Author: Giannis Zarotis

I am “capable” and I will win! But ability does not in itself lead to success….

We imagine an athlete in a very well-structured competitive preparation, with a lot of work on a technical and physical level, with a great focus on his diet and training, with a very good level of physical condition and many hours of recovery and “attention” of himself. He seems to have prepared well, he experiences high self-confidence, he appears confident in his good performance and the corresponding result. He believes that with such good preparation, a good result is a given.
Which in the end did not come ……
Why did he not have the performance he expected, when everything seemed to have become “perfect”?
Because between the preparation and the desired performance, there is a “Competitive Behavior“. It is the factor that will determine if the work he has done will “come out”, if he will be able to unfold all his ability in the race.
Competitive behavior, in almost every sport, requires the release of energy, with high mobility and alertness, high concentration and focus on the appropriate elements, with persistent effort, with control of himself and his emotions.
No matter how good an athlete is on a technical level, no matter how good his physical condition is, no matter how “top” he is in his sport, if he fails to concentrate and release energy, the result will not come. The process is not automatic, it requires constant vigilance from the athlete.
This is why the “big surprises”, the prevalence of the “weak against the favorite” and other conditions encountered in the sports field take place: Why athletes or teams get the illusion that whatever work I did in the preparation, will win on her own….”. Especially in sports, nothing seems to be a given and nothing is won or lost before the race takes place.
And there the “Competitive Behavior” plays a dominant role!

Control the game!

In many sports, the coach’s basic instruction to the athlete is to “control the game”. To control the rhythm, the plan, their movements, the opponent, basically their own competitive behavior. For each opponent, control of the game is the main goal, to the point that it seems to determine the final winner.
The control of the game refers to the mental dimension of the athletes and describes the ability of the athlete to understand the conditions of the game, to adapt to his requirements, to find the right game plan, to be able to know at any time what is necessary to do.
Mentally, it is largely related to the athlete’s experience, his mental ability to analyze a game, his maturity, his knowledge of the sport in general. It requires mental clarity, very high concentration, knowledge of the right elements to focus, speed in perception and to be “mentally fast”: To be able to make the best possible choice in the shortest time.
Psychologically it requires calm, control of extreme emotions, a high level of self-confidence,  and reduced stress. Exactly what we would be looking for when talking about “self-control”.
The control of the game is a combination of “self-control” and the appropriate mental approach of the game.
Mental preparation for the game is a crucial factor, almost necessary for the athlete to ensure control of the game. If you are able to control the activity and the process of the game, to a large extent you seem to control the result!

Yiannis Zarotis
Psychologist-Sports Psychologist
www.psychology.org.gr

Sports during Pandemic: “luxury” or “need”?

The COVID-19 pandemic period is accompanied by a general differentiation of daily life in each area of ​​human activity, to the point where we now refer to a “disruption of normality”. The effects concern the suspension of activities or their conditional start. In this environment, sport seems to seek its role, from complete cessation or even abstention to its full development.
Especially for children’s sports, the trends that are developing vary, expressing opposing views regarding its operation.
By putting sport “at the service of children”, it is a field that assists in education for prevention, as well as the school and every field of children’s activity. There is a view that sees sports as a means of stimulating health and shielding the body, as a means of preventing the cultivation of fear in children, as a means that “declares” to children the maintenance of normality and therefore the stability and “safety” of the environment.
The danger does not cease to exist, however, with the period we are going through having no expiration date, it seems that the solution is not to avoid sports. Training in the observance of hygiene rules, from time to time and places of health protocols, the development of skills of adaptation and cultivation of data for dealing with difficult situations, is what the period “passes” requires, so that the sports activity does not stop but and to “win” children in matters of education and prevention.
Otherwise, the long-term and non-expiring abstinence will lead the athletes to lose motivation, to get used to a different reality by staying at home for several hours, dealing with screens, adopting sedentary living patterns. At the end of the season it will not be at all easy to “convince” the children to return to the activity ……
The method and seriousness in dealing with the pandemic will need to “take into account” the future of the children, whether it is school or sports, or any other activity as everyone wants to continue to develop or in through or after the pandemic….
Yiannis Zarotis
Psychologist-Sports Psychologist

Athletes after Quarantine

For coaches:

• The lack of motivation is obvious to the athletes due to the many months of absence, the goal is to find their desire for the sport again.
• Focus on how the children/athletes experienced the period of absence. Everyone is different and the situation affects each child differently
• Help redevelop relationships between children
• Enhance communication and interaction. The reconnection of children will be the basis to find their motivation as socialization is an important factor of involvement in sports
• Take time to inform the children about what will follow regarding the training program
• Give athletes time to adjust to the environment, avoiding talking too much about training issues
• It is important to welcome children without comments about their level of fitness
• Avoid referring to their physical condition when talking about weight gain due to quarantine
• Identify goals that refer to gradual reconnection and reset, not racing performance
• It is important for children not to rush back
• Set long-term goals, not immediate ones
• The children’s return time will be different for everyone
• Focus on how important it is that we managed to get back into the sport and not how long we stayed out.
• Your positive attitude will help children adjust and regain lost motivation

Remember that some children / athletes have experienced a loss in the midst of a pandemic and it is important that they receive appropriate support from you.

