Fergie Time

  Embracing Negative Thinking How to live and deal with negative thinking as an athlete - by Daniel Ferguson There was a man who was fed up with the rain and just wanted to get away from it. Being from England where it rains a lot, he thought he'd go to Italy. He was very happy on his way, "finally, there'll be no more rain." However, when he landed, it was raining.  "God sake," the man said, "I'm going to Egypt." He's on the plane to Egypt, whistling and singing away to himself, "no more rain, no more pain, I'll have sun, no more rain." All goes well in Egypt, until he's on his way to visit the pyramids and it starts raining. So he goes to Spain. It rains. Then Germany. It rains. "Surely it won't rain in Kenya," the man said: it rained.  The man in the rain Now imagine the rain in this short story is our negative thoughts, the truth is you can't run away from them, as hard as that sounds. It's about ...

 When the flame fades How to deal with athlete burnout in sport - by Daniel Ferguson Driven Dan they call him. A tennis player who plays every day of the week: tennis is his life. Even when he's not at training, he bikes down to his local tennis court and practises his serves, returns...the lot! As a 14 year old lad, some would say this is too much, and it does get too much. Lately, Dan's been struggling to concentrate on his tennis and is beginning to fall out of love with the sport, going to training sessions now feels like a chore and he's stopped going to his local court in his free time. He's also stopped speaking to his family around the house and his friends have noticed he's not been his usual self at school.  Dan's experiencing what is known as athlete burnout. Due to over-training and not having a healthy work-life balance, his motivation and performance levels have been dropping in his tennis. What can Dan do to reignite his fading tennis flame? Burno...

 How to win as an underdog The Underdog Effect - by Daniel Ferguson What is an underdog? An underdog is the individual or team that isn't expected to win. In 2016,  Leicester won the Premier League . They defeated all odds by achieving the title over the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. No one expected it, but it happened. This is up there with one of the greatest underdog stories, but how does the underdog defeat the odds? Leicester winning the Premier League Other stories such as  Newcastle beating PSG  in their return to the Champions League or in rival matches when the unexpected rival wins like when  Everton beat Liverpool  2-0, highlight that no team or individual can ever be underestimated. Underdog stories are  fascinating to watch  and as spectators we're drawn into them, illustrated by the popularity of  Rocky films . How can the underdog win? It's a mindset thing. When the opponents are clearly and statistic...

Ready to return? How to return to your sport after injury - by Daniel Ferguson Izzy injured her leg during a rugby game a few months back. She's had difficulties feeling confident in returning back to the sport. Since she's been injured, she's experienced feelings of helplessness and isolation. After working on being physically ready again, psychologically how can Izzy feel ready to return? Rugby Injury What feelings and emotions does an athlete go through during injury? An athlete can go through what's known as the  Injury grief process model , this involves the following 5 stages, let's apply these to what Izzy has been going through: Denial:  Izzy didn't want to believe she had been injured, "there's no chance I'm injured, I'll be back straight away next week." Anger: She was angry, blaming other things, "why did that other player tackle me like that, this is all her fault!" Bargaining: she was being unreasonable about returnin...

 Focused on the field How can a cricketer stay focused on the field? - By Daniel Ferguson Cricket is a sport with a long playing time. With matches potentially lasting 3-5 days, where up to 6 hours can be played each day, players are required to focus for long periods of time. Especially during moments of the game where the player has very little to do, for example, being a fielder, how can a player keep their focus?  Cricketer Achieving a quiet mind Do you remember a time when everything you touched turned to gold? It's almost like you didn't need to think, it just happened. Picture that time when it just felt like you're day. It can feel like you're playing on autopilot doesn't it? This is what achieving a 'quiet mind' is about: you don't think too much, you just do.  The opposite of a quiet mind is a mind that thinks a lot, where thoughts feel as though they're constantly coming in and out: racing. A batsmen in cricket can  overthink by analysing ...