OFF THE FIELD

Laws & Referees

MENTAL TOUGHNESS

Tuesday 13th February 2007

A vital factor to consider is the mental training that parallels your physical training. You must create planned mental skill workouts to develop a level where you are able to maximise training sessions and achieve peak performances consistently in competition.

New Zealand international referee Steve Walsh has been sidelined by the International Rugby Board (IRB) following a complaint made by the British & Irish Lions about an incident when he was a touch judge in the tourists' match against Taranaki in June.

You will never get to the top without developing your mental toughness

Achieving consistency and performing to your limit is heavily reliant on your mental state, which, like physical skills, can be developed through training.

Consider what percentage of rugby performance is mental. Now consider what percentage of your training time is dedicated to mental skills training. You'll probably find a big discrepancy!

Four components of mental toughness:
* Commitment - Possessing the desire to achieve is a trait that characterises elite players, who understand what they are trying to develop and do so without constant supervision or persuasion
* Confidence - Self-confidence helps players and coaches feel good, be innovative, and overcome set-backs
* Control - Controlling the potentially disruptive emotions of stress and anxiety will have a positive effect on your playing or coaching performance
* Concentration – “It is hard to imagine a variable more central to performance than the ability to direct and control one's concentration" Nideffer, 1976

Reaching the ideal performance state - physically and mentally, is your ultimate goal.

For more information on mental toughness for rugby visit www.fitness4rugby.com