Superbowl Sunday – Refocusing When The Lights Go Out!

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Momentum.  Or the perception of momentum. Does a change in momentum just come down to your ability to re-focus when things aren’t going your way?

I remember staying up late as a 7 year old to watch Superbowl XX with my older brother. It was brilliant. The Chicago Bears hammered the New England Patriots 46-10. We had popcorn. Twenty-seven years later and still in love with the sport, I stayed up late again, on a school night, to watch Baltimore and SanFrancisco compete in Superbowl XLVII (uh… 47?) and I’m so glad I did.

It had everything: two teams with perfect Superbowl records, Ray Lewis looking for a Superbowl win in his last ever game, sibling rivalry, fake field-goals, and Destiny’s Child.

But it also had some major swings in momentum. Momentum can be a significant factor in sports. Or at least the perception of momentum can be.

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GB Basketball: The Mental Challenge

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As a basketball fan, I can honestly say that I’ve really enjoyed watching Great Britain compete at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Having both men’s and women’s teams there amongst the world’s best players has been good for British Basketball, and their performances have certainly been credible.

The GB Men’s team (ranked 43 in the world) pushed Spain (2) all the way to the final seconds, while the women’s team (ranked 49) have been punching above their weight, challenging Russia (3), France (8), and Canada (11) in close games. There has been some entertaining play, and the effort and intensity that both squads have brought to every game should be recognised and applauded.  

Have they done well? …Yes.

Could they have done better? …Absolutely. 

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Hello world!

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Hello there.  I started this blog while watching the 2012 Olympic games. As a Sport Psychologist, I was really impressed with the amount of attention that was given to the mental aspects of sport and the importance of psychology.

I suppose I decided to start writing down some of my thoughts and observations about the psychology of performance after watching the GB Basketball teams punch well above their weight, yet remain unable to close out some really close games (see my first post above). Anyway, these are just my thoughts. I hope you enjoy reading them.

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