Author: Susan Neethling,
25 February 2024
This post is the 2nd article in the 5 part series on the Habits and Game-Changing Mentality in High-School Rugby Teams.
Stress is where Courage and Resilience Lives
How to embrace Game-day stress
Game days in high school rugby are intense, high-pressure situations that can induce significant stress for players and coaches alike.
However, the research of psychologists Dr. Alia Crum and Kelly McGonigal suggests that the key to thriving under such stress lies in one’s mindset.
Their groundbreaking work demonstrates how our beliefs and perceptions about stress can profoundly influence our physical and psychological responses to it. This means that stress doesn’t have to be the enemy. Once re-framed, it can become an ally that heightens focus, boosts determination, and unlocks greater levels of performance.
Pressure is a privilege – it only comes to those who earn it.
Billie Jean King
Dr. Crum’s work has centred on the role of beliefs and perceptions in shaping human experiences, particularly within the context of stress. Her research includes an influential study in which she investigated how people’s beliefs about stress could influence their physical responses.
This study revealed that a stress-enhancing mindset not only reduced perceived stress but also led to physiological changes, such as improved cardiovascular performance, in response to stress.
Kelly McGonigal, in her own right, has explored the transformative power of mindset when it comes to stress.
She has shown how a change in mindset can alter our physiological responses to stress. For instance, perceiving a pounding heart as a sign of preparedness for action rather than distress can empower individuals to confront challenges with newfound confidence and determination.
McGonigal has also highlighted the role of oxytocin in the stress response, illustrating that, even during stress, it can foster social bonding and support-seeking behaviour, enhancing resilience.
This is an important consideration for understanding team cohesion and bonding.
Both researchers emphasize the significance of mindset and its ability to shape our experiences and responses to game day stress. Their work not only underscores the potential to harness stress as a tool for personal growth and enhanced performance but also highlights the profound interplay between mindset, physiology, and social connections in the face of adversity.
Unhealthy, negative stress arises when we find ourselves ill-prepared for a situation due to neglecting our duties and responsibilities.
When players neglect fundamental duties like consistent training, studying strategy and game plan, getting quality sleep, it creates problems. Overwhelming, unhealthy stress starts creeping in. It replaces the controlled intensity and readiness they should feel. Skipping out on any of those preparatory responsibilities invites distressing anxiety rather than fired-up excitement.
Skipping out on any of the preparatory responsibilities expected by the coaches is a recipe for crippling game day stress.
However, stress can be productive. It stems from actively pursuing our goals. It comes from challenging ourselves and acquiring new skills, Venturing beyond our comfort zone. This is an energizing state of excitement, not dread. It heightens our preparedness. It primes us for action.
Although the physical sensations may feel similar – the pounding heart, sweaty palms, and upset stomach – there is a nuanced difference.
Preparation doesn’t erase game day stress, but shifts it to a different realm.
When you have left NOTHING to chance within your sphere of influence and control, then you know that you are prepared. Your body reads the physical sensations as “readiness for the hunt”, instead of symptoms of fear, flight or freeze.
You attain razor-sharp focus, an intensity that can’t be helped.
You can educating players on how to harness the power of stress effectively. This serves as an insightful entry point to instilling a mindset of extreme accountability.
In the next three editions of this series, we will explore in greater detail the concept and processes of taking full responsibility for preparation and the outcome of games.
The Power of Positive Goals and how this relates to game-day stress.
Friedman and Förster’s 2005 research (Department of Psychology, University of Maryland) investigated how children tackled a maze puzzle.
One version had a mouse marking the entrance and offered a cheese reward at the end, while the other presented an ominous owl that needed to be escaped. Interestingly, the kids navigating the cheese-motivated maze solved it faster and with greater success.
This finding suggests that we thrive when pursuing a desirable outcome, rather than simply escaping negativity. As Nagoski and Nagoski (2020) point out, “We flourish when we have a positive destination to reach, rather than merely fleeing from a negative circumstance.”
Therefore, identifying our personal “cheese” (goals) and minimizing the influence of “owls” (stress) becomes crucial.
This means, that once the symptoms of stress has been re-framed as a ‘positive desired outcome’, your players will come to relish the stress and pressure associated with game of rugby, and game day stress will become an eagerly anticipated catalyst for peak performance.
The beauty of this mindset shift is that it can be initiated through a single informative session.
Once individuals grasp this knowledge, they tend to perceive the signals from their bodies in a new, empowering light. This leads to a fundamental shift in how they experience and respond to stress physiologically.
What’s required after the initial education is a gentle but consistent reinforcement of how our biological stress response can be harnessed to our advantage. It doesn’t have to be as something to endure or avoid.
This knowledge then serves as a powerful catalyst, inspiring individuals to actively pursue positive stressors through meaningful challenges. As their minds and bodies adapt to managing various stressors through repetition, these once-daunting situations gradually become easier to navigate and feel increasingly comfortable – even second nature.
“Chasing meaning is better for my health than trying to avoid discomfort.”
Kelly McGonigal
It is this purposeful pursuit of positive stress that lies at the heart of cultivating a Growth Mindset.
Next up in our 5 part series on the Habits and Game-Changing Mentality in High-School Rugby Teams.
PART 3: THE GROWTH MINDSET
Your Failure is the Most Valuable Data Stream you will ever have access to
Join me on a transformational journey to crack the code of high-performing teams. We’ll dive deep into the mental tools and strategies that ignite relentless drive, equip you to master adversity, and reprogram habits for peak performance, even under pressure.
Want more?
Contact me for immersive workshops to transform your team’s psychology.
CONTACT ME
Rewrite your limits, one ruck at a time.
Craft a winning season fueled by a growth mindset, shared values, and unwavering grit. Remember, you’re not just players, you’re the architects of your rugby destiny.
So let’s huddle up, game plan big, and make each tackle count.
Cheers to leaving it all on the field, and beyond!
Susan