The fine line between first and second, between success and failure, is wearing ever thinner. In today’s sporting world, although talent and ability play a significant role in propelling sportspeople to the top, there are a number of other factors which contribute to success.

Take swimming and cycling for example, two sports which have taken material developments to a new level. The clothing these two types of elite athletes wear while competing has been technologically developed to such a level that the secrets in the materials used lay behind locked doors.

However, there is something which every athlete at any level posses which, if developed and trained frequently enough, can break through barriers and assist any sportsperson in achieving their goals: the mind.

Always searching for information on how Scotland can produce more winners, InTheWinningZone sat down with a world-renowned specialist to find out some answers.

Dr. Joan Duda, Professor of Sports Psychology in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at The University of Birmingham, has over thirty years experience of helping athletes of all levels on their quest to be the best.

With an undergraduate degree in psychology, a Master’s degree in physical education and a PHD in sports and exercise psychology, Duda was set up well with all the educational tools to enter the world of sports psychology.

Having played sport, basketball, softball and tennis in particular, to a reasonably high level (Division I Intercollegiate Level in the States), Duda is well aware of the psychological constraints athletes are faced with regularly. “I used to set goals and I also used imagery. I was a pitcher in  softball, and I often found myself imaging where I wanted to throw the pitch before I did throw the ball.  Once I recognized the value of mental skills, I said to myself ‘oh my gosh, I want to learn more about this field of sport psychology.’ And I had this belief that all athletes, regardless of level or sport, should be exposed to this.”

Her passion for sport, mixed with an intrigue in the psychological aspects of performance and participation, was sparked off one evening when she was in the library of Rutgers University in the United States, where she studied her undergraduate degree.

“I was in the library one night and I saw a book that had the words psychology and sport and some other words in the same title and I thought ‘ooh that looks really interesting!’   I actually pulled the book off the shelf right there and then and read it cover-to-cover that night.  From that moment, I knew this is what I wanted to do.  I knew I wanted to continue my studies at the graduate level and pursue a career in sport psychology”

One book on the importance of the mind in sport proved to be the turning point for Duda. Today, she has a number of books and over 200 research articles on the subject to her name, and she has become world-renowned for her knowledge and experience in the field of sports psychology.

Throughout her career, Duda has worked with a number of athletes of all ages and from all types of sport. She has also consulted coaches and parents of their role in the healthy advancement of youngsters in sport.  Besides her consulting work in sport, Professor Duda also has extensive experience working with vocational and professional dancers.

In terms of her specialization within the large field of sport psychology, she describes herself as a ‘motivational psychologist’. She sees the hours of training that elite athletes around the world put into their sport, the pressure they are often under, the grueling sessions which can result in fatigue and even burnout, and asks them: Why? Why get up at 5 am every morning to spend three hours swimming or out on the road cycling? What motivates you to do that?

“The most adaptive answer to why one participates in any sport is still, ‘because I want to and I love it’.   Even as you move up to the professional and Olympic level, of course there are extrinsic factors that come in, but the intrinsic love of the game still needs to be present for one to maximize his or her sport engagement.  

“However, if the reasons for participating are primarily extrinsic, and the sense of personal autonomy and self-determination are not there, we have a very vulnerable athlete, even at the professional level.”

So, with a ‘healthy motivation’ in which you are driven to better yourself every day because you enjoy what you’re doing, what else can help you to reach your desired goals? Drive and motivation have been covered, Duda now speaks about the need for resilience, the ability to bounce back from setbacks.

“You need to have the talent to reach the highest levels of sport. But talent has to be sustained and nurtured for a long period of time, including hanging in there when there’s been knocks to that talent. So, it really is a long-term path of development to get up to those higher levels.”

The world-class motivational psychologist has worked at all levels in sport. From future Olympians to youth sport athletes, Duda has found out what makes sportspeople tick. She therefore must hold some idea of what is means to be a winner. However, Duda’s perception of a winner is not someone who has a medal hanging from his or her neck, the term ‘winner’ means much more.

“To me, a winner is someone that, whatever level of talent he or she has, has got the most out of it and maximized it.   A winner has realized many if not all of the positive benefits of sport participation and has not allowed sport to compromise his or her personal well-being.  Also, I don’t think you have to sacrifice being a complete person to be really good at something, I think that’s a myth. Some people say, if you’re really good at something you need to be a selfish, egocentric person.  Based on my sport and consulting experiences, I don’t agree and also it is important to note that the research doesn’t agree. So a winner for me is also a winner as a person. There’s more to him or her than what the individual can do on the playing field.“

When asked for examples, Duda turns to tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, two people clearly at the pinnacle of world tennis, who are maximizing their talents whilst remaining professional and sportsmanlike. Another reason for considering these two as winners is their mental tenacity; they have trained the mind to aid them in their journey to the top of world sport.
 
“Federer and Nadal have also developed their mental skills, and learned how to effectively use them on the court.  They leave no rock unturned in terms of trying to maximize their incredible physical gifts.”

IC
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