Sven-Goran Eriksson was tonight named Ivory Coast’s manager for the World Cup in South Africa. The former England manager’s appointment was announced on live television by a member of Ivory Coast’s football federation (FIF), Souleymane Alex Bamba.

Eriksson replaces Vahid Halihodzic, [...]]]>

Sven-Goran Eriksson, Ivory Coast’s new manager, will be coaching at his third World Cup. Photograph: PA Wire/PA

Sven-Goran Eriksson was tonight named Ivory Coast’s manager for the World Cup in South Africa. The former England manager’s appointment was announced on live television by a member of Ivory Coast’s football federation (FIF), Souleymane Alex Bamba.

Eriksson replaces Vahid Halihodzic, who was sacked following Ivory Coast’s disappointing quarter-final exit in the Africa Cup of Nations in January. He beat several candidates to the job, including Mark Hughes, and was described by the federation as “an experienced coach who has proved himself”.

“Sven-Goran Eriksson is the new coach of Ivory Coast. He will lead the team at the World Cup where his objective is to ensure an honourable participation and it will obviously be difficult. Therefore the executive committee of the FIF appeals to the sacred union between the ‘Elephants’ and their coach,” said a statement.

Eriksson’s task this summer is not easy, as the Ivorians have been drawn alongside Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in Group G. They have never progressed beyond the group stages of the World Cup.

However, Eriksson does bring experience of international football, having led England to the quarter-finals of both the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. He can also call upon players such as Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou and Barcelona’s Yaya Touré.

After the England job the Swede joined Manchester City in 2007, spending one season there before a short-lived spell in charge of Mexico. Eriksson raised eyebrows with his last job as director of football at the League Two side Notts County last summer. He left the club when its ownership changed hands in January.

For more information on soccer psychology, please visit www.TheWinningMind.com or email Marc Sagal at sagal@thewinningmind.com

And Spain has a [...]]]>

BOSTON — Every team in the soccer World Cup is looking for an edge. The Germans have the supportive crowd and home field advantage. The Togolese have their chief voodoo fetish priest, Togbui Assiogbo Gnagblondjro, whose bold prediction that his countrymen would beat South Korea and France has not come to pass.

And Spain has a Boston University professor of psychology who vacations on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, Leonard Zaichkowsky.

Zaichkowsky, a sports psychologist who has consulted for the U.S. Olympic Committee, the National Football League and the Boston Celtics, among others, has been shuttling between Boston and Europe since April, advising the Spanish national soccer team.

Why? Because they have been stone- dead losers, the most accursed choke artists in the game. Four years ago, they lost a tied game on penalty kicks after the referees disallowed two of their goals, one of which “was ruled out of bounds despite replays showing otherwise,” according to the Associated Press.

A former student with contacts in the Spanish soccer federation hooked Zaichkowsky up with the Spanish national team. As it happens, Prof. Z. no habla espanol. “I asked them why they didn’t find a Spaniard, and they said all they had were university guys who hadn’t done much with high-end athletes. They liked my style and said ‘You’re on.’”

Zaichkowsky credits Spain’s coach, Luis Aragones, with assembling a close-knit team, and he sees his job primarily as one of providing positive reinforcement. He has led trust-building exercises, has created highlight reels for each player, and meets with players individually and in groups.

Someone is doing something right; Spain has won 23 consecutive games since Aragones took the helm, and humiliated Ukraine 4-0 in the team’s first World Cup outing. After the game, Aragones said his team was better prepared “physically and mentally,” so maybe Prof. Z. can take a bow. Having beaten Tunisia 3-1 on Monday, Spain is through to the second round.

I noticed that Ukraine’s coach, the former Soviet soccer star Oleg Blokhin, had enforced a celibacy rule in his training camp. Zaichkowsky wasn’t impressed. “There’s no good science on that stuff,” he says. “Aragones wants things to be as normal as possible. After Wednesday’s game, he said, ‘O.K. boys, you’re free until Friday night.’”

