Following
England Hockey's heroic win at the recent Euro Hockey Championships we
caught up with ISEH Sport Psychologist Andrea Furst who has been working
with the England and Great Britain Women's Hockey team as their Senior
Sport Psychologist since January.
ISEH: How did you become involved with England Hockey and how long have you been working with them?
AF: I applied for the advertised position as the Senior Sport Psychologist at the English Institute of Sport working with the England and Great Britain Women's Hockey team. I started working with the team in late January 2015.
ISEH: Hockey is obviously a team sport but how do you approach and work with individuals within the team on various aspects?
AF: Individuals in the team have the opportunity to have at least two individual sessions each year. In addition to these sessions some players will spend more time with me working on their specific psychological skills and strategies.
The girls also have quarterly reviews with coaches and sports science sports medicine support staff where their psychological skills and application of these skills get reviewed and included in their individual performance plans.
Outside of these more formal sessions there are informal opportunities on the side of the pitch as well as when we are away on tour - airports, planes, buses, hotel lobbies, walking to and from the pitch, etc. all provide windows to talk through their psychological skill integration.
ISEH: The final of the Euro Hockey Championships saw England came back from 2 -0 down to win on penalties – did you do any work with the team to prepare them for situations like this?
AF: Yes. Believing that you can still win despite the scoreline is a state of mind that requires training. Mental toughness is a skill that we work on. The collective belief the girls demonstrated to recover and equalise required a 'never give up' mentality. We teach them to believe that if they stick to the game plan and believe in our systems, then they will give themselves the best chance of winning, regardless of the scoreline. There are multiple training drills on the pitch that we use to assist the development and reward this mentality. The starting point is wanting to win and embracing every opportunity to be competitive. From there we demonstrate to the girls how fighting hard and being resilient under pressure can create scoring opportunities, leading to a win. Finally, the team practice shoot-outs in training in preparation for clinch moments in a game, such as the one you referenced in your question.
ISEH: How do you develop a winning mentality and what makes a championship winning team?
AF: A winning mentality is created by building the belief in the team's ability to win and building belief in the variety of processes that contribute to winning. Both of these factors contribute in equal measure.
Championship winning teams are genuinely committed to the team goals which are a higher priority than their individual goals. In saying that, their commitment to individual goals will be strong and fuel the team goals. Team members are doing what they can to the best of their ability to combine with their teammates to create a united front.
ISEH: How do you prepare the team to deal with pressure?
AF: There are numerous strategies for dealing with pressure of performing when it counts. Some of the successful approaches with this team have included being very clear on individual and team processes with a focus on how these processes contribute to winning. Each player and each team has their specific skills and steps to take that they've practiced and know that if they stick to them they give them the best chance of putting on an impressive performance. There is also the necessity to plan for and train strategies for when things don't go to plan. In short, preparation has a large contributing factor to dealing with pressure of competitions.
ISEH: Did the event being playing on home ground create any challenges you weren’t expecting?
AF: No, the tournament was well organised and the team thoroughly enjoyed the chance to play at home. Playing on home ground was approached in the lead up and during the championships as a favourable factor. The team frequently referenced the crowd as their '12th man' and how they can use the home crowd to perform. There was an awareness of how to capitalise on the home crowd and draw upon their support for the entire 60 minutes of each game.
ISEH What was your favourite memory of the competition?
AF: My favourite memory was watching the girls celebrate their win. Maddie Hinch defended the match winning Dutch penalty shuffle, she ran/slid into the corner of the pitch, and the entire team created a 'pile up' on top of her.
This was the match winning celebration however I like celebrating success and my biggest celebration internally was when the girls equalised in the last quarter after being 0-2. It showed grit. I knew that with the work we'd done and preparation for defending and scoring in penalty shoot-outs we had a very good chance of winning.