On Sunday we witnessed a great example of psychological strategies being used during a high pressure moment in the NRL Grand Final between Cowboys and Broncos. After the last try from the Cowboys, scored after the final hooter, Jonathan Thurston took about 5 minutes to set himself before taking the all important kick from the sideline, which if scored would win them the game. This is a great example for your upcoming HSC PDHPE exam.
Psychological Strategies
During the 5 min, Thurston used multiple psychological strategies to clam himself down. Thurston walked off by himself as soon as the try was scored and began to focus (a psychological strategy) on the kick he was about to take. Thurston took of his head gear, walked around in circles, took a bunch of deep breathes as a relaxation technique (another psychological strategy) and sought to calm his heart rate and nerves as he lined up the shot. Sticking to routine, Thurston put his head gear back on, as this is how he is most used to kicking, and then pointed the ball a the right upright ready to curve the ball back between the posts as is his technique. Thurston would have visualised (another psychological technique) his run up, the kick, and the ball sailing over the the black dot.
Although Thurston missed the kick, he utilised these psychological techniques in order to enhance his performance and manage anxiety in order to improve his chances of kicking successfully under so much pressure. He has pressure from the club, the fans, his team-mates and himself to score that goal. Thurston’s field goal, which did win the game, would also have come through the use of psychological strategies. After the knock-on by Brisbane, there was a lot of time before Thurston got the ball to line up his first attempt, which was shut down. He would benefit from this time, doing mental rehearsals, and using relaxation techniques to focus on the task he was going to have to do. He was seeking to enhance his performance and manage anxiety the whole time as anxiety is detrimental to performance. Thurston eventually got to take the shot, with pressure from Brisbane players rushing out at him. But he won the game for the North Queensland Cowboys, and will be a legend of the game for a long time to come.
