“My role was to create a positive and
Remember that when we
assumed leadership of the
motivational environment for the
team they had just been
players that constantly reinforced their
severely criticised by the
media for what was
desire to play for England” considered a failed World
Cup performance. So keys
to my role were:
• Re-building motivation
• Boosting self-belief
• Ensuring good
communication
• Creating a positive
coaching environment
• Limiting the impact of
the ‘sideshow’
• Dealing with individual
issues
• Helping the Manager
with ‘critical incidents’
player
• Creating psychological
stability
In a competitive situation,
and this is especially true
with England, there are
always a stream of potential
negatives to deal with.
Despite our eventual failure
to achieve our goal and
quality for Euro 2008, I do
believe we emphasised the
positives, dealt with the
negatives and gave the
team every chance to
succeed on the pitch.
TASK:
Define the term
‘Sports Psychology.’
Sport IQ : September 2008 15