1-0 but for one mistake, not the end of the world

1-0 but for one mistake, not the end of the world

"Another excellent article. Should be mandatory reading for our fan base. You can see also you have played the game Clive and understand what the players are going through."

I, of course, fully agree, it should be compulsory reading.

Everybody who has played football or any sport quite frankly, thinks they have a winning mentality because they are trying to win.

Sorry, but that is rubbish, they don't.

These people don't give a thought to the game beforehand, they don't analyze it after the game and most don't practice skill and mental improvement midweek. let alone consider what they are putting in their bodies and their physical condition.

Yes I played sport and to gain a greater understanding to improve my game, I undertook a coaching course. I used that and coached, then took another higher level coaching course.

I thought about the energy I was using and the way force operates when you run for instance.

If your arms or legs are flailing out to the side then energy, force is going the wrong way. If your arms are pumping up and down in the direction you intend travelling then your force is being maximised, assuming your legs are doing the same thing.

How many of you have stopped to think about how that might impact your performance. In cricket for instance, as a bowler it is vital to maximise the speed you bowl at and your accuracy.

Losing should hurt. Yes. nothing wrong with being prickly, but, go into your own world to think what you could have done better first before you bawl at someone else and blame them. Look inward and be honest with yourself, is your practice up to scratch, did you prepare before the game?

I used to arrive early and go off on my own to practice a skill for 30 minutes so I knew I would be totally ready to perform right at the start of the game. I had my own stretching exercises to prepare my muscles as I got older rather than take part in exercises set by someone who didn't really know why they were setting them other than to stretch muscles.

I would always be last or one before last out of the changing room while everyone else hurried out for a beer.

I played at a higher level because of my mental approach, my will to win, my determination to out-think my opponent, opponents who had greater natural ability than mine.

Equally I took that approach into captaincy and as I got older, took youth under my wing and developed them in a competitive environment, both skill-wise and mental approach.

Plenty of you will say that is taking things too seriously, but that is what a winning mentality is, that's why it differs from the norm, that's why most don't possess it, it is too much trouble for them.

Just having fun is not a winning mentality.