What about the U.S. coach Bruce Arena’s “calling out” several of his players, publicly accusing them of underperforming in the team’s lackluster loss to the Czech Republic? “My experience is that so often it doesn’t work,” Zaichkowsky says. “Players hate it. They know if they messed up. The literature supports the idea that you can gently persuade people to raise the level of their performance.” Whatever the case, Arena’s team rose to the occasion Saturday against Italy.

Zaichkowsky’s Boston background is particularly helpful in dealing with Spain’s most powerful opponent – its own news media. “It’s intense,” he says. “All they say is, ‘we’re doomed,’ ‘we’re cursed,’ they’re trying to get into that whole failed history. They’re no different from the Boston media – they’re looking for controversy all the time.”

Click Here to view the original article, published by Alex Beam, NY Times.

For more information, please visit www.TheWinningMind.com or email Marc Sagal at sagal@thewinningmind.com

Facilitated by Leonard Zaichkowsky, a professor of counseling psychology at the School of Education and at the School of [...]]]> Sports psychologists hook up with Real Madrid

An unprecedented agreement among Boston University, MIT, and Real Madrid, Europe’s most successful soccer franchise, will soon provide aspiring sports psychologists the chance to work with some of the world’s finest athletes.

Facilitated by Leonard Zaichkowsky, a professor of counseling psychology at the School of Education and at the School of Medicine and director of sports psychology training at BU, the agreement’s aim is to propel researchers toward a better understanding of the role of motivation, nutrition, and exercise in improving athletic performance and in helping people age well.

From a BU perspective, the deal opens the door for students to work with the reigning Spanish champions, plus implement findings back home with the University’s own sports teams.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, is hoping to get a few more years out of its stars. Typically, a professional male soccer player’s career begins in his late teens and ends in his early 30s. Better nutrition, exercise routines, and injury prevention could extend that span.

For MIT, the agreement represents a complement to AgeLab, its research center whose mission is to help people live longer and better. In theory, if an athlete’s career can be lengthened through better physiological practices, so could a quality lifespan for the nonathlete.

BU Today asked representatives from each party how they expect the agreement to benefit their institutions.

Leonard Zaichkowsky, School of Education and School of Medicine professor: “For BU, it’s a win-win. Our graduate students will have the opportunity to spend a month or a semester observing and working with high performers in Spain. We can learn a lot from high-end athletes and how this generalizes to the general population.”

Joseph Coughlin, MIT AgeLab director: “We hope to take a systems perspective to leverage the technology we have in our labs and to work with colleagues in engineering and engineering systems. For example, a number of our colleagues are working on a spacesuit for the trip to Mars. That kind of technology could benefit some sports here on Earth as well as older adults.”

Valter di Salvo, Real Madrid High Performance Centre: “We have the know-how working with the football [soccer] players and other athletes, but the universities have great knowledge in terms of research and technology. We want to create synergy between BU, MIT, and Real Madrid that can help the students, but more importantly, the normal person will benefit because all these things we try with top-level athletes, we will then transfer. We want to move in this sense, to not only extend life, but the career of our players. If they know themselves better, follow a specific program, work on injury prevention, they can extend their careers, just like people extend their lives and improve their quality of life.”

Click Here for the original article, posted on www.bu.edu by Edward Brown.

To learn more about Winning Mind and Marc Sagal, please visit www.TheWinningMind.com or email Marc at sagal@thewinningmind.com

His response may have seemed inadequate for an act that was as astonishing as it was repellent, but [...]]]> SOMEHOW, his explanations weren’t enough. In a television interview last week, the French soccer captain, Zinédine Zidane, apologized for head-butting an Italian defender in the World Cup final, but also said he had no regrets, because he was provoked.

His response may have seemed inadequate for an act that was as astonishing as it was repellent, but perhaps there was a simple way to explain why he lost his cool in the face of taunting from the Italian, Marco Materazzi.

In truth, all players have a line that can be crossed, sports consultants and psychologists say — even a player like Zidane, who has long played at the highest levels and whose image is that of a chess player on the field. “There is a threshold for everyone,” said Colleen Hacker, a professor at Pacific Lutheran University who was a psychological consultant to United States women’s soccer team from 1996 to 2004.

The World Cup, played every four years before hundreds of millions of TV viewers, is a high-stress environment even for the most accomplished players.

“You’re talking about something that even these phenomenally experienced athletes haven’t had a lot of exposure to,” said Marc Sagal, managing partner of Winning Mind, a consulting firm, who has worked with World Cup players.

Zidane, of course, had played in the tournament before and led the French team to the championship in 1998. But the particulars of the situation in Berlin last Sunday were ones he had never encountered: it was his last professional match; it was a World Cup final that went into overtime and was assuredly headed to a penalty kick shootout; just before, he had narrowly missed scoring a go-ahead goal.

Zidane was tired and frustrated, and Materazzi’s words — no one is saying precisely what they were, though Zidane said his mother and sister were mentioned — proved too much.

“You’re talking about a situation of absolute intense pressure,” Mr. Sagal said. “And you are talking about a player in particular who is unparalleled in his ability to stay narrowly focused. What you saw was him losing his focus. His strength became his weakness.”

It is unclear how well-prepared Zidane was for the potential mental abuse. But he must have known that taunting was common in elite soccer. “This kind of thing is absolutely predictable,” said Michael L. Sachs, a professor in the kinesiology department at Temple University. “Particularly with a good player like Zidane, you walk into a match knowing you’re going to get that from your competition.”

Consultants first try to help players recognize when they are losing focus if a player is verbally or physically trying to distract them. Athletes can simulate a verbal assault in practice. In Zidane’s case, Mr. Sagal said, “you might instruct one of your players to have an absolute go at him in a training session.”

Another approach, Ms. Hacker said, is to show video clips of actions on the field and retaliatory behavior. “You sit with the athlete and say, ‘What did this get? What did this do?’ ” she said.

The process can be involved. Jay Coakley, an emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, said the Brooklyn Dodgers went to great lengths to prepare Jackie Robinson for the abuse he was likely to receive as the first black player in the major leagues.

“They had long talks about how are you going to endure this, how are you going to handle these kinds of things,” he said. “Jackie Robinson held it together.”

Unfortunately, for his team, Zidane didn’t.

Originally published by New York Times, Henry Fountain, July 16, 2006

To learn more about Winning Mind and Marc Sagal, please visit www.TheWinningMind.com or email Marc at

sagal@thewinningmind.com

Interview with Marc Sagal by Manni Klar, Editor, SIS

Click here for the original magazine version of this interview.

In order to develop the complete player, we must pay attention to the mental part of the game. As the quality of coaching improves and players have access to [...]]]> Performing Under Pressure: Tips for Improving Your Players’ Mental Game

Interview with Marc Sagal by Manni Klar, Editor, SIS

Click here for the original magazine version of this interview.

In order to develop the complete player, we must pay attention to the mental part of the game. As the quality of coaching improves and players have access to better physical training programs, the key differentiator is the player’s “mental fitness” – the ability to manage pressure effectively. The best coaches and clubs understand that the training of each of these different components should be coordinated. Everything is connected and it is all ONE.

Success in Soccer had the opportunity to sit down with Marc Sagal, Managing Partner of Winning Mind, LLC to discuss a number of aspects of the mental game.

SIS. Why do some players play well in training but not in matches?

MS. The likely reason is that the player feels more pressure in games than in practice. In training, players are usually more relaxed, less concerned with making mistakes, better able to enjoy themselves and get into the flow of things. In matches, a number of factors serve to increase the stress that players feel. There is more at stake and players want to perform well—for the crowd, for the coach and for their teammates. Results are more important. Player performance is scrutinized and future participation can be affected.

SIS. Why does pressure hurt performance?

MS. Pressure itself doesn’t necessarily damage performance; too much pressure does. Research shows that there is an amount of pressure that seems to optimize performance. Without any pressure, players would find it difficult to motivate themselves. It would be hard to focus. I’m sure you have all experienced what it’s like to coach or play for a team that is playing in a game where nothing is at stake. It tends to be less fun and less exciting. This is the problem with many friendlies. There just isn’t enough at stake to produce the best performances.

The reason that too much pressure tends to impair performance involves a number of factors. First, there are physical responses to stress that we’re all familiar with—butterflies, breathing changes, muscle tension, and fatigue, among others. Less familiar but equally important are the mental changes that occur. The ability to pay attention effectively is reduced. Peripheral vision, so crucial in fast moving sports like soccer, is compromised. The tunnel vision that creeps in makes it more difficult to react effectively to the flow of play. Players also may find themselves increasingly “in their heads”, thinking too much about their play and not reacting instinctively.

SIS. How can you get players to quickly recover from mistakes and get their heads back in the game?

MS. Even great players make mistakes; they just don’t let mistakes undermine performance. The key to getting players mentally back into the game after a mistake is to get them to quickly focus their attention back out on the field and stop replaying the mistake in their heads or thinking about the implications of the mistake. One useful technique is to teach players to quickly find the ball and to visually track it while telling themselves where the ball is, as in “ball in the keeper’s hands”, “ball at number seven’s feet”. This only needs to be done for a few seconds to help a player get back into the flow. Another suggestion is to train effective reactions into players. Coaches can set up situations in training where a mistake is simulated and players must react quickly to recover the ball. Try integrating this into fitness/reaction training and you’ll be setting a very powerful mindset for your entire team. Mistakes will happen, but there is no excuse for not recovering quickly.

SIS. What are some ways to control pre-game jitters?

MS. One of the simplest ways to minimize the anxiety that comes right before big games is to get players active as soon as possible. It’s almost always the case that a few minutes after the opening whistle, most players are in the flow of the game. This is because their mind is off the upcoming match and simply reacting to ongoing play. Small sided matches (played with moderate intensity and only after appropriate warm-up) can make for effective pre-game preparation. So can sprints or any movement that can get players focused and just tired enough to reduce the nerves that can get in the way of a good start.

It’s very important to understand that players will not necessarily be feeling the same way before matches. Each one will react differently to pre-game talks and will have their own way of managing stress. Coaches MUST be sensitive to these individual differences and pay attention to the signs of stress so they can quickly make the kind of adjustments that can help each player be ready to play. Often times, coaches and managers are caught up with other pre-game logistics and fail to pay enough attention to how each player is feeling before a game. The best coaches take the time to check in with individual players to provide some simple guidance for the game and to make sure they are prepared to play.

SIS. What’s the best way to motivate players at halftime?

MS. Every team and every player is different and it is the coach’s responsibility to know how to get the most out of each one. At best, a one-size fits all approach will fail to get the intended boost in performance; at worst it will backfire completely. I’ve found that the best coaches speak to what I call the “sweet spot” for each player. The “sweet spot” is the term I use to describe the overlap between the things that motivate and excite the player and the things that the team must accomplish. If coaches truly know their players, they should be able to tap into the things that are powerful and inspiring for each individual player without expecting that every player will react the same way. Some people call this pushing the right buttons, but this can sometimes have manipulative connotations. The best way to communicate points to players is to take each player aside and offer one or two suggestions (not more). Be balanced with your feedback. Half-time isn’t just there to provide coaches with an opportunity to criticize or fix; it is an excellent opportunity to reinforce, encourage and refine. This isn’t to say that a good ol’ tongue lashing isn’t sometimes effective, but by and large, the carrot is much more effective than the stick. There’s a great quote by Aristotle that is right on point…

Anyone can become angry – that’s easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way – that’s not easy.

The important thing to remember is that if you don’t really know and understand your players, you won’t be able to get the most out of them.

It’s also useful to remember that teams with good leadership can sometimes sort out their own issues without the coach needing to take control. Think about giving additional responsibility to captains or other “unofficial” leaders to help provide additional inspiration and assistance.

SIS. How can I get my players to focus and concentrate for an entire game and reduce the amount of mental mistakes they make?

MS. There is a strong relationship between physical fitness and mental fitness. When players get fatigued, it becomes very difficult to maintain proper focus. Reaction time is affected and the ability to execute tasks effectively diminishes. One reason for this is that the body uses up the fuel that it needs to concentrate and coordinate muscle movement. Mental mistakes are often made late in matches when players are tired. So, one way to reduce mental errors is to have fit players. It’s also smart to incorporate a mental training program to complement the physical training. There are many ways to approach mental skill training and development, but any program should to include efforts to simulate game conditions and the pressure put on players to make sound decisions even when they are at or near their physical limits. One simple way to do this is to occasionally play training games and engage in mentally challenging exercises after players are already tired (e.g., keep away after fitness training). Care should be taken to appropriately transition to more challenging tasks so that players are able to adequately adjust to more and more stressful conditions.

Other problems may have a variety of causes so it is important to assess each player individually in order to obtain vital information about concentration strengths and weaknesses. Each player should have the opportunity to learn about the things they find distracting, derailing, motivating, inspirational, etc. Once athletes and staff can get a sense for what is causing the distraction, they’ll be in a much better position to make effective adjustments. Sport psychology professionals are trained to design and implement these kinds of programs, and help with the assessment of mental skills and associated efforts to enhance performance by improving concentration and reducing mental mistakes.

SIS. Do you have any suggestions for helping players manage pressure during penalty kicks?

MS. Before giving some advice, I think it would be helpful to understand why many players miss PKs in the first place. Physical tension caused by the stress of having to take an important PK can affect body position during the approach and kick. The player’s center of gravity shifts (ever notice how you feel like you’re breathing through your upper chest when you are nervous?) and this causes the player to lean back as they make contact with the ball. Muscle tension creates “bracing,” a situation where the body is not relaxed and is actually working against itself. All of this, plus the desire to immediately see whether the kick was successful, increases the chances that the ball will either miss the mark or lack sufficient force.

My suggestion is that players develop a “pre-kick routine”. By practicing a consistent approach to the taking of a PK, players can minimize the negative impact of pressure during important kicks. This tried and true approach is simple but requires practice to be effective.

Here are the steps:

1. Learn how to “center.” This is a technique borrowed from the martial arts and involves taking a deep breath and focusing attention in order to control anxiety. There are many ways to center, but to get you started I’ll include the main points. If you’re interested in learning more, there are a number of sources on the web to which you can refer.

1. • Stand comfortably with your knees slightly bent and your feet about shoulder width apart, with one foot just slightly in front of the other. Inhale slowly and deeply from your abdomen.
   • As you exhale, relax your neck and shoulder muscles (feel your shoulders drop). Feel yourself sinking down with your feet pressing firmly on the ground.
   • Visualize yourself hitting a successful kick and begin your approach.

1. When you are ready and centered, move towards the ball at whatever angle and distance you have practiced and are comfortable with. You may find it useful to count to yourself as you approach the ball (this helps prevent negative thoughts from creeping in). Be sure you have taken the time to decide where you will be aiming and have glanced at the goal if need be.

1. After striking the ball, follow-through with your entire body by running “through” the ball in the direction of your kick. Resist the temptation to watch the shot until you are past the original position of the ball.

An effective pre-kick routine only comes with a great deal of practice and no routine will overcome a deficiency in skill or poor technique. Part of the effectiveness of centering is based on something called “the relaxation response”, a term coined by Dr. Herbert Benson who described how with training, the body can almost instantaneously relax with appropriate practice and reinforcement.

SIS. How do you get a player out of a “slump” in performance?

MS. If I knew this, I’d be rich. Seriously, it really depends on the player and the situation, but here are some general thoughts. The first is not to add pressure by calling attention to the problem in negative ways. Most players will naturally recover from declines in performance with time and encouragement. The balancing act for coaches involves how long to gamble with an underperforming player, especially when there is talent on the bench. The act of substituting or starting another player can backfire because it can further interfere with the reduced confidence that often comes with a slump. There are instances where benching a slumping player can bring about a swift revival, but I’ve seen it cause more problems than not. The key is to let the player know that at one time or another, everyone has ups and downs and the important thing is to hang in there and stick with the things that the player and coach know to be effective. Often times the worst thing to do is to look for the magic ingredient that will fix things. By showing faith in the player and his ability, you will have gone a long way in assuring a successful comeback.

To learn more about Winning Mind and Marc Sagal, please visit www.TheWinningMind.com or email Marc at sagal@thewinningmind.com