Clues to High Performance

There was a very interesting back page headline in The Metro this week, Wed Feb 6th, 2008. The headline was "Capello: I am no Messiah".
The article went on to further quote Capello as follows: " I am just someone who tries to reap results through hard work. What I will try to pass on to the team is a winning mentality and being confident in their own playing abilities. I cannot perform miracles in three days. The important thing is to create a good group and we make sure the team moves in the right way on the pitch."
In the world of high performance, one of the key factors is focussing on what we do want (and NOT focusing on what we don't want). It is interesting to note that throughout the duration of his talking, Capello is always focussed on what he wants:

• Results through hard work
• Winning Mentality
• Players being confident in their own abilities
• A good group
• A team that moves in the right way

Furthermore when he talks about things he cannot do (perform miracles) or who he is not (a Messiah), even these are things that would be beneficial to him and team should this somehow be possible. These phrases are in fact classic linguistic trickery, because the recipient of this phrase has to think of Capello as a Messiah in order to not think of it. Therefore the phrase very cleverly covers Capello if no miracles are created, but also gets the nation, the squad and his players unconsciously thinking about this as a possibility.
It would take a very sceptical person to suggest this was deliberately constructed, particularly given Capello is still learning English, neverless in linguistic terms this is a clever statement.

Michael Owen, after scoring his first goal in four games under Kevin Keegan, was quoted in the Daily Mail, Mon Feb 4th, 2008, as saying "Confidence is a big thing in football and if you are not scoring everything else seems to fall away. Hopefully now I will go on a nice little run. With the players we have, Kevin will get this club moving in the right direction."
This quotation highlights a number of things:

• Michael Owen's belief system about playing well is highly linked to scoring goals. Whilst clearly as a striker, scoring goals is important, it is also entirely possible to have an outstanding game whilst not scoring.
• This dependency on goal scoring is likely to be impeding Michael's performance.
• Also, having now scored, Michael is still not 100% convinced he is through his difficult time. The word "hopefully" gives this away, and also the word "little" is not entirely positive - why not just go on a "nice run" or a "great run until the end of the season".
• Despite this, he is being forward thinking to some extent about what he wants - "to go on a nice little run" - and does, in words at least, demonstrate belief in the players and Kevin Keegan himself.

It will be interesting to track progress over the next few weeks, as the lack of confidence battles with the lack of confidence due to a lack of goals.

Maria Sharipova was quoted in the London Lite, Tues Jan 22nd, 2008 after beating world number 1 Justine Henin to get to the last four in the Australian Open, as saying: "It's just incredible, I really felt like I was in a bubble today."

Here again we have a clue. Sharipova plays well when she feels like she is "in a bubble". This is something we would work with her to define and re-create upon demand.
Similarly, Jelena Jankovic in the same edition of London Lite stated "I'm like a wounded animal, I still keep going. The most important thing is that I fight on the court and I always give me best and I never give up." Some core values here very evident:

• Always doing her best
• Never giving up

These are the traits to look for in young athletes and new members to your teams. You know that these players will be committed and relentless during their matches.

Another article that attracted our attention was from the Metro, Wed Jan 30th, 2008. The article was about a new sport combining skiing, bob-sleighing, snowboarding and speed skating into "one amazing race". This took place in Quebec in Canada, over a custom made 535m track. The winner of this year's race, 26 year old Arttu Pihlainen from Finland, was quoted as saying: "With my final run I was going up to the tower and Bon Jovi was playing there and I just listened to it and tried to concentrate and there was nothing in my mind. I just concentrated".
Here again, a relatively short quotation can give us some important information about our athlete. Firstly, the concentration on the music appears fundamental to creating a high performing state for this athlete. We know this because having "nothing" in your mind and having deep concentration are classic traits of performing in flow. We would consider using music with this athlete during training and during his races as a matter of course, to replicate this focus and "nothingness".

What are the some of the lessons here?

You can learn a lot about anyone by noticing the language they use. There are clues in the language of an athlete that can be used to replicate and enhance high performance, and also give clues as to what could be causing interference to this.

Simon Tinkler is a Director for S2 Performance. 

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