK Sport Institute (UKSI), where she led and managed the delivery of the national psychology strategy during the Rio and Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. She was appointed as the TeamGB HQ psychologist for the Tokyo Olympic Games where TeamGB won more medals across a wider number of sports than ever before, making history on the back of the most complex, challenging and difficult environment faced in recent times.

I often wonder what a coach’s mental approach is when his team fails to deliver the expected performances and, to put it bluntly, plays poorly. A current example of this situation is the coaches of Juventus and Milan, Thiago Motta and Sérgio Conceição, who are leading teams struggling with results, albeit for different reasons.

As professionals, the question to ask them is simple: what are the problems, and how are they addressing them? It would be interesting to know what they think about the individual players who are underperforming. For example: “Is this player struggling because he cannot fulfill the assigned tasks? Does he just need more time? Does he lack the trust of his teammates? Does he have little confidence in himself? Am I asking him to do something he doesn’t know how or doesn’t want to do? What motivates him? Is he dealing with off-field issues?”

It is not enough to simply say: “They are young, they need to grow, they feel the pressure of the jersey, they play too much,” and so on.

Another aspect to consider is the coaches’ mentality. Are they fully aware that they are leading two of the most renowned clubs in the world, whose primary goal has always been to win? Are they comfortable with this level of expectation? Can they handle the pressure that comes with a mindset focused solely on victory? And what are they doing to improve?

Of course, we will never get clear answers to these questions. At the moment, both Motta and Conceição appear defensive. Motta has stated that if he had children playing football, he would want them to have a coach like him. Conceição, on the other hand, has said that if the club is not happy, they can fire him, but the team is training well. I understand that it is not easy to show self-criticism without being perceived as weak leaders, but these are not rational explanations for the situation.

It is a pity that, in such high-level sporting environments, coaches are not provided with adequate psychological support to face these challenging moments. In major corporations and organizations, executives are often supported by experts in human resource management to improve teamwork. The same approach would be beneficial in football as well.