Yiannis Zarotis MSc-PhD

Psychologist-Sports Psychologist

Anxiety: Management or Coping?

Anxiety is in any field of human activity the main factor “inhibiting” functionality. For workplaces, 40% of the loss of working hours is due to employee anxiety, which affects both performance and physical condition, affecting the immune system. For people’s daily activity, it is also a key factor in “avoiding” many “obligations” or differentiating the program in order to “avoid what worries us“.

The word anxiety means “I press hard on the neck“. It indicates an unpleasant feeling, with many physical and mental extensions, while in some cases it is also mentioned as the main cause of chronic diseases. Emotion is related to the way of thinking of everyone, which leads him to develop or not anxiety in various situations.

Seeking treatment…

The “cure” of anxiety includes three main stages: The acceptance that “I have anxiety”, its management (“I can work with anxiety”) and finally its treatment, where the functional thoughts of the individual are sought, in an attempt to “differentiate” his attitude towards himself and his environment, to “adapt” to each situation.

Anxiety management includes the condition where everyone, experiencing emotion, tries to limit their physical and / or spiritual effects. Breathing techniques, mindfulness techniques, meditation-based techniques, and even medication are all aimed at reducing symptoms so that the person remains functional.

Dealing with anxiety refers to the search for causes, focusing on how the person represents reality, how he perceives the environment around him, how he ultimately thinks. In any case, we see things around us not as they are but as “we” see them as they are. It is a matter of individual perception. The situations that are created in everyday life, work, the use of public transport, speaking to a large number of people, the performance of a show are not in themselves situations that “contain” anxiety, this develops from the way that everyone “sees” the respective treaty. One psychologist described anxiety as “a process of personal choice“, meaning not that you choose to have anxiety, but that you choose to see the environment around you in such a way that you feel anxious!

Sport, Social Life and Image…..

A journalist once asked a young footballer about his ambitions and what he thinks he can achieve in the future. He asked him to describe “what the ball is in” and he replied: Money, fame, publicity, nice girls, expensive cars …….

Probably for many athletes, of all sports, all these elements are their desires, for some of them it is quite possible to get them. The “trap” in which athletes often “fall” is that they are convinced that all this will come automatically as they themselves enter the field of sports.

Behind all the elements that are visible, whether it is social life or high contracts or the spotlight and the growing popularity on social media, there is an element that is both indistinguishable for spectators and very painful for athletes: Many hours work and individual effort …… .. Hours of training with a lot of effort, a lot of fatigue, countless moments of frustration and emotional charge but also satisfaction of achievement and investment for the future.

The “order” of the three elements that the athletes negotiate varies and is different for each one. Work, Social Life, Personal Image. Whichever you put first, this will evolve… ..Doesn’t the same happen in all human activities? What you place as a priority (whether you realize it or not is your priority!) In this you become “better”. You lose something, you gain something. If you focus mainly on personal image and social life, you will lose something of your athletic development.

A partner of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United stated that he needed 20 minutes before each match to fix his hair. But for two years he remained alone for an hour and a half after training and committed a foul και ..and he learned!

A Beckham teammate in the Los Angeles Galaxy reported that Beckham was going to training by helicopter! ¨Only we went at 4.30 while he went at 2.30, to do two hours of individual training ……… ………

The promotion that LeBron James enjoys from the NBA is huge, this year he worked so hard that he did not show a serious injury even after 80 games. And let him be 33 years old….

Federer in tennis remains at the highest level at the age of 37, having countless hours of training to be able to support his effort. Although he could just enjoy the publicity and recognition he has gained….

There are many examples of athletes from all sports. It is a given that in sports there is both social life and the development and promotion of the personal image. But first the work!

The series is Sport, Social Life, Image.

If you spoil it?

The Scots have a proverb that says “Life is like a sewer, whatever you throw in it brings out ……”!

Coaches Seminar in Thessaloniki – 28/01/2018

Coaches Seminar in Thessaloniki
Subject: Coaches-Athletes Communication
Saturday 27 January 2018, 10.00-13.00
Hotel “NIKOPOLIS”
The topics in detail:
• Defining the contact details, who defines the communication?
• Providing the right instructions
• How does the athlete understand better and accept more?

World Day Against Child Abuse

Mr. Giannis Zarotis, sports psychologist of Olympiacos FC Academy, talks about the world day against child abuse