Performance Psychology, the 4th Factor
This article was written for SoccerToday by DanielMusatti, Soccer Coach –UEFA, CBF and FIFA, Post-graduation degree in Sport Psychology & MBA in Sports Management.Musatti hasrecently returned to Southern California from Brazil and will be working with San Diego’s Albion SC with their USSF Development Academy teams.
Daniel Musatti on the Psych in Soccer – the all important and often overlooked Psychological factor. Every coach talks about the trilogy of Physical, Technical & Tactical but few pay enough attention to the psych factor in player development.
Throughout the history of playerdevelopment, excellence in Physical, Technical & Tacticalhas always been crucial to the success of any athlete or team. Most soccer professionals and coaches believe that these three factors, thePhysical, Technical & Tacticalareresponsible for thesuccess and failure on the pitch.
The 4th factor, the Psychological factor, still faces some resistance from the soccer community, has gained importance in recent years.As for Brazilian soccer, sports psychology is currently only used as an immediate and unprepared solution, and it is considered only in extreme cases where all other three factors have not achieved any desired effect.
In 2014, the Brazilian national team, SE Palmeiras, and the Portuguese squads hired professional sport psychologiststoenhanceperformance at the last minute. Both professional teams lackedleadership and did not achieved the expected resultsandthey showed a collection of atypical behavioral issues that suggested a complete lack of emotional control. Excessive andunnecessary cards, lack of focus and confidence on the field and other issues were among the effects that caused disaster during the past season.
Just as in any conventional psychology practice, sport psychology does not have a positive effect if applied only when there is an apparent need, in other words …
A sport psychologist does not have the same effectiveness as a firefighter has to “put out the fire.”
The positive influence of a sports psychologist happens when attention to this important 4th factor isconstant; the Mind-Set coach is part of the technical staff and isworking with the athletes within their comfort zone at all necessary times.
Part of the success lies on establishing a bond of trust between psychologist and athlete, and this requires frequent interaction with athletes and not only forsporadic motivational talks but also on the field during game or training — plus confidentiality and mutual trust.
The correct introduction of sports psychology in a particular environment lies under the responsibility of the club’s Technical Director, Director of Coaching or Head Coach. It also takes a great effort to be able to identify a professional compatible with the characteristics of the technical staff and group of athletes.
Why doesn’t this usually work better?
A major difficulty within sports psychology lies when athletes hardly acknowledges having some psychological weakness that may affect their performance, and instead of seeking an aid to improve performance, they prefer to hide their problems during their entire career and then deal with them in an already suffered retirement.
Between players, a “psychologist” is still viewed with suspicion because they believe that no coach will ever trust a “crazy” player with “psychological issues”.
Mental strength is not a divine right but a skill developed through hard work. Sports psychologist are the trainers for mental strength and mental agility on the field.
The relationship between coaches and psychologists is key to the success of the 4th factor. The interaction between coach and psychologist is fundamental to success. Every coach has on average 35 athletes with 35 different personalities and mental strengths, therefore a scream that works to motivate an athlete, may destroy another’s mind-set.
In these moments, the perception of a sports psychologist becomes very important on the pitch. He or She knows perfectly how each athlete will respond and can guide the head coach and the players to extract the maximum performance for greater success on the field.
Being considered only the fourth factor on a scale that constitutes the ideal preparation of successful athletes and teams, sport psychology is still treated as news to most soccer professionals, but there is no secret; when applied properly, continuously and with professional knowledge, it is able to improve the performance of athletes and teams, and help build superstars.
Let’s be a great as possible on the field and recognize that we want to develop our youthto become complete players and focus on all of the factors for success.
