Sports Psychology
Working on mental toughness and resilience has been an incredible journey - the hardest part for me was the mental vulnerability that comes with that. Sports psychologists are often overlooked in elite sport, but working on sessions for me has included:
- Better Stress Management
- Improved Focus
- Increased Confidence
- Improved Athletic Performance
- Team Building
- Goal Setting
- Reduced Risk of Burnout
- Better Mental Health Overall
- An Understanding of Leadership
I am a member of the University of Waikato, Adams Centre for High Performance where I have access to world class facilities and coaches. I'm able to train alongside some of the best athletes in New Zealand (and the world!). The Adams Academy membership is an ongoing, weekly, commitment to my health and fitness to ensure I'm in the best shape possible for the game in front of me. More than body composition, my S&C allows me to ensure functionality and wellness on the field and off it.
Catapult One is the best way for competitive athletes who play team sports to track and improve the performance metrics that matter most: Top Speed, Endurance, Agility, and more. Features the same technology used by thousands of professional athletes, seamless setup and data syncing, targets customised for your goals, and the ability to compare against your peers.
- Umpires are athletes - there's just not enough data to prove it yet!
The middle of Summer in Paris can indeed be quite hot(!) and it has been shown that heat acclimatisation both pre and post and during training can help with your body's response to working in the heat longer term. Heat chamber sessions will allow me to add this benefit during my training so that I can be acclimatised to the high temperatures in Paris and ensure that I perform at my best, both from a Physical and Mental point of view.
A 4 week training block will cost £1000.
Sports Massages can be an invaluable resource in aiding recovery through training to ensure that I am ready to go for the next session. This is a stable of any high performance athletes preparation and I have always included it in mine too.
Sports massage has been shown to reduce muscle tension, increase range of motion, enhance athletic performance, improve soft tissue function and decrease muscle stiffness and fatigue.
Whilst at the Olympics, the majority of the athletes will have free access to national physios and sports therapists, however this is not something that is readily available to the officials and it's something I'd like to include on my journey.
It has shown that using an ice bath post training can help with physical recovery and mental resilience. Having access to an ice bath and over recovery tools will allow me to decompress, reduce inflammation and prepare for the next physical challenge. There are also added mental benefits which will allow me to ensure that I perform at my best, both from a physical and mental point of view.
My flights to Paris are going to take 48 hours! I'm expected to be on the pitch just days later, performing with the best athletes in the world.
I acknowledge that I'm extremely privileged to be able to travel the world for hockey events, and whilst I have only ever been able to afford economy class flights, it is a dream to travel Business Class. Most professional athletes have contracts with their governing bodies that any flights above 5 hours should be Business Class due to the negative effects of travel on performance (mental and physical) being sitting in the same position for the extended period of time, as well as the added quality of food available.
This wish may not be an option with even the best will in the world, but to be able to perform after a very long few days of travel, normally with very little ability to sleep in the upright position for that period is not the best preparation and I would love for this wish to become a reality.
I have been able to work with the All Blacks sills coach and have personal sessions around improving game situational awareness, peripheral vision and reaction speed in readiness for Paris. To improve my reaction time and spatial awareness when scanning the field, reaction lights and these 1-1 sessions have been an awesome addition to my physical training. Overloading the brain with stimuli and filtering through what is required is something which happens quite frequently in a game (and even during the video umpire process). This is what we're working on!
Working on mental toughness and resilience has been an incredible journey - the hardest part for me was the mental vulnerability that comes with that. Sports psychologists are often overlooked in elite sport, but working on sessions for me has included:
- Better Stress Management
- Improved Focus
- Increased Confidence
- Improved Athletic Performance
- Team Building
- Goal Setting
- Reduced Risk of Burnout
- Better Mental Health Overall
- An Understanding of Leadership
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