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Dinith Pathiraja On Court: Psychological reasons for the success of champions

09 May 2021

[caption id="attachment_134675" align="alignleft" width="422"] Here are Methwan Wijemanne (left) of Royal College, Colombo, and Lisal Goonathillake (right) of S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia, with who met Sandas Usgodaarachchi of Ananda College, Colombo, and Tharuk Marasinghe of Royal in the boys’ U-14 doubles final recently at the HNB-Hutch-sponsored SL Clay Court Nationals 2021 in Colombo Photo IshanWanniarachchi[/caption]

Champions or championship winning teams almost always seem to have more success than others.

It is important for other players and teams to understand why this is so. Only by understanding the reasons behind their success and by replicating them, that these players and teams will be able to reach the same level.

In this article, we will try to examine the different psychological reasons for the success of these players and the teams. Therefore, in this instance, it has to be assumed that all the teams have done their technical, tactical, and physical training to an equal level. With that assumption, we will now try to examine the champion mindset.

Acceptance of a lesser “best”

All players and teams, when they face a competition, is determined to give their best. This is a natural desire from any player and any team. But sometimes, on certain days they find that they are unable to give their best effort, due to various reasons. In most cases this inability to perform at their best leads players and the teams to drop their shoulders thereby making their performances even worse.

But champion players and teams understand that there will be days where they are unable to perform to the best of their ability. Because of this understanding they do not let themselves get upset or angry. They still keep trying and eventually find a way to perform at a high level.

Doing “well enough” on the day

Following on from the above point, by understanding that they are unable to perform at their 100% best, champion teams and players then do their best by doing “well enough” on the day to get the job done, or to win the competition. This in turn helps them to accumulate better results.

But, if this understanding is not there, and the player or the team will keep getting frustrated by the fact that they are not playing well. They will then not perform at the necessary level at all. This will result in them not being able to achieve the desired result which in turn defeats the whole purpose.

Winning on the bad days

All players and teams will have bad days during competitions. The major difference between the champions and the others is the fact that the champions are well capable of winning on the bad days. There is a saying that “winning is a habit”. Therefore, understanding that fact, makes champions almost always make sure that they find a way to win on that day, whereas most other players will not perform on the bad days at all.

For example, in a team situation, especially in an individual sport such as tennis, it is important that if one player is playing badly in a doubles match, the other partner makes up for it by playing better. But what is usually the difference between the champions and the others is that while the champions lift up their partner, in other situations both partners play so badly that they slide to a quick defeat.

Knowledge to win ugly

One of the most well-known tennis books is “Winning Ugly” by Brad Gilbert. Gilbert is a former No.4-ranked singles player in the world apart from being one of the most respected coaches having worked with players who reached the No. 1 ranking in the world. Gilbert was known for being able to “grind” out victories without there being any aesthetic appeal to his matches. In other words, he knew how to win matches without playing eye-catching or “flashy” shots.

This ability is most important for champion players and teams. This is because champions know how to win by not doing everything that is in the “book”. For example, in a tennis match that is the ability to win matches by hitting a slice, a drop shot, a lob, and doing all the things that would drive the opponent “crazy”. This ability to win ugly without the so-called “good shots” is one of the most important attributes for the champions.

Attitude not getting in the way

Following on from all of the above points, what is very discernible is the fact that champions, teams, or players, do not let their attitude get in the way of accepting shortcomings and still trying to reach the desired result. Most players, especially more than the teams, feel that they have to play in a certain way and method to please the spectators. They feel “ashamed” to play in any other way.

This attitude of caring what the others think of you is a fatal mistake in becoming a champion.

In this way the players are not playing the game that they need to on that day but they feel that they need to play in a certain way to keep their “status”. This is their attitude getting in their way of becoming successful. Champions never make this mistake.

These are but some of the psychological reasons that are the key reasons behind the success of champions.

This discussion will continue next week with the hope that the points discussed in these situations will help the local talent, that is in abundance, to reach their true potential and bring glory to Sri Lanka. That, after all, is the wish of every player, coach, administrator, and spectator in the country. In these dark times, it will certainly be a very welcome release from this constant tension for many people.

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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!


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