So, we find ourselves eighteen games unbeaten and into the final of the cup. It is a great achievement for a group of lads that have lost some of their strongest teammates to first team football. The transient nature of availability plays havoc with consistency for reserve teams and has been the biggest barrier to overcome. The rush of fixtures has not helped either. We have played two games per week for a while now meaning we have only had two training session since early February. As a management team we are reflecting on those sessions and using them as reminders for our players, so they feel like our ‘ask’ is familiar and there is consistency in our approach. This is breeding confidence and we are seeing players fall into good habits both on and off the pitch.
We have used Trafford Grimes as our remote Sport Psychologist this year. As an ex-player, he knows some of our group and has been supporting us whilst completing a masters at university which has enabled employment at a professional club. A superb achievement. His input has helped challenge us in our interactions with players and was particularly useful recently when we played a team that had a different shape to others in our league. It became a test of how we cope with something new or unfamiliar and it made me think about how important familiarity is when dealing with nerves, pressure, and expectation. Our knowledge is often what we use to build our confidence upon and is a powerful tool in developing resilience. Contradictory to that is a number of our group that are desperate to impress, and we are seeing them struggle in moments because their decision making is impaired by their need to do well. Desperation is the opposite to composure, and we could all use some of that ahead of a cup final!
Whilst we are not able to train, we feel it is important that we have some conversations and encourage consistency. We cannot control the opponent, so we have made every effort to control our controllables. As a manager, I can maintain how many of our players are in the same position as their previous game by ensuring I do not make too many unnecessary changes. I am managing my expectations by accepting 100% consistency is not achievable and setting a floor of 50% as the least acceptable. I am finding myself working around 70% which sees changes due to injury limiting rotation opportunities. That means some of the boys that are desperate to impress have needed telephone calls and special treatment to aid their psychological state. Some have lost minutes through no fault of their own and they are learning more about themselves in times of stress and pressure. Others have put themselves under pressure to retain their place which can reduce the amount of enjoyment they receive. Recognising positive attributes about a player’s character or work rate can often help to redirect such negative thoughts.
The winning run has added pressure also. It has given us something to lose, and that can cause fear to set in. This stifles creativity on the ball. With Trafford’s support, our attempt to control as much consistency as possible makes us feel confident that we are managing this as best we can and when the run ends, we will be ready to pick ourselves up and go again. We have all thoroughly enjoyed this season and would like to thank every parent / friend / spectator that has given us a watch. We hope you like what you see and are keen to have some more!